Ferndale Exterior A Standard, Not a Sales Pitch
Every siding contractor has a story about why they carry what they carry. Ours is simple: after years of tearing old siding off homes throughout Ferndale and the rest of Whatcom County, we stopped installing anything except James Hardie fiber cement. Not because it's the cheapest option, and not because it's the easiest to install. We did it because of what we consistently found underneath other products when we opened up walls during tear-offs — and because of what held up and what didn't after a decade or two of Pacific Northwest weather.
This page isn't a marketing brochure. It's an explanation of the reasoning, written the same way we'd explain it standing in your driveway.
What Ferndale's Climate Actually Does to Siding
Ferndale sits close enough to Bellingham Bay and the Strait of Georgia that salt-laden air is a real factor here, not a coastal-brochure exaggeration. Add Whatcom County's long stretch of driving rain from October through April, and then the shoulder seasons where damp air sits against north-facing walls for weeks without direct sun, and you get a climate that's genuinely hard on exterior materials.
Three Specific Stresses We See Constantly
- Salt air corrosion and finish breakdown — accelerates fading and chalking on lower-grade coatings, especially on west- and south-facing elevations.
- Moss and algae growth — Whatcom County's moss season runs nearly year-round on shaded or north-facing walls, and organic growth traps moisture against whatever is underneath it.
- Cyclical wetting — siding here rarely gets a long, dry stretch to fully purge moisture before the next rain system moves through.
None of this is unique to us pointing it out — it's why we standardized on one product system instead of installing whatever a homeowner saw on a home improvement show.
The Core Reason: How a Material Handles Water
Almost every long-term siding failure we've diagnosed on a tear-off comes down to one issue: what happens when water gets behind or into the material, and how long it takes to dry back out.
Fiber Cement's Physical Behavior
James Hardie's fiber cement is a cellulose-reinforced cement composite. It does not rot, it is not a food source for insects, and it does not swell and buckle the way wood-based products can when they take on moisture. It's also non-combustible, which matters increasingly in Washington as wildfire smoke seasons and ember exposure become part of the conversation for homeowners, even west of the Cascades.
Why We Stopped Installing the Alternatives
We're not going to tell you those other products are junk — that's not honest and it's not our call to make about every installation everywhere. What we will tell you is why we, specifically, stopped putting them on Whatcom County homes:
- Engineered wood siding (LP SmartSide and similar) — a strand-based wood product with a resin-treated strand face. It performs fine in many climates, but edge and cut-end sealing has to be perfect and stay perfect for the life of the siding. In a climate with this much sustained moisture exposure, we found that field-cut edges and the seams around windows and trim were the first place moisture found its way in, and once wood-based substrate takes on water, swelling follows.
- Vinyl siding — low maintenance and inexpensive, but it's a cladding that moves with temperature, doesn't stop UV fading as well over 15-20 years, and gives you very little to work with on color depth or trim detail. It also isn't a fire-resistant material, which some homeowners specifically want off the table.
- Cemplank and Allura — both are fiber cement competitors to Hardie, and structurally they're a similar category of product. Our reason for not installing them is narrower: after years of exclusively fitting, painting, and warrantying one system, we know its tolerances, its factory finish, and its manufacturer support better than we know a second or third fiber cement line. Spreading our crews across multiple fiber cement brands means less depth of expertise in any one of them.
- Primed spruce or cedar — real wood has a warmth that fiber cement can't fully replicate, and we respect that. But primed wood siding requires a repaint cycle on a schedule most homeowners don't stick to, and once the paint film fails, the wood underneath is exposed to exactly the wetting cycles Whatcom County produces most of the year. Cedar is naturally rot-resistant compared to other woods, but it still requires ongoing finish maintenance to perform long-term in this climate.
What James Hardie's Product Line Actually Offers
Climate-Engineered HZ Formulations
James Hardie makes region-specific formulations under its HZ5 designation for wetter climates like ours, engineering the product for markets that see extended damp seasons. That's a meaningful difference from a one-size-fits-all siding product.
ColorPlus Factory Finish
Most of what we install uses Hardie's ColorPlus finish — a baked-on, factory-applied finish rather than field-applied paint. The practical benefit: color consistency across every board, a finish that's cured under controlled conditions instead of on a scaffold in variable weather, and touch-up product matched to the exact factory batch when it's ever needed.
Product Lines We Install
| Product Line | Typical Use | Profile Style |
|---|---|---|
| HardiePlank lap siding | Whole-house cladding | Smooth or cedar-shake texture, multiple exposures |
| HardiePanel vertical siding | Accent walls, gables, modern facades | Smooth or stucco texture |
| HardieShingle | Accent sections, Craftsman and cottage styles | Straight-edge or staggered |
| HardieTrim | Window, door, and corner trim | Smooth or roughsawn |
The Warranty Difference
James Hardie backs its ColorPlus products with a longer non-prorated finish warranty than most field-applied paint jobs can match, plus a separate product warranty on the fiber cement substrate itself. Warranties on other siding categories vary widely and are frequently prorated after the first several years, meaning the payout for a failure shrinks the older the siding gets. We install one system so we can speak accurately, without hedging, about what's actually covered and for how long — and so that if a warranty claim ever needs to go through the manufacturer, we're not relearning a process we rarely use.
What Correct Installation Actually Involves
Fiber cement is not a forgiving product to install poorly, and a lot of the complaints homeowners hear about fiber cement siding in general trace back to installation shortcuts rather than the material itself.
What We Hold Ourselves To
- Proper clearance between siding and grade, roofing, and decks — James Hardie specifies minimum gaps that get skipped on rushed jobs.
- Correct fastener type, spacing, and depth — over-driven nails crack the board's edge and create a moisture entry point.
- A drainable water-resistive barrier behind the siding, not just wrap stapled flat against the sheathing.
- Factory-cut and field-cut edges sealed per manufacturer specification, especially at butt joints.
- Flashing integrated at every window, door, and penetration before the siding goes on, not caulked in after.
Every one of those steps takes longer than a shortcut version. That's part of why we quote fiber cement work the way we do — the material cost is only part of what you're paying for.
A Practical Cost Comparison
| Factor | Vinyl | Engineered Wood | James Hardie Fiber Cement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upfront material cost | Lowest | Mid | Mid-to-higher |
| Repaint/refinish cycle | Never repainted (but fades) | Every 8-12 years typically | Rare with ColorPlus; field-painted versions follow normal repaint cycles |
| Fire resistance | Combustible | Combustible | Non-combustible |
| Moisture-driven failure risk | Low (but can trap moisture behind) | Moderate if edges aren't sealed | Low when installed to spec |
| Typical warranty structure | Prorated after early years | Prorated, varies by manufacturer | Long-term, non-prorated on ColorPlus finish |
The lowest number on day one isn't always the lowest number over 20 years, especially in a climate that doesn't give siding much of a break.
Where Homeowners Should Push Back on Us
We'd rather tell you this directly: fiber cement is heavier and more labor-intensive to install than vinyl or engineered wood, which is reflected in labor cost. It also has to be painted if you choose a non-ColorPlus option, and field-applied paint on fiber cement needs the same maintenance attention any painted exterior surface needs. If low upfront cost is the deciding factor for your project, we'll say so plainly rather than talk you out of your own budget.
Get a Straight Answer for Your Home
If you're weighing siding options for a home in Ferndale or anywhere else in Whatcom County, we're glad to walk your specific house, point out what we see in the existing siding, and explain what a Hardie installation would look like and cost for your situation. The estimate is free, there's no pressure attached to it, and we'll tell you honestly if your existing siding still has useful life left in it.