Confused between installing low-cost but plain vinyl siding or spending a fortune to redesign your current wood lap siding--is there a better solution?
One wonderful option is fiber-cement siding in Vancouver and the most prominent name in this field is James Hardie siding Vancouver.
What is Fiber Cement Siding?
A mix of cellulose fibers and cementitious elements, HardiePlank is fiber-cement siding that is available in long, horizontal strips, similar to wood lap siding. Hardie Plank is not to be muddled with HardiePanel, also manufactured by James Hardie Industries. Hardie Panel, also fiber-cement, is the tall, vertical version of Hardie Plank--it's 48 inches side by lengths varying from 96 inches to 120 inches.
HardiePlank is partially wood (the cellulose) and moderately mineral. Torn a piece and you will see inside a brittle core interweaved with wood fibers.
But the Hardie Plank's wood content does not affect its unique wood grain appearance. That is the outcome of a type of molding known as embossed texturing. Hardie Plank's embossing serves a couple of objectives. First, it does develop a sensible simulation of wood grain. Second and most prominently, it visually breaks up the flat surfaces and provides each board a comfortable look (James Hardie siding Vancouver does offer a smooth texture, too).
With other kinds of siding, particularly vinyl siding Vancouver, it's arguable whether you will be able to recover your primary investment when it comes time to sell the house. But fiber-cement siding, particularly Hardie Plank, does an unusually impressive job of returning project cost upon sale.
Hardie Plank is also considered to be fire resistant, but not fireproof. The precise definition: Hardie Plank does not back combustibles towards a fire. On the contrary, vinyl siding, made of petroleum, knowingly supports flames. Wood, clearly, is extremely combustible.
In regard to fire resistance, consider Hardie Plank a kind of neutral building material--not a flame feeder, but not as fireproof as cement-asbestos shingles.
