Custer One Product, One Reason: It Works Here
We get asked about this a lot, usually by homeowners comparing quotes. Most siding contractors install whatever the customer picks — vinyl, LP SmartSide, fiber cement, sometimes cedar. We don't. Custer Siding installs James Hardie fiber cement products exclusively, and we think you deserve to know exactly why before you hire anyone for a siding job in Whatcom County.
This isn't about brand loyalty or a manufacturer kickback. It's about what actually holds up on homes sitting between Puget Sound's salt air and the Cascade foothills' near-constant winter drizzle. Custer sees a specific combination of stresses: wind-driven rain off the water, salt exposure that accelerates corrosion and finish breakdown, and long stretches of gray, damp months where moss and mildew get a real foothold on anything with wood content or a porous surface. We stopped installing other products because we kept seeing the same climate-related problems show up five, ten, fifteen years down the road, and we didn't want our name on that outcome.
What We Ruled Out, and Why
To be fair, every product we don't install has legitimate strengths. Vinyl is inexpensive and low-maintenance in mild climates. LP SmartSide and primed wood products like cedar or spruce have a warmer, more traditional look that some homeowners genuinely prefer. Cemplank and Allura are also fiber cement, chemically similar to Hardie in composition.
- Vinyl siding expands and contracts significantly with temperature swings, and in driving coastal rain it relies heavily on perfect flashing and lap details to keep water from getting behind it. It's also combustible and tends to fade and chalk faster under UV and salt exposure than fiber cement.
- LP SmartSide is engineered wood — treated OSB, essentially. It performs well in drier climates, but engineered wood products are inherently more vulnerable to sustained moisture exposure than cement-based products, and Custer's rain season is long. Edge and cut-end sealing has to be perfect and stay perfect for the life of the siding.
- Primed spruce and cedar are beautiful and traditional, but they're wood. Wood needs a maintenance schedule — repainting, re-caulking, moisture checks — that most homeowners underestimate until moss and rot show up in the areas that don't get sun.
- Cemplank and Allura are close cousins to Hardie in material science, but we've standardized on one manufacturer, one installation system, and one warranty structure so our crews are experts in a single product rather than generalists across several.
Why Hardie Is the One We Trust
James Hardie fiber cement is a mix of cement, sand, and cellulose fiber, cured into a dense, stable board. It doesn't burn, it doesn't rot, and it doesn't feed insects. That matters in a region where damp, shaded exterior walls are the norm for months at a time.
A few specifics that matter for this climate:
- HZ5 and HZ10 product lines are engineered specifically for moisture- and moss-prone climates like ours, with formulations designed to resist the freeze-thaw cycling and sustained dampness common in Whatcom County.
- ColorPlus Technology is a factory-applied, baked-on finish, not a field-applied paint job. It resists fading and chalking far better than site-painted products, which matters when salt air is working against the finish year-round.
- Non-combustible material gives real peace of mind and can matter for insurance considerations.
- Warranty structure — Hardie backs its siding with a strong, transferable limited warranty when installed to their specifications, which adds real resale value on top of performance.
Installation Is Half the Product
Fiber cement only performs as well as its installation. Correct fastening patterns, proper clearance from grade and roofing, factory-caulked or properly sealed joints, and correct flashing at every penetration are what actually keep moisture out over 30-plus years. We install exclusively to Hardie's published specifications, which is part of why we don't split our crews' expertise across multiple siding systems. One product, done right, every time, beats five products done adequately.
The Honest Trade-Off
Hardie costs more upfront than vinyl and comparable to or more than engineered wood. It's heavier to work with and requires specific tools and cutting practices for safety and finish quality. We think that upfront cost is the honest price of a siding system that's genuinely built for salt air, driving rain, and a long moss season — not a compromise you'll be revisiting in a decade.
If you're planning a siding project in Custer or anywhere else in Whatcom County, we're happy to walk your home, talk through what we see, and give you a straightforward, no-pressure estimate — no obligation, just an honest look at what your house needs.
