Rated for hurricane-force wind
James Hardie rates and tests its products for high wind load. The number that matters is the one for your product, zone and fastening pattern, and it belongs on your written scope.
Siding is not decoration. It is the outer layer that takes water, wind and flying debris before the structure does. On Long Island that means nor'easters, blizzards, hail and the occasional hurricane remnant, several times a year.
Rated for hurricane-force wind and tested against simulated hail impact.
Elite Preferred is James Hardie’s top contractor designation. Every Good Guys installer is Hardie Alliance certified.
Nor'easter Wind-driven rain and debris, several times a year
Wind on its own rarely destroys a wall. What wind does is turn everything loose in the neighborhood into a projectile, and those arrive at the cladding with surprising force.
Hail is the other half. It is known to dent and crack vinyl siding outright. Fiber cement is denser and considerably more impact resistant, and James Hardie tests it against simulated hail impact as well as rating it for hurricane-force wind.
James Hardie rates and tests its products for high wind load. The number that matters is the one for your product, zone and fastening pattern, and it belongs on your written scope.
Denser than vinyl and considerably harder to dent or crack. Hail that marks vinyl often leaves fiber cement alone.
New York's HardieZone. Made for freeze-thaw cycling, wet winters and wind-driven rain rather than a national average.
A nor'easter drives water sideways into every joint and penetration. Flashing and clearance are what stop it, and both are install decisions.
It does not expand and contract with heat the way vinyl does, so joints stay tight and the wall keeps its weather line year after year.
A 30-year limited transferable product warranty from James Hardie, plus our own workmanship warranty on the install.
Wind performance is a function of fastener type, fastener spacing and pattern. James Hardie specifies all three, and a board fastened wrong will fail at a wind speed the product itself would have survived. None of it is visible once the job is finished.
That is why we are an Elite Preferred installer and why every crew member is Hardie Alliance certified. We have proven the craftsmanship, and we issue our own warranty for our work separate from the material warranty James Hardie offers.
Waterfront and shoreline homes take the worst of it. See the full project galleries.
Don't take our word for it. Look at the galleries and the testimonials.
James Hardie rates and tests its products to withstand hurricane-force winds, and tests them against simulated hail impact as well. The figure that matters for your house is the wind load for your specific product, zone and fastening pattern, and we will put that in writing on the scope rather than leaving it as an adjective.
Hail is known to dent and crack vinyl siding. Fiber cement is denser and considerably more impact resistant, and James Hardie tests it against simulated hail impact. No cladding is indestructible, but this is a meaningful difference in a hailstorm.
James Hardie engineers board by climate rather than selling one national product. New York sits in HardieZone HZ5, made for freeze-thaw cycling, wet winters and wind-driven rain. Ordering the wrong zone for the address is a quiet way to lose a warranty.
Entirely. Wind performance is a function of fastener type, fastener spacing and the pattern used, and those are specified by James Hardie for a reason. The best board on the wall underperforms if it is nailed wrong, and you cannot see the difference from the street.
The James Hardie material warranty is a 30-year limited transferable warranty on the product. Our workmanship warranty covers our installation and is separate. Storm damage itself is an insurance question, and having both warranties in writing makes that conversation considerably shorter.
We will scope the product, the zone and the fastening pattern for your house, and put the numbers on the estimate rather than leaving them as adjectives.