Glenhaven Siding Homeowners in Glenhaven and across Whatcom County ask us fairly often why we don't carry Allura fiber cement siding. It's a legitimate question — Allura is a real fiber cement product, not a knockoff, and it competes directly with the brand we install on every job. This page explains our reasoning honestly, without exaggerating anything about a competitor's product.
What Allura Gets Right
Allura fiber cement siding is made from the same basic recipe as most fiber cement products: Portland cement, cellulose fiber, and sand, cured into a dense, stable board. It's non-combustible, resists rot better than wood-based siding, and holds paint or factory finish longer than vinyl. As a category, fiber cement is a sound choice for our climate, and Allura is a legitimate member of that category. We're not telling homeowners to avoid fiber cement — quite the opposite. Our objection is narrower than that.
Where the Trade-Offs Show Up
Our reservations about Allura come down to three practical things: regional engineering, factory finish depth, and warranty structure.
Climate-Specific Engineering
Glenhaven sits close enough to the water that salt air, driving rain off the Sound, and a long moss season are constant factors — not occasional weather events. Siding here needs to shed moisture at the lap joints, resist algae and moss growth on the face, and hold up to repeated wet-dry cycling for decades, not just survive a lab humidity test. James Hardie engineers separate product lines (their HZ5 line, for example) specifically for wetter, harsher climate zones like the Pacific Northwest. Allura does not offer that same tier of climate-zone-specific engineering in its lineup, which matters more here than it would in a dry inland market.
Factory Finish
Fiber cement siding lives or dies on its factory finish. A thin or inconsistent coating means more chalking, more color fade, and more repainting over the life of the siding — and repainting fiber cement is not a cheap or simple job once it's installed. ColorPlus, the factory finish system we install with, is baked on in multiple coats under controlled conditions and backed by its own dedicated finish warranty separate from the substrate warranty. Allura's finish options exist, but they don't carry the same layered warranty structure or the same track record of long-term color retention in wet coastal climates.
Warranty Transferability
Most homeowners don't stay in a house forever. A siding warranty that transfers cleanly to the next owner protects resale value; one with more restrictive transfer terms or shorter windows can become a negotiating headache at closing. This is a real, practical difference between products, and it's one more reason we standardized on a single system rather than installing whatever a homeowner happened to have seen advertised.
Why We Only Install One System
We made a deliberate choice years ago to install James Hardie fiber cement exclusively, rather than offering Allura, LP SmartSide, vinyl, Cemplank, primed spruce, or cedar as alternatives. That's not because every one of those products is bad — it's because stocking, detailing, flashing, and warranty-servicing one system well beats being mediocre across six. Our crews know Hardie's HZ product lines, ColorPlus finish requirements, and manufacturer-specified installation details cold, because it's the only thing they install, week after week, on homes dealing with the same salt air and moss exposure yours does.
Installed to spec, James Hardie fiber cement is non-combustible, holds its ColorPlus finish for years without repainting, and comes with a strong, transferable warranty that protects you and whoever buys the house after you. In a climate that punishes shortcuts — driving rain, salt air, and moss that doesn't take a season off — we'd rather install one product exceptionally well than several products adequately.
Table: Quick Comparison
| Factor | Allura | James Hardie (what we install) |
|---|---|---|
| Base material | Fiber cement | Fiber cement |
| Climate-specific engineering | General-purpose lines | HZ5 zone-engineered for wet/coastal climates |
| Factory finish | Available, less field history locally | ColorPlus, multi-coat, separate finish warranty |
| Warranty transfer | Varies, more restrictive | Transferable, longer track record |
If you're weighing siding options for a home in Glenhaven or elsewhere in Whatcom County, we're happy to walk through what we install, why, and how it holds up against our specific weather. Reach out for a free, no-pressure estimate — there's no obligation, just an honest look at your home and your options.