Ferndale Siding What LP SmartSide Actually Is
LP SmartSide is an engineered wood siding product. At its core, it's strand-based wood — similar in concept to OSB sheathing — treated with zinc borate for insect and decay resistance, then saturated with resins and coated with a wax-based sealant before a factory primer or finish goes on. It comes in lap boards, panels, trim, and shakes, and it has become one of the most common siding products installed across the country because it's affordable, easy for crews to cut and nail, and it holds up reasonably well to impact from hail, sports equipment, or ladders leaning against a wall.
We get asked about it often, because it's a legitimate, widely-used product and homeowners see it priced lower than fiber cement. This page explains why, after installing and repairing siding in Ferndale and the rest of Whatcom County for years, we made the decision to stop installing it — not because it's a bad product in general, but because of how it performs specifically in our environment.
What LP SmartSide Gets Right
Fair is fair. LP SmartSide has real strengths, and we're not going to pretend otherwise:
- It's lighter than fiber cement, which can mean lower labor time on some installations.
- It cuts and nails like wood, so crews familiar with traditional wood siding adapt to it quickly.
- It resists denting and impact better than vinyl and better than some fiber cement in certain thicknesses.
- It's usually less expensive up front than James Hardie fiber cement, both in material cost and sometimes labor.
- LP backs it with an engineered wood warranty that, on paper, looks competitive.
If you live somewhere dry, with moderate rainfall and low humidity, a lot of these strengths hold up over the life of the siding. The problem is that Ferndale isn't that kind of place.
Why Whatcom County's Climate Changes the Equation
Ferndale sits close enough to the Salish Sea and the Nooksack delta that salt-laden air is a regular part of the weather here, on top of the driving rain that blows in sideways during fall and winter storms. Add in a moss season that can run from October through April in shaded, north-facing, or tree-covered lots, and you have a climate that is genuinely tough on any wood-based product, no matter how well-engineered.
Moisture and Wood-Based Substrates
LP SmartSide is still fundamentally a wood product. Its resin treatment and wax sealant are designed to resist moisture absorption, but that resistance depends entirely on every cut edge, seam, nail penetration, and joint being sealed correctly during installation and re-sealed as caulking ages. In a climate with occasional dry spells, a missed seal might not matter for years. In Whatcom County, where wood siding can stay damp for days after a driving rain event, any gap in that moisture barrier gets tested constantly rather than occasionally.
Salt Air and Fastener Wear
Salt air accelerates corrosion on fasteners and metal flashing details, and it also degrades caulk and sealant faster than inland climates. Since LP SmartSide's long-term performance leans so heavily on sealed edges and joints, faster sealant breakdown means a shorter effective service life before moisture starts finding its way into the substrate.
Moss, Shade, and Prolonged Dampness
A lot of Ferndale properties have mature trees, north-facing walls, or lots that stay shaded for a good part of the day. Those conditions are exactly what moss needs to establish, and moss holds moisture directly against the siding surface for extended periods. On fiber cement that's a cosmetic and maintenance issue. On a wood-based substrate, prolonged surface dampness is the one condition the product is most vulnerable to.
The Edge-Sealing Problem
This is the core installation issue with LP SmartSide, and it's worth explaining plainly rather than vaguely. Every time a board is cut on site — at corners, around windows and doors, at butt joints — that cut exposes the raw strand substrate underneath the factory treatment. Manufacturer instructions require field-applied sealant on every one of those cuts before installation. Skip one, and that single unsealed edge becomes the point where moisture gets in.
This isn't a defect in the product; it's a structural requirement of how it's built. But it puts a lot of the long-term performance in the hands of installation quality and ongoing homeowner maintenance — recaulking, repainting, and inspecting joints on a schedule — rather than in the material itself. In a climate that gives siding fewer dry weeks to fully cure and more wet weeks to find weaknesses, that's a maintenance burden we don't think most homeowners want to sign up for, and it's not one we want to be responsible for warrantying.
Warranty Reality Check
Warranty length looks similar on paper between engineered wood and fiber cement, but the conditions attached to that warranty matter as much as the number of years.
| Factor | LP SmartSide (engineered wood) | James Hardie fiber cement |
|---|---|---|
| Base material | Wood strand, resin-treated | Cement, sand, and cellulose fiber |
| Moisture vulnerability | Dependent on sealed edges and finish integrity | Non-combustible, dimensionally stable, does not swell or rot |
| Typical warranty | Multi-year limited warranty, often prorated, void if maintenance/sealing steps are skipped | Long-term limited warranty on the substrate; ColorPlus finish carries its own separate coverage |
| Maintenance to keep warranty valid | Ongoing recaulking, repainting/staining, edge inspection | Occasional washing; factory finish resists fading and does not require repainting on the same cycle |
| Fire rating | Wood-based, combustible | Non-combustible |
The detail that matters most in our climate is the maintenance requirement tied to warranty validity. If a homeowner falls behind on recaulking or refinishing an engineered wood product, and moisture gets into the substrate as a result, that's often treated as a maintenance failure rather than a covered defect. Given how much moss, rain, and salt air we deal with here, we think that's a real risk worth being upfront about.
Cost Over the Life of the Siding
Sticker price isn't the whole story. It's worth thinking about siding cost across the whole time you'll own the house, not just the invoice for installation.
| Cost factor | LP SmartSide | James Hardie |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront material/labor | Generally lower | Generally higher |
| Repainting/refinishing cycle | Typically needed on a recurring cycle | ColorPlus factory finish holds color far longer, reducing repaint frequency |
| Caulk and seam maintenance | Ongoing, climate-dependent | Minimal, since the material doesn't swell/shrink with moisture the same way |
| Risk of moisture damage in wet climates | Higher if maintenance lapses | Low — cement-based material isn't prone to rot |
| Resale/appraisal perception | Varies by market and buyer familiarity | Widely recognized as a premium, durable material |
When you add up the cost of periodic repainting and diligent recaulking over 20-30 years in a coastal, rainy county, the gap between the two products narrows a lot — and in some cases reverses.
What We Install Instead: James Hardie
We standardized on James Hardie fiber cement siding for every project we do, and it's a direct response to the climate issues above. Hardie's HZ10 product line is engineered specifically for climates like ours — cold, wet, and humid — with moisture and freeze-thaw performance built into the formulation rather than dependent on field sealing every cut edge.
A few reasons this matters for a Ferndale home specifically:
- Fiber cement doesn't swell, rot, or feed insects the way wood-based substrates can.
- It's non-combustible, which matters for insurance considerations and peace of mind.
- ColorPlus factory-applied finish is baked on under controlled conditions, so it resists the fading and wear that driving rain and salt air cause faster on field-painted surfaces.
- It holds up visually against moss and mildew growth better, and when moss does form, cleaning it doesn't compromise the substrate underneath.
- The warranty structure isn't dependent on a homeowner keeping up with a recaulking and repainting schedule to remain valid.
We're not saying Hardie is maintenance-free — no exterior siding is. But the maintenance it needs is lighter, and the consequences of missing a maintenance cycle are less severe than they are with a wood-based product in this climate.
What Ongoing Maintenance Actually Looks Like
To be concrete about the difference, here's what upkeep tends to look like for engineered wood siding in a climate like ours, versus what we tell Hardie customers to expect:
- Inspect caulked joints and cut edges annually — critical for wood-based siding; a quick visual check for Hardie.
- Repaint or restain on a recurring cycle — typically necessary for wood-based products; not required for ColorPlus-finished Hardie under normal conditions.
- Address moss and algae promptly — important for both products, but more urgent on wood-based substrates where trapped moisture can reach the core.
- Check flashing and fastener condition near salt-exposed elevations — relevant for any siding near the water, but the consequences are more serious when the substrate itself is moisture-sensitive.
- Keep gutters and downspouts clear — reduces water sheeting down walls during Whatcom County's heavier rain events, regardless of siding type.
Our Standard, and What It Means for Your Home
We don't install LP SmartSide, vinyl, Cemplank, Allura, primed spruce, or cedar. That's a deliberate standard, not a lack of familiarity with the alternatives — it comes from years of seeing how siding actually holds up on homes throughout Ferndale and the surrounding areas once the driving rain, salt air, and moss season have had a decade or two to work on it. James Hardie fiber cement is what we've found performs most consistently here, and it's the only product we stand behind with our own installation.
If you're comparing siding options for a home in Whatcom County, we're glad to walk through your specific situation — sun exposure, tree cover, proximity to the water, and your budget — and give you a straight answer about what will actually hold up. Reach out for a free, no-pressure estimate, and we'll take a look at your home in person before recommending anything.