Lynden Siding One product, one standard
We get asked this a lot: why does a siding contractor only install one brand? Most contractors will put up whatever the homeowner wants — vinyl, LP SmartSide, cedar, fiber cement, whatever's cheapest or whatever's in stock. We used to install a broader range of products too. We stopped. After years of tear-offs, warranty calls, and repeat visits to homes with moisture damage, rot, and failed finishes around Lynden, we made a decision: we install James Hardie fiber cement siding, and nothing else.
This isn't a sales pitch dressed up as an article. It's the reasoning, plainly stated, so you can judge it for yourself.
What Whatcom County siding is actually up against
Lynden sits inland from Bellingham Bay, but this is still a marine climate through and through. Homes here deal with a long, wet fall-through-spring stretch, driving rain that gets pushed sideways by wind off the Strait, salt-laden air carried in from Puget Sound, and a moss and algae season that can run most of the year on north-facing walls and anything shaded by trees. Siding here isn't just a design choice — it's a moisture-management system that has to hold up for decades, not just look good on installation day.
Wood-based products (cedar, primed spruce, and engineered wood like LP SmartSide) are organic materials at their core. They can perform well for a while, but they're fighting an uphill battle against constant moisture exposure. Vinyl doesn't rot, but it moves with temperature swings, can look flat or cheap up close, and isn't repairable in the way fiber cement is. We cover the specifics of each of those trade-offs on their own pages — this page is about what we chose instead.
Why fiber cement, specifically James Hardie
Fiber cement siding is made from cement, sand, and cellulose fibers, cured into a rigid board. It doesn't absorb water the way wood does, it doesn't expand and contract like vinyl, and it's non-combustible — a real consideration as wildfire smoke and ember risk become a bigger part of Pacific Northwest summers even outside fire-prone zones.
James Hardie isn't the only company making fiber cement (Cemplank and Allura also make it), but we standardized on Hardie specifically because of three things that hold up under scrutiny:
1. Climate-engineered product lines
James Hardie makes region-specific formulations under its HZ5® and HZ10® engineering designations, tuned for different moisture and temperature exposure profiles across the country. That's not marketing fluff — it affects how the board is formulated and how it performs in a wet, marine climate like ours versus, say, the arid Southwest.
2. ColorPlus Technology factory finish
Rather than field-painting siding after installation (which is where a lot of failures start — uneven coverage, poor adhesion, weather interrupting the job), Hardie's ColorPlus finish is baked on at the factory under controlled conditions. It resists fading and chipping better than field-applied paint, and it comes with its own finish warranty separate from the substrate warranty.
3. A warranty structure that's actually usable
Hardie's transferable limited warranty on the substrate, paired with the ColorPlus finish warranty, gives homeowners real protection — including if you sell the home within the warranty period. That transferability matters more than people expect when it comes time to sell.
The product lines we install
| Product | Typical use |
|---|---|
| HardiePlank lap siding | Traditional horizontal lap look, most common on Lynden homes |
| HardiePanel vertical siding | Board-and-batten and modern vertical applications |
| HardieShingle | Shingle-style accents and full shingle facades |
| HardieTrim | Corners, fascia, and trim detail work |
Installation is half the equation
Fiber cement's performance depends heavily on correct installation — proper clearances, flashing details, fastener patterns, and caulking that respects the material's specs. A great product installed wrong will still fail early, especially with the rain load we get here. Because we only install one system, our crews aren't relearning different manufacturers' specs from job to job — they install Hardie correctly, every time, because it's the only thing they do.
What this means for you
Standardizing on one product means we're not steering you toward whatever has the best margin that month. We're recommending the product we're willing to put our own reputation behind for the next 30-plus years of Whatcom County weather. If that's not the right fit for your budget or your project, we'll tell you honestly rather than substitute something else and call it equivalent.
If you're planning a siding project in Lynden or anywhere in Whatcom County, we're happy to walk your home, explain how Hardie would be detailed for your specific exposure, and give you a straightforward, no-pressure estimate.