Ferndale Siding Two Different Materials, Not Two Flavors of the Same Thing
When Ferndale homeowners start researching siding, they often assume James Hardie and LP SmartSide are two brands of the same product. They aren't. James Hardie is fiber cement — a blend of sand, cement, and cellulose fiber pressed and cured into a rigid board. LP SmartSide is engineered wood — strands of wood fiber bonded with resin, similar in concept to OSB sheathing, then coated and treated with a zinc borate additive to resist rot and insects. Both are marketed as upgrades over old-fashioned solid wood siding, and in fairness, both are. But they don't behave the same way once they're on a house, and in a climate like Whatcom County's — where salt air off the Strait of Georgia, driving winter rain, and a long moss season are simply part of owning a home — that difference matters more than the spec sheet suggests.
What LP SmartSide Actually Is
LP SmartSide has come a long way since the engineered wood siding failures of the 1990s that gave the category a bad name industry-wide. LP's current SmartSide products use a treated strand substrate and a factory primer, and the company backs them with a reasonable warranty. It's a legitimate product, and plenty of contractors install it well. Our concern isn't that LP SmartSide is a scam or a lemon — it's that it's still fundamentally a wood-based product, and wood-based products have a built-in vulnerability: any point where the strand core is exposed — a field cut, a fastener hole, a corner miter, a spot where caulk has failed — becomes an entry point for moisture. Once water gets into the strand core, it doesn't dry out the way solid lumber does, and swelling or delamination can follow.
Why That Matters More Here Than in Drier Climates
In Arizona or Colorado, an LP SmartSide installation with a few sealing shortcuts might go a decade without trouble simply because the siding spends most of the year bone dry. Ferndale doesn't offer that grace period. Whatcom County sees rain a large portion of the year, much of it wind-driven off the water, and the siding rarely gets a long enough dry stretch to fully purge any moisture that's worked its way in. That's not a knock on the product's engineering — it's just a mismatch between a wood-derived material and a marine climate that never really dries out.
What James Hardie Fiber Cement Actually Is
James Hardie's boards contain no wood strand core to swell, rot, or delaminate. The material is inert — cement and sand don't feed fungus, don't attract insects, and don't expand when they get wet the way wood fiber does. Hardie mills its boards in specific formulations for different climate zones, and the Pacific Northwest falls under Hardie's HZ5 engineering, which accounts for the freeze-thaw cycling and sustained moisture exposure common on this side of the Cascades. The factory finish, ColorPlus Technology, is baked on under controlled conditions and carries its own separate finish warranty, which is a meaningfully different proposition than field-applied paint on any siding material, wood-based or otherwise.
How Each Product Holds Up in Ferndale's Specific Climate
Driving Rain and Sustained Dampness
Ferndale's weather pattern isn't just "it rains a lot" — it's low-intensity rain over long stretches, often pushed sideways by wind, which drives moisture into every lap joint, corner, and butt seam on a house. Fiber cement doesn't care much; it sheds water and dries without structural consequence. Engineered wood siding depends entirely on the caulking, priming, and field-sealing being done correctly and staying intact for the life of the product. That's a maintenance obligation that falls on the homeowner for as long as they own the house.
Salt Air Off the Strait
Properties closer to Ferndale's western edge and the Strait of Georgia see a steady dose of salt-laden air. Salt is corrosive to fasteners and can accelerate the breakdown of finishes and sealants. Fiber cement's mineral composition isn't affected by salt exposure the way organic materials can be, and it doesn't give salt-laden moisture an organic substrate to soften over time.
Moss and Organic Growth
Whatcom County's moss season is long — shaded north-facing walls, tree-lined lots, and persistent dampness are a recipe for moss and algae growth on almost any exterior surface. No siding is moss-proof; it grows on roofs, fences, and decking too. But moss and mildew need organic material or a damp substrate to really take hold and cause damage, not just discoloration. On engineered wood siding, sustained moss coverage at a compromised seam can contribute to moisture retention against the strand core. On fiber cement, moss is a surface cosmetic issue that washes off without threatening the board underneath.
Cost and Value Comparison
| Factor | LP SmartSide | James Hardie Fiber Cement |
|---|---|---|
| Material cost | Generally lower upfront | Moderate to higher upfront |
| Core composition | Engineered wood strand, resin-bonded | Cement, sand, cellulose fiber (inert) |
| Fire behavior | Combustible (wood-based) | Non-combustible |
| Finish | Factory primed; typically field-painted | ColorPlus factory finish, baked-on, separately warrantied |
| Moisture sensitivity | Vulnerable at exposed cuts, seams, fastener holes | Not moisture-reactive; sheds water |
| Typical repaint cycle | Every 7-12 years depending on exposure | 15+ years with ColorPlus, longer with maintenance |
| Warranty structure | Manufacturer warranty, often prorated over time | Non-prorated limited warranty on the substrate; separate finish warranty on ColorPlus |
The upfront price gap is real, and we won't pretend otherwise. But the comparison shouldn't stop at the invoice. Factor in repainting labor, sealant maintenance, and the risk of moisture-related repair on the wood-based product, and the lifetime cost gap narrows considerably — sometimes it closes entirely.
Fire Safety
This one is straightforward. LP SmartSide is a wood-derived product; treated to resist rot and insects, but still combustible. James Hardie fiber cement is non-combustible. For homeowners in Whatcom County thinking about wildfire smoke and ember exposure during dry summer stretches, or simply wanting one less combustible material on the exterior of their home, this is a real, non-marketing difference between the two products.
Warranty: Read the Fine Print
Warranties on engineered wood siding often carry prorated coverage that declines in value over the years — the payout you'd actually receive for a failure at year 15 can be a fraction of the original claim value. James Hardie's warranty structure on the board itself is non-prorated for its full term, and the ColorPlus finish carries its own separate warranty for the factory-applied color. Warranties are also typically transferable to a subsequent homeowner within a set window, which can be a genuine selling point if you sell the house down the road. Whichever product a homeowner chooses, we'd encourage reading the actual warranty document, not the brochure summary — the difference between prorated and non-prorated coverage is where a lot of the real value gap lives.
What Ownership Actually Looks Like Over Time
- Inspect caulking and sealant joints annually on any wood-based siding, especially before the wet season
- Repaint or refinish wood-based siding on the manufacturer's recommended cycle, not just when it looks bad
- Keep gutters and downspouts clear so runoff doesn't sheet directly onto siding seams
- Trim back vegetation and tree cover that keeps north-facing walls persistently damp and shaded
- Rinse moss and algae growth off siding surfaces before it builds up thickly
- Check fastener heads and corner trim for signs of movement, corrosion, or gapping after storms
- Address any cracked, chipped, or delaminating siding immediately rather than waiting for the next paint cycle
Fiber cement shortens this list considerably — it still needs the gutters cleared and the occasional wash-down, but it removes the paint-cycle and seam-sealing obligations that come with any wood-based product.
Why We Only Install James Hardie
We don't install LP SmartSide, vinyl, or any of the other engineered or wood-based siding products, and we want to be upfront about why: we've made a standard for our own work, and it's fiber cement, installed correctly, every time. That's not a claim that every other product on the market is bad — LP SmartSide is a legitimate, engineered product with a real manufacturer warranty behind it, and it performs reasonably well in a lot of climates. Our decision comes down to what we're comfortable standing behind on a house that's going to face Ferndale's rain, salt air, and moss season for the next few decades. Fiber cement's inert composition, non-combustibility, factory finish, and non-prorated warranty structure line up with what we think a long-term exterior investment in this climate should look like. Specializing in one product also means our crews aren't switching install methods, flashing details, and fastening schedules from job to job — which is where a lot of siding problems, on any product, actually start.
Making the Right Call for Your Home
If you're weighing LP SmartSide against James Hardie for a Ferndale home, the honest framing is this: LP SmartSide can lower your upfront cost, but it asks you to stay on top of maintenance for as long as you own the house, and it carries more inherent risk in a climate that rarely lets siding fully dry out. James Hardie costs more to install but is engineered specifically for this kind of sustained wet, coastal exposure, and it asks far less of you afterward. Every house, budget, and homeowner's tolerance for maintenance is different, and we're happy to walk through the specifics of your project honestly rather than push a one-size-fits-all answer.
If you'd like a closer look at how this plays out on your own home, we're glad to come take a look and put together a free, no-pressure estimate — no obligation, just a straight answer about what your siding project would actually involve.