How To Maintain Hardie Board Siding In Edmonton
Good news! James Hardie siding doesn’t take a whole lot of maintenance.
As James Hardie siding reps covering Edmonton (and all of Alberta) for years, our owners have built a reputation as the hands down experts for all things “Hardie Board”.
One of the first questions any client asks us when they’re considering Hardie for their siding renovation is about ongoing maintenance. Everyone would really love to have a truly maintenance free exterior, but every siding product on the market requires at least a little bit of upkeep.
Luckily, James Hardie fiber cement siding requires very little work from your end to maintain its 30-year non-prorated warranty.
In this short article, we’ll give you a rundown of how to maintain your Hardie siding in Edmonton, and how to keep your house looking fresh and new for decades.
Cleaning Dirt From Hardie Board Siding In Edmonton
The most frequent maintenance for James Hardie siding is to simply clean it. Every couple of years, you’ll likely notice that dirt and dust have built up on the boards. This is inevitable, no matter where in the world you live!
The first step you should take when you notice that your Hardie needs a wash is to simply rinse it down with a garden hose. A light rinse with clean water will do the trick for most dirt and dust.
For stubborn or built up dirt and grime on Hardie, you might have to bust out a clean cloth or a soft bristle brush to help you clean. If you need to boost your cleaning power even more, a diluted solution of Dawn dish soap (or similar) will handle most dirt without any risk of damaging Hardie’s paint.
A little bit of cleaning every year or two is all you should need to keep your siding sparkling like the day it was installed.
Caulking Maintenance For Hardie Siding
One thing that many homeowners don’t realize about their new Hardie board is that there will be quite a bit of caulking. Everywhere that a piece of Hardie meets a trim board (most often occuring at corners and windows), we leave about a ⅛” gap and caulk.
We use QuadMax caulking manufactured by Lepage: a permanently flexible, UV-resistant colour matched caulking that’s warranted for 15 years. When it’s properly installed, QuadMax performs very well in Edmonton’s climate.
But eventually, any caulking material will fail. We recommend that you do a regular inspection of your caulking beads as part of your maintenance plan. Here’s a schedule that works for most homeowners in Edmonton:
About 1 year after your Hardie siding is first installed: If the siding was dirty or dusty when the installer first caulked it, the caulking bead might not have set properly. Inspecting the caulking at around the one-year mark will help you catch any immediate issues.
Check again after 5 and 10 years: If the caulking is installed right, it will last quite a while. Inspect it in springtime every 5 years just to make sure everything is holding up.
Ongoing inspections every 2 years: After your Hardie has been exposed to the elements for a decade, there’s a better chance that the caulking will start to show wear.
If you do notice that your caulking is starting to crack or separate, it’s a good idea to cut out the old caulking and apply new beads for the best long term results. This isn’t something that needs to be fixed immediately, but the sooner you get it taken care of the happier your house will be. And good news - the oldest Hardie installations in the city are more than 20 years old now and we aren’t getting many calls to replace caulking - so installed properly, you can expect yours to last a long time!
Repainting Your Hardie Board Siding
When you’re preparing to paint your Hardie Board siding, it’s the perfect time to re-apply the caulking too. Doing both tasks together saves time and ensures the best possible finish.
In Edmonton’s climate, you can expect Hardie’s ColorPlus factory finish to last a minimum of 15 years. But we’ve seen many ColorPlus installations still performing really well past the 15-year mark. The new generation of Hardie should easily last 20 years without needing to be repainted.
Because Edmonton is so far North, we (sadly) go months in the wintertime with very little UV exposure. Certainly it’s much less than they experience in Texas, where the intense heat and blazing sun put painted products through a torture test almost every day, year round!
With that said, eventually even Hardie’s paint will fade, and it will need a fresh coat. You don’t have to try to strip the original paint before repainting, or apply a new coat of primer. You can paint right over the original ColorPlus finish with a 100% acrylic exterior paint. Choose an “eggshell” or “satin” finish to get the best match to Hardie’s factory paint.
For stress-free Hardie Board siding installation in Edmonton, St. Albert, and Sherwood Park, contact Blue Jay Exterior Renovations at (780) 850-2602 for a free quote.