Built for hail
Calgary sits in Hailstorm Alley. The August 2024 storm put a price on that: roughly $3.29 billion in insured damage, a lot of it siding. Hail that punches through vinyl tends to bounce off cement board.
What hail does to Calgary homesJAMES HARDIE
James Hardie Siding
Fibre cement handles the hail that wrecks vinyl. Installed to the manufacturer's spec, backed in writing.
The material
What fibre cement is, and why it suits Calgary
James Hardie siding is fibre cement: sand, cement and cellulose fibre pressed into a dense board. It hangs like wood plank and behaves like neither. In a hail city, the difference earns its keep.
It doesn't burn
Fibre cement is non-combustible. Hold a flame to vinyl and it melts. Hold one to cement board and not much happens. That is the material itself, not a coating that wears off.
Freeze-thaw stability
A chinook takes a wall from deep freeze to melting in a day, all winter long. Fibre cement holds its shape through the swings instead of going brittle in the cold like vinyl. Hardie builds board specifically for freezing climates.
Installation
Fibre cement is only as good as its install
Vinyl forgives a sloppy install for years. Hardie doesn't. That is the trade for a tougher board, and why your installer matters as much as the material.
Drive the fasteners too deep and the board cracks. Cut clearances short at grade or a roofline and the board sits in water. Skip the flashing behind a butt joint and the wall finds out in spring. None of it shows on day one. All of it shows eventually.
James Hardie publishes requirements for fastening, clearances, joints and sealant. Staying inside them keeps the manufacturer warranty intact. We install to that spec, photograph the work as we go, and stand behind it with our 15-year written workmanship warranty.
What installed-to-spec means
- Fasteners driven flush, never punched through
- Clearances kept at grade, decks and rooflines
- Flashing behind every butt joint
- Gaps and sealant where the manufacturer says, not where caulk is cheapest
Finish
The ColorPlus finish
ColorPlusFactory-baked colour. Manufacturer warranty applies.
Order Hardie primed and paint it on the wall, or order ColorPlus: colour baked onto the board at the factory in multiple cured coats, in conditions no Calgary job site can match. It resists fading and chipping longer than site-applied paint, and the colour matches from the first board to the last.
It costs more than primed board and a paint job. On most Hardie projects we quote, it earns the difference, because repainting a whole house is never a small bill.
Straight talk
The honest downsides
You should hear these from us now, not mid-project.
It costs more than vinyl
The material costs more and so does the labour to hang it right. If a Hardie quote lands near a vinyl quote, somebody cut a corner.
It's heavy
A plank of cement board weighs several times what vinyl does. The weight is part of why it survives hail, and why hanging it takes more hands and more care.
The install takes longer
Cement board gets cut with dust control and hung to tighter tolerances than vinyl, so expect more days on site. We tell you how many before anything starts.
Or go vinyl, honestly
If the budget says vinyl, that is not a consolation prize. It is the right call for plenty of Calgary homes. We lay out where it wins and where it falls short on our vinyl siding page.
Questions
James Hardie siding FAQs
How does James Hardie siding hold up to hail?
Better than most cladding. Fibre cement is a dense board, so hail that cracks or punctures vinyl usually leaves it alone. Nobody makes hail-proof siding, but it is one of the strongest choices in Hailstorm Alley.
How much more does Hardie cost than vinyl?
Noticeably more, for both material and labour. We do not publish a typical range for siding because the spread between houses is too wide to be useful. You get a written, itemized quote, and the number on the quote is the number on the invoice.
Do I have to repaint James Hardie siding?
Not for a long time. ColorPlus leaves the factory with a baked-on finish that outlasts site-applied paint, and the manufacturer warranty applies to it. Primed board follows a normal repaint cycle. Maintenance is a rinse and the odd check of the sealant.
What warranty comes with a Hardie install?
Two separate ones. The James Hardie manufacturer warranty covers the product. Our 15-year written workmanship warranty covers the installation, in plain language, on our warranty page.
Free estimate
Get your Hardie quote. In writing.
Tell us about your walls. You'll have an answer within one business day.
Prefer to talk? Mon–Fri, 8–5(403) 460-9394
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