Fiber Cement Siding - transformcharleston.com
James hardie fiber cement siding

James Hardie Fiber Cement Siding

In the early 2000s, fiber cement siding became extremely popular as it was a superior product to wood siding. It was seen as a luxury siding and was also superior to vinyl in those times. With the recent advances in product, manufacturing, and technology, fiber cement is no longer the superior siding option for most homeowners. With fiber cement being made of water, wood pulp, fly ash, and portland cement, it is still susceptible to water issues.

Although James Hardie (the leading fiber cement siding manufacturer) has been seen as “the superior siding product” for homeowners over the last two decades, it has now become a 3rd or 4th option for most homeowners. Due to James Hardie being a master marketing company and spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year promoting their products, they unfortunately continue to keep a market share.

 James Hardie is inferior to composite, steel/metal, and even some vinyl siding options for many reasons:

  1. It needs to be caulked and maintained every few years to prevent gaps in the trim/siding junctions.
  2. It holds water and can rot
  3. It is more likely to chip and crack due to its cement/fibrous composition
  4. It is recommended be painted every 7-10 years to keep a vibrant appearance
  5. The color touch up kits fade at a different rate than the colored panels. Spots will appear as the years go on due to this.
  6. James Hardie fiber cement siding contains silica dust, a known carcinogen. Strict guidelines must be followed in order to meet OHSA safety requirements. (James Hardie used to make their product with asbestos, now silica dust.)
  7. James Hardie has one of the shortest warranty periods, it’s prorated, and has a lot of fine print in their warranty language to be aware of. 

Fiber cement siding is made out of a mixture of cement, sand, water, wood pulp and cellulose fibers. The biggest issue of fiber cement siding is the fact that it’s way too expensive of an option for the maintenance required to maintain the product. With caulking and repainting occurring every 5-10 years, and the industry’s shortest siding warranty, it is a terrible siding investment (just like wood siding) as it requires additional significant expenses after the initial installation. The only time James Hardie makes sense to install is when only doing portions of a home/building and it needs to be painted to match another area of the home. If a siding product can be used in lieu of James Hardie and still match the other areas of concern, it is better to use a maintenance free product such as composite siding, steel, or vinyl. These alternatives have longer manufacturer warranties, are more durable, do not hold water, and do not contain silica dust.

  James Hardie and other fiber cement siding products, when installed by professional contractors, range anywhere from $16-$26 per square foot for the project. On a 2,000 square foot siding project, this would range anywhere from $32,000 – $56,000 depending on type of fiber cement, style, amount of trim required, and number of openings and transitions. This is all before painting if choosing a primed siding. Once you calculate painting costs, it will be another $7-12 per square foot for the painting. Once you calculate the maintenance required, Hardie quickly becomes the most expensive siding product you can put on your home if you plan on living in that home for more than 10 years due to it needing to be re-caulked and painted over time.

Pros and Cons of James Hardie-Fiber Cement Siding

Pros of James Hardie Siding

  • Customizable for design aesthetics and can be painted to match existing home colors

Cons of James Hardie Siding

  • Expensive to install
  • Absorbs moisture
  • Not energy-efficient
  • Cracks
  • Needs maintenance every few years
  • Expensive to maintain (recaulking and repainting is costly when performed correctly)
  • Color fades at different rates with touch up kits
  • Contains known carcinogen, silica dust.
  • Cracks and splits easily 

Types of James Hardie Siding:

  • James Hardie Plank – Lap Siding
    • 4” Reveal (5.25” Width Boards)
    • 5” Reveal (6.25” Width Boards)
    • 6” Reveal (7.25” Width Boards)
    • 7” Reveal (8.25” Width Boards)
    • 8” Reveal (9.25” Width Boards)
    • 10.75” Reveal (12” Width Boards)
  • James Hardie Panel
    • 8’, 9’, 10’, 12’ Heights (12’ Height is 16” Wide)
  • James Hardie Trim and Batten Strips (Board and Batten) Look
    • 2.5” Width Trim
  • James Hardie Trim
    • 3.5”, 5.5”, 7.25”, 9.25”, 11.25”
  • James Hardie Shingle
    • StraightEdge or StaggeredEdge
  • James Hardie Artisan
    • V-Groove, Shiplap, Square Channel

 Textures/Styles of James Hardie Siding:

  • CedarMill – Woodgrain
  • Smooth –
  • Beaded Lap – Smooth or Woodgrain
  • Custom Colonial Roughsawn
  • Stucco Texture

 

Installing fiber cement siding involves careful planning and attention to detail to ensure a durable and attractive finish. It is important to choose a contractor who has a custom/carpentry team, not a siding team. You do not want typical siding installers working with fiber cement siding as it requires perfect cuts, caulking, specific flashing techniques, and caulk touch up.

  • Lifetime Workmanship Warranty
  • Lifetime Annual Roof Maintenance
  • 24/7 Emergency Services
  • Family Owned & Operated
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Questions?

What Locations Do We Serve and Services We Provide?

Transform Charleston provides roofing, siding, gutter windows, and custom home exterior services in Mount Pleasant, Charleston, Daniel Island, Isle of Palms, Sullivan's Island, I'On, Mount Pleasant, and James Island.


Although these are the 7 primary locations we serve, we do make exceptions for referrals. If somebody is referred to us, that means the world, and therefore, we will do everything it takes to serve that customer as well.


Although window services are provided, we prefer to only do window installations and replacements when we are performing a siding replacement as that is the optimal time to do so in order to properly flash the siding.


Our main passion is to completely transform home exteriors, so custom home exterior projects are our favorite! These projects typically involve at least 3+ of our services combined on a single structure.

Why Should You Let Us Assist You with Your Storm Damage Insurance Claims?

In Charleston, roofing and siding storm damage is inevitable from wind and hail. When choosing a contractor to assist you in fixing your storm damage and helping with insurance claims, it is crucial that you choose a competent contractor who is thoroughly versed in handling insurance claims. With a ton of "roofing contractors" being busted for insurance fraud, it is all the more important to diligently choose the contractor you feel most comfortable with.


If a contractor has little to no experience, or misleads you into believing they are "insurance experts," they can detrimentally ruin your chance at getting a proper restoration of the damages. For instance, if the claim is filed incorrectly from the beginning, it can be detrimental.


If the contractor doesn't document the damages properly, with adequate building code documentation and manufacturer specifications, it can negatively impact the final decision from the insurance carriers.


If a contractor just wants to selfishly hurry up and collect a check, which most do, they will get the claim approved just enough to make the money they desire, but leave you with some of the damages not completely repaired. Yes, you may get the roof repaired or replaced, but what if your siding, gutters, and interior needed to be repaired as well? If the contractor is only a "roofing" contractor, they most likely won't want to do other repairs as they are not equipped with the infrastructure to handle them.


It is crucial to hire a roofing restoration and siding restoration contractor who knows how to properly document, assist, effectively communicate with insurance carriers, and is in the business to serve and not take.


Our founder, Brent Bauer, has served over 500+ homeowners with storm damage insurance claims ranging from Ohio, to Florida, to right here in the lowcountry. Whether hail damage or wind damage, we are here to help!

What Makes Transform Charleston Unique?

Every single day of the work week, the entire Transform Charleston team dedicates 2 hours a day to industry-specific training regarding installation practices, product knowledge, and best consultative practices to best serve homeowners.


We understand that if we are not true experts regarding this industry, inevitably, by default, we will not be able to truly serve each homeowner in their own unique way. Every homeowner is in a unique situation, with unique financial goals, and varying aspirations for their home. If we take a "one size fits all" approach to our consulting, we are no longer consultants, but rather, salespeople like every single one of our competitors.


The thought of being like everybody else is actually what motivates us to self-develop every single day. Self-development, with the passion to transform one another's lives within our culture, is what truly makes us unique. By cultivating a culture of selflessness, passion, and servitude, we treat homeowners the exact same way we would want somebody to treat our family in their roofing, siding, gutter, and custom home exterior needs.


Our core values consist of stewardship, gratitude, service, and self-development. We believe we are blessed with the gifts that we have been given, recognizing that from a heart of gratitude, we can then best serve our community and neighbors both within the business as well as outside by helping non-profits through generosity. Self-development then inevitably occurs, because without it, we lose the heart of servitude, and life then becomes about us. The moment life becomes solely about us, we lose true fulfillment.


Collectively, as a team, we believe true fulfillment comes from serving and helping one another TRANSFORM into our individual full potential. It's the small, almost seemingly insignificant disciplines that can actually have the most profound impacts. It's "The Butterfly Effect." This is why "Transforming Lives, Elevating Exteriors" is our company motto.


Precision, passion, and expertise is what we are all about!

How Can We Justify Offering Lifetime Workmanship Warranties?

Able to offer lifetime warranties because we are true experts regarding installation as well as building code and manufacturer specifications. We are obsessed with developing and learning through daily training. We believe if we do not improve daily, we will not be fit to best serve our homeowners. With this approach, we are 100% confident that all roofs will be completed with near-perfect craftsmanship and precision.


Also, with a project manager and crew leader on site during our roofing and siding projects, we meticulously watch our installation crews to ensure all installation specifications are being followed. This ensures that we do not miss anything during the installation process and gives us the ability and confidence to offer lifetime workmanship warranties.


An additional reason we can justify offering lifetime workmanship warranties is because we know asphalt shingle manufacturers, and other roofing manufacturers, are always looking for ways out of warranty claims. We believe in true, selfless, genuine service. We extend the lifetime workmanship warranties to give our homeowners additional peace of mind, knowing that when it comes to workmanship, Transform Charleston will ALWAYS deliver with precision.


You can directly see a contractor's confidence with their installation based on the length of the workmanship warranty that they are providing. If they are only offering less than a 15-year workmanship warranty, but other contractors are offering lifetime workmanship warranties, remember, this roofing and siding industry is the epitome of "You pay for what you get." Don't let contractors mislead you with their "manufacturer lifetime warranty" pitches. These are specifically only if the shingles or products prematurely fail due to manufacturing-related issues, not workmanship.

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We recognize that each homeowner has a unique vision for their property. That's why we offer personalized design consultations to everyone who works with us. Our team of experts collaborates with clients to bring their dream homes to life through a consultative approach.​​

We Would Love The Opportunity To Serve You!



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