Fibre cement siding installed to the manufacturer's spec. Fixed written price after an on-site measure.
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Fibre cement is what most homeowners here choose when they intend to keep the house. It is non-combustible, it takes a hailstone far better than a vinyl panel, and it holds its colour under Alberta sun exposure rather than going chalky. You will hear it called three things — Hardie, Hardie board, and fibre cement siding, sometimes spelled fiber cement. They are the same material.
It is not the right answer on every house, and we would rather say so before the measure than after. It costs more than vinyl, and most of that gap is labour rather than material. It is heavy, it needs specific blades and dust control, and it generally takes two people on a wall where vinyl takes one. If the binding constraint this year is budget, or you are selling inside a couple of years, vinyl installed properly is a legitimate exterior and we install that too. If you are weighing the two, we wrote the honest comparison in Hardie board vs vinyl siding.
If the budget points the other way, that is a legitimate answer and we will say so on site. Our vinyl siding installation page sets out where vinyl holds up here and where it does not, so you can compare the two on the same house rather than on a brochure.
The question worth asking is not which material is better. It is how long you plan to own the house. Fibre cement costs more up front and buys a longer interval before you think about your walls again. On a house you are keeping, that trade usually works. On a house you are selling, it usually does not.
Not sure which profile suits your house?
The profiles
Hardie is not one product. The profile you choose changes the look of the house more than the colour does, and it changes the labour more than most homeowners expect.
Horizontal boards, the profile most people picture. The exposure — how much of each board shows — is yours to choose, and it matters: a narrower exposure means more rows, more fasteners and more hours on the same wall. Deeper shadow line than vinyl at any exposure.
Large sheets running up the wall rather than across it. Reads as modern, and it suits tall elevations and gable ends where horizontal rows would look busy. Fewer joints on a big wall, and the joints it does have need flashing done properly.
Shingle-look panels for gables, dormers and feature walls. Rarely the whole house. Used well, it breaks up a large elevation and stops a big rectangle reading as a big rectangle.
Vertical panel with battens applied over the joints. A farmhouse look that has been popular here for several years now. The batten spacing is a design decision, not a default, and it is worth deciding before anything is ordered.
Window and door surrounds, outside corners, frieze and band board. This is where a job either looks finished or looks approximate. It is also the first place a cheaper quote quietly saves money, by putting a different material against your fibre cement.
You do not have to use one profile everywhere. Lap on the main elevations with board-and-batten on the gables is a common and sensible combination — as long as it is planned before anything is ordered rather than decided halfway through.
Ready to price your project?
The job
Most homeowners have never had their walls off. Here is what the next couple of weeks look like.
On-site measure
We walk the exterior, measure the wall area, look at the condition of what is there now, and check access — how tight the lot is, how tall the walls are, whether there is a walkout at the back. Soffit, fascia and eavestroughs get looked at in the same visit, because those decisions are cheaper made together.
Fixed written quote
The scope spelled out line by line: profile and exposure, trim, tear-off, disposal, an allowance for sheathing repair with a stated rate beyond it, weather barrier, access and cleanup. What we quote is what you pay.
Tear-off
The old cladding comes off. Going over existing siding hides the sheathing and the weather barrier, which is exactly what needs looking at, so this is the step we do not skip.
Sheathing and weather barrier
With the wall open we check the sheathing. If we find rot, you get a photograph and the number before anything is covered up, at the rate already agreed in the quote. Then house wrap, seam tape and flashing at every penetration. This layer is what actually keeps water out of the wall — the siding is the part that takes the weather.
Installation
Boards, trim, corners and openings to the manufacturer’s fastener schedule and joint specification rather than to preference. Sealant where sealant belongs and not where it does not.
Cleanup and walk-through
Offcuts and packaging out, magnet sweep for fasteners across the yard and driveway, and a walk around the house with you before we call it done.
The quote
This is the most common place homeowners get caught out, so we would rather be blunt about it. If a quote you are comparing ours against is missing a line below, it is not a cheaper job — it is the same job with the uncertain parts left out of the number.
Included in a Roof Bros quote
Not included unless we agree it and write it in
If you want the longer version of what sits inside a quote and what actually drives the price, we wrote it out separately.
Want this quote written up for your house?
Alberta factor
Four things this climate does to a wall, and what fibre cement does about them.
Fibre cement can chip at the surface but rarely fails all the way through. Vinyl cracks or punctures on impact, and it does so more readily when it is cold. After a serious storm a vinyl elevation often needs whole sections replaced, while a fibre cement wall usually needs touch-up.
Fibre cement moves far less with temperature than vinyl does, so it is fastened solidly rather than hung loose. Vinyl has to be free to move, and vinyl nailed too tight buckles visibly after a few chinook seasons. What needs attention on fibre cement is the sealant at the joints, which is a maintenance item rather than a failure.
Vinyl stiffens as the temperature drops and becomes noticeably more brittle in a deep cold snap. Fibre cement does not change character the same way. It also should not be installed in conditions that compromise the sealant joints, which is why the working window here runs roughly May to October.
Fibre cement is coated rather than coloured through the body of the material. That is an advantage over time: a faded wall can be repainted and look new again, and a replaced board is painted to match. A replacement vinyl panel rarely matches a wall that has been fading since it went up.
FAQ
Two things worth reading before you commit to anything. What actually drives the price of a Hardie job in this market, line item by line item. And the honest comparison between fibre cement and vinyl, including where vinyl is the better answer.
This page covers one material in depth. For the full picture — materials side by side, process, and what a complete quote includes — see our siding services in Calgary and Airdrie.
This page covers one material in depth. For the full picture — materials side by side, process, and what a complete quote includes — see our siding services in Calgary and Airdrie.
Send us a few details and we’ll prepare an honest, tailored quote.