Siding in North Austin, Austin, TX (February 2025)

Why did this Austin home need new siding?

The original cladding had lost the fight with Central Texas weather. Years of 100°-plus summers and spring hail had left it faded, cupped, and letting moisture sneak behind it.

We recommended a full re-clad rather than a patch. Here's what drove that call:

• The old material showed swelling at seams near the ground line
• Cedar pollen and grime had settled deep into the worn texture
• Spot repairs would never match the aged panels around them
• A clean tear-off let us inspect the sheathing underneath

What makes James Hardie the right fit for this climate?

Fiber cement was an easy choice for this house, and the reasoning matters. Austin summers push surface temperatures well past what vinyl or wood can handle without moving. James Hardie fiber cement holds its shape through that heat, and it won't rot or feed the termites that thrive in our limestone-soil yards. We picked the Select Cedar Mill 8.25-inch profile because it gives that warm, wide cedar-grain look homeowners love — without the maintenance real wood demands every few years. The deeper 8.25-inch reveal also reads cleaner on a full-height wall than a narrower board would.

• Non-combustible board, a real plus in fire-aware neighborhoods
• Baked-on factory finish resists UV fade from relentless sun
• Withstands hail impacts that dent softer sidings
• Standard delivery routed through ABC Supply Co. Inc.

How did the window replacement come together?

We replaced the home's dated windows with Simonton Daylight Max vinyl units in a single coordinated push. This line maximizes glass area, so the rooms feel brighter without changing the opening size.

Each window ran up to 132 united inches, and every install started with a technician measure so the fit was exact:

• Openings sealed with OSI closed-cell spray foam to block air and moisture
• Perimeter finished with Sherwin-Williams Power House 60-year White Caulk
• OSI foam cleaner used to keep frames and trim tidy
• Old sashes and debris hauled out under a dump fee

What did the crew actually do on install day?

Everything landed on February 5, 2025. The crew tore off the failing siding, checked the exposed sheathing, then set the James Hardie boards and dropped in the Simonton windows in one clean sequence. Coordinating both trades on the same day mattered here — it kept the wall system open just long enough to flash and seal the window openings correctly before the new siding went over them. A common homeowner mistake is replacing windows and siding in separate projects, which leaves a seam that's hard to weatherproof later. Doing them together let us tie the Sherwin-Williams caulk line and the spray-foam seal into one continuous barrier.

What were the results?

The home came out of the day with a fully modern, low-maintenance exterior. The siding looks like real cedar and shrugs off the weather that wrecked the old panels.

• Tighter thermal envelope from foam-sealed window openings
• Brighter interiors thanks to the Daylight Max glass area
• A crisp, uniform facade with no mismatched patches
• Project closed out March 27, 2025