Before Phil Merrill went to work on the exterior of a 1940s home in Dover, New Hampshire, the paint was peeling and the worn cedar siding was dotted with rot issues.
“Water was definitely getting in behind some of the old cedar clapboards,” said Merrill, who owns Merrill’s Home Repair & Renovations in North Hampton, New Hampshire. “The homeowners also didn’t want to deal with painting anymore and ended up choosing to replace their siding.”
To start, Merrill ripped out all of the wood siding and repaired rot issues. He also hand-crafted brand new bow window frames from scratch, added copper accents, replaced windows, and outfitted the house with other custom touches that he personally created.
To complete the project, he recommended the homeowners select HardiePlank® lap siding and HardieTrim® boards with ColorPlus® Technology. The James Hardie products, he told them, offer low-maintenance benefits such as a baked-on color finish that resists chipping, peeling and cracking, and a siding formulation created to stand up to wet and freezing conditions.
The homeowners ended up choosing the Boothbay Blue color for their siding and the Arctic White color for the trim. The new color scheme made the transformation from their previously red-hued home even more stunning. The result, Merrill said, is a beautiful, low-maintenance exterior and a couple of extremely happy homeowners.
“When I redo someone’s house, I like to make it so they fall in love with that house again,” Merrill said. “I like people to come home at the end of the day, pull in their driveway, look at the house and smile … and just be happy and proud of their home.”
It’s not uncommon to hear stories like this one in the Northeast. Many homes in the region with old cedar siding need to be frequently painted and can be prone to rot issues, said David Elkas, James Hardie’s northern New England representative.
One of the most common complaints Elkas hears from homeowners with wood siding is that it requires too much maintenance. The harsh New England climate, with freezing winters, heavy winds and rain, takes its toll. Plus, cedar siding tends to be much more expensive than James Hardie® products.
“There was a time when wood was a very popular siding material in this region,” said David Elkas. “Now, many homeowners are choosing to replace their worn out wood siding with a more durable, low-maintenance building material that has much of the same aesthetic.”
James Hardie makes it easy to compare wood siding to the benefits of our fiber cement siding, especially when it comes to these six attributes.
If you're thinking about replacing your siding, download our Inspiration Guide, which shows the stunning possibilities for your home.
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