James Hardie’s fiber cement siding is an excellent choice for Chicago area homeowners who want a superb home lifestyle without time-consuming maintenance.
Not only does Hardie siding installed by Siding and Windows Group improve your home’s curb appeal and increase its value, it’s also super easy to care for. With a simple rinse with a garden hose twice a year, plus a quick check-up every few years, this siding can last up to 50 years, way beyond its industry-leading, 30-year warranty.
There’s a reason Hardie siding seems to last forever. Made from a carefully blended mixture of cement, sand, and cellulose fibers, it’s built to resist extreme weather, pests, fading, wood rot, and so much more.
Why Is James Hardie Siding So Low-Maintenance?
Stands Up Against Weather
Year after year, Hardie siding is built to resist hail and windblown debris from stormy weather. Designed to handle extreme heat and cold, it is perfect for cold Chicago winters and severe Illinois summers.
In addition to extreme weather, Hardie siding is always ready for the seasonal changes that can also break down a home’s exterior.
Doesn’t Add Fuel to a Fire
Because Hardie siding is made of fiber cement, it resists combustion with superior results—not allowing flames to spread, and lessening smoke. This performance is significantly different than wood and vinyl, which can burn and melt.
Hardie siding has the highest fire rating available (Class A) and performs with incomparable durability.
Resists Insects
When carpenter ants, termites, stink bugs, and other pests make a home inside your siding, it’s only a matter of time before they do extensive, irreparable damage to your home’s exterior.
Termites and other wood-eating bugs cost U.S. homeowners over five billion dollars in property damage each year, and it’s not covered by insurance companies. Fortunately, no other type of siding resists insects the way Hardie siding does.
Evades Moisture Damage
Water damage can happen gradually, but once it takes hold of a home’s siding, it can cause cracks, swelling, paint chipping and worst of all, mold and rot. Hardie boards are engineered to repel water, preventing moisture intrusion from happening.
Unlike wood siding, where mold, mildew, and wood rot can wreak havoc on a house, this unique and powerful fiber cement siding resists moisture damage, making it the easiest siding to maintain on the market.
Repels Woodpeckers
Wood siding is heaven to woodpeckers. They are always looking for shelter and anywhere that might contain tasty insects—and wood on the side of a house is a good place to start. Woodpecker damage gets expensive to repair.
The only way to make pesky woodpeckers look somewhere else is to use siding that has no appeal to them. Hardie siding is so durable and impenetrable that woodpeckers have no choice but to make their home elsewhere.
Has Long-Lasting ColorPlus® Technology
Hardie siding features factory baked-on color that is more durable and consistent than wood boards that have been traditionally painted, or even vinyl. Other sidings can dull over a short period of time, but Hardie siding is much more capable of resisting the sun’s damaging UV rays, which means it also resists fading.
This means you need little to no maintenance to keep your home’s color looking as vibrant as the day you installed your siding.
What Does Hardie Siding Maintenance Actually Require?
Because Hardie siding is so durable and extremely resistant to the elements, it is backed by a 30-year limited warranty. But it still requires some minimal care.
This means there are just a few things you need to keep in mind to take care of your low-maintenance Hardie siding and keep it looking gorgeous for years.
Visual Inspection: Twice a Year
Every six months or so, usually after a severe storm, do a visual inspection and check your home’s siding to make sure there aren’t any areas that need repair or replacement. Doing this only takes a few minutes to make sure that anything that needs attention is addressed quickly.
Cleaning: Twice a Year
Twice a year, it doesn’t take much to wash your Hardie siding. Using a garden hose, dish soap, and a soft rag or a medium bristle nylon brush, remove all dirt, grease and grime. There’s no need to use harsh chemicals, cleaners not intended for siding, or abrasive scrub brushes.
Pressure Washer: With Caution
In most cases, a pressure washer will not be needed to clean your Hardie siding. However, unusually stubborn grime and dirt could call for heavier action.
Be very careful when cleaning your siding and trim using a pressure washer. To reduce the possibility of damage, keep the pressure below 1500 psi and use a wide fan tip, keeping a minimum of 6 feet distance from the wall.
Caulking: Rarely
It’s a good idea to check the seams of your Hardie siding once or twice a year to make sure the caulking is still in good shape. You’re unlikely to see problems. However, on the rare occasion that caulking becomes faulty, just replace it and your house will continue to remain protected from the elements.
Patching: Rarely
Although uncommon, surface damage such as chips, dents, and cracks can sometimes occur in Hardie siding. Cement-based patching compound can be used to fill in any damage that occurs. Professionals recommend the use of a cement patch product made of an acrylic mortar compound for patching their siding products.
If you are unsure what to use or how to make the patch smoothly, contact a Hardie siding professional to take care of it for you.
Getting a Low-Maintenance Home Is Easy with the Right Team
Discover more advantages of upgrading your home exterior with attractive, long-lasting, low-maintenance Hardie siding—installed by the pros at Siding & Windows Group. We’re a James Hardie Elite Preferred contractor, ensuring your installation is done right the first time—so you can be confident in a long-lasting home that fits your lifestyle year-round.
