If you’re considering new siding for your Kansas City home, you may be torn between two popular options—beautiful, rustic cedar and lasting, low-maintenance fiber cement siding.
Choosing the right siding is important, and the material you select can impact your exterior’s strength, maintenance, and curb appeal for years to come.
We’ve created the following guide to compare the unique benefits and disadvantages of each siding material to make this difficult choice easier.
Material
Cedar Siding
Cedar siding is a natural wood siding made from red or white cedar trees. Compared to other types of natural wood, cedar is a more robust material and is sought after for its durability.
Fiber Cement Siding
Fiber cement siding is a durable manufactured material crafted from sand, cement, water, and cellulose fibers. James Hardie is the most popular fiber cement siding brand.
Appearance
Cedar Siding
Cedar siding is ideal for homeowners who want their exterior to embody a traditional, rustic look. These natural boards can be stained or painted to achieve a wide variety of shades, and they come in plenty of styles, like lap, shakes, or shingles, to customize your home’s appearance.
Fiber Cement Siding
While fiber cement siding can be used to create a clean, modern look, you can also fashion these boards to mimic the authentic appearance of wood siding. You can create dozens of styles with fiber cement, including shakes, clapboard, and board-and-batten.
You can have your fiber cement siding installed pre-primed for paint, or instead, invest in baked-on ColorPlus® Technology from James Hardie to enjoy a hassle-free installation, lasting color, and low-maintenance upkeep.
Durability
Cedar Siding
Cedar is highly vulnerable to damage from the elements, including snow, ice, wind, rain, and hail.
Additionally, since wood is a natural material, it’s prone to moisture penetration, which may cause your cedar siding to expand, buckle, or crack. This water damage can result in mold growth, rot, and structural damage.
Fiber Cement Siding
Unlike cedar, fiber cement siding deters moisture and rot and can withstand the effects of wind-driven rain, fluctuating temperatures, hail impacts, and powerful storms. When you install James Hardie siding, you can rely on the HardieZone® System to select product that are perfectly designed to combat the unique challenges of your climate.
Plus, this lasting material comes with a 30-year warranty, so you can rest assured that even in the event of unlikely damage, your investment is protected.
Maintenance
Cedar Siding
Wood siding requires recurring upkeep to stay in great shape. Homeowners must frequently check these boards for signs of wood rot and pest damage, in addition to staining and re-painting them every 3-5 years. If you’re looking for low-maintenance siding—cedar isn’t the best option.
Fiber Cement Siding
Since fiber cement resists damage from weather, moisture, pests, and fading, this siding option doesn’t require extensive maintenance. Just wash your cement boards with soapy water and a gentle brush and rinse with a garden hose once a year, and you’re good to go!
Eco-Friendliness
Cedar Siding
Cedar siding is a natural material, meaning it is biodegradable. Wood siding products will not stay in the landfill long enough to cause environmental damage, making them a safe choice for the environment.
Fiber Cement Siding
Fiber cement siding is made from sustainable materials that don’t emit toxins, like sand and cellulose fibers. Compared to synthetic siding materials, like vinyl, fiber cement is a much greener alternative.
Fire Protection
Cedar Siding
Cedar is natural wood and will quickly burn when exposed to a flame. You can treat wood siding with a chemical flame retardant, but it must be frequently reapplied to work correctly.
Additionally, retardants aren’t always used on other vulnerable parts of your home, like trim, shingles, and wood accessories, making your home susceptible to catching fire, anyway.
Fiber Cement Siding
Compared to wood, fiber cement is a much more reliable siding option for fire safety. Fiber cement is non-combustible and will not burn, melt, or contribute fuel to a fire. Specifically, Hardie siding has a Class A fire rating, and you can often receive insurance discounts due to its burn-resistant qualities.
Pest Resistance
Cedar Siding
Since cedar is natural wood, it’s attractive to termites, ants, beetles, and woodpeckers. These pests will burrow, drill, or eat holes through your siding, resulting in frustrating upkeep and potential pest infestations in your home.
Fiber Cement Siding
Unlike cedar, fiber cement is entirely unappealing to critters and is strong enough to withstand damage from drumming woodpeckers.
Price
Cedar Siding
Although cedar boards are expensive, the installation cost is usually less than fiber cement. However, the regular costs required to maintain cedar siding can accumulate quickly, making it more expensive than fiber cement in the long run.
Fiber Cement Siding
While fiber cement boards are less expensive than cedar, the cumbersome installation requires specialized techniques that are often pricier. However, once your fiber cement siding is installed, you’ll hardly have to worry about upkeep, so you’ll save money over time.
Install Lasting James Hardie Siding on Your Kansas City Home with StateLine Exteriors
If you’re leaning toward beautiful, strong, low-maintenance fiber cement for your siding replacement, you can be confident you’re making an investment that will last for decades. And our team is the most experienced Hardie fiber cement installer in the Kansas City area, so you can rest assured that your remodel will be done right.
Learn more about the benefits of James Hardie, North America’s #1 siding brand, to discover the unique qualities that set this product apart from its competitors.
