By Tom Kraeutler for James Hardie | Updated Sep 16, 2020 7:18 PM

Every day, 365 days a year, I’m thinking about building products. With decades in the home building and remodeling industry, it’s just engrained in me. I could go to a friend’s house for an outdoor barbeque and end up analyzing the home’s roof, windows, and siding—all while casually answering questions from partygoers about how to fix floor squeaks, plumbing leaks, and any other project they have on their minds.

For construction and remodeling pros like myself, it’s second nature to evaluate home exteriors, especially the siding. I’ve seen them all, from rotted cedar shakes to cheap vinyl buckling from overexposure to the sun. That’s why I put a high value on siding that’s a proven winner: fiber cement siding.

If you’re a remodeling contractor or builder, you most likely have heard about or worked with siding, trim, or other products from James Hardie Building Products Inc. (After all, the leading manufacturer of fiber cement siding just celebrated a major milestone: installation on more than 8 million homes across America.) The company offers a diverse portfolio of lap and panel siding, shingle, trim, and soffit products in various textures, profiles, and colors, so customers have every option to personalize their home exteriors and enhance their curb appeal. This level of personalization in combination with the products’ tried-and-true durability and long-term value make for happy homeowners who are more likely provide you referrals.

However, you might not know that James Hardie siding products are more than good-looking and long-lasting. They are also Engineered for Climate®, which means they’re manufactured to stand up to the specific weather of the region in which they’re installed. Whether a home faces strong UV rays and high temperatures or snow and freezing conditions, the company has developed a siding product to stand up to those specific conditions as part of the HardieZone System.

With HardieZone System, you have the option of selecting fiber cement siding designed and engineered to meet the needs of your client’s unique weather environment. For example, HZ5® products are made for climates facing freezing temperatures, seasonal temperature variations, plus snow and ice. But, if your projects are in areas with hurricane-force winds, salty sea air on the coast or brutal, humid heat, you would choose HZ10® products instead. This capability allows you to dial in the perfect product for your customer’s location—ultimately delivering the best long-term performance and value.

Durability, diverse design options, and performance drive many consumers to request James Hardie siding products for their homes. (Not to mention the fact that these durable fiber cement products require fewer resources for replacement and help reduce overall homeowner maintenance and repair costs!) But the fact that fiber cement siding contributes to a healthier, more sustainable exterior is another definite hook for the environmentally-conscious consumer.

James Hardie sets high quality standards for the raw materials it uses in its products. At least 75 percent of its raw siding materials (including Portland cement, cellulose pulp, sand, and water) are sourced locally and are low in toxicity. The company’s nine manufacturing facilities support the regional economy and reduce the environmental impact caused by transporting materials.

Plus, the company’s Zero to Landfill Project focuses on reducing their landfill waste by half, delivering yet another “environmental win” that customers appreciate.

Sometimes durability is not enough to keep your exterior from looking its age. Even if it’s not rough around the edges, the siding’s color (or lack of color, in the case of sun-faded panels) can reveal its years.

Not so with James Hardie siding. Selecting products with its exclusive ColorPlus® Technology ensures a long-lasting exterior color by baking paint onto products in multiple coats. The finish is cured between coats in a controlled environment, creating a strong bond. This assures a quality, consistent finish and eliminates VOCs during exterior painting. It also speeds up your installation process since products arrive ready-to-install at the jobsite.

ColorPlus Technology also delivers an attractive, uniform color that lasts far longer than a typical paint job. And, with a 15-year limited warranty that covers paint and labor, protection against peeling, cracking and chipping, pros have the confidence of no callbacks.

In my 20 years as a professional home inspector, I’ve seen countless examples of products that just don’t stand up to the rigors of nature. When siding doesn’t stand up to Mother Nature, your curb appeal can suffer and, more importantly, the structural integrity of your home or garage can fail. That failure can occur rapidly once the water leaks past the exterior skin. Saturated wooden framing can lead to rot and insect infestation.

That’s why, when it came time to side the two-and-one-half car garage and shop that stands detached from our family’s 1886 historic home, I made the investment in James Hardie products.

I wanted a siding product that would complement the original cedar shingle siding on our family home. But, knowing the amount of work wood siding takes, I also needed a more durable solution that would not suck up my weekends maintaining it. The James Hardie selection of siding products provided the perfect compromise. My choice was so realistic that it matches my home’s original siding perfectly. More importantly, it’s withstood over a decade of wicked New Jersey weather thus far. And, thanks to the ColorPlus® technology, I haven’t had to touch a paintbrush!

As you recommend James Hardie products to your customers, do so with confidence—there are even more selling points than what we’ve already covered. Each adds strength to your product recommendation and brings you closer to winning a project.

• James Hardie fiber cement siding has a 30-year limited warranty and a 15-year limited warranty on their trim products. That’s years of guaranteed, carefree performance.

• With James Hardie, you’ve got options, which means your customers gain the best of all worlds: curb appeal, easy-care siding, and enhanced resale value.

• James Hardie holds the title of America’s most popular brand of siding, which makes a lot of sense. This company invented fiber cement siding more than 30 years ago and has invested for than $100 million in research and development—all to assure the product you recommend and install is the very best.

James Hardie also wins over professionals by offering resources to support builders and remodelers. Visit its for-the-pros site today, and you’ll discover the many tools available to help you sell—and install—America’s best brand of siding.

A version of this article first appeared on The Money Pit. This content has been brought to you by James Hardie. Its facts and opinions are those of BobVila.com.

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