Fiber Cement Siding Replacement in Hyde Park

The Project

This Hyde Park home in the historic district had original cedar lap siding that was splitting and rotting at the joints. The homeowners wanted to preserve the historic look of the house but needed a material that would actually hold up to Central Texas weather. Any exterior work in the historic overlay required landmark commission approval.

What We Found

• Splitting and rot at every lap joint where water had been wicking into end grain
• Paint failure on the south wall from UV exposure
• Original cedar profile - 6-inch exposure lap siding that needed to be matched exactly
• Rotted window casings and corner boards that needed replacement

What We Did

We worked with the homeowners to get landmark commission approval for the material change, showing that James Hardie fiber cement could be installed in a 6-inch lap exposure that matched the original cedar profile exactly.

We removed the old cedar siding carefully, installed a weather-resistant barrier, and put up James Hardie fiber cement lap siding with a field-applied primer. The boards were cut to match the original reveal, and the corners and window casings were replaced with matching fiber cement trim.

Custom flashing was fabricated to match the cedar trim details that were original to the house, preserving the historic character while upgrading the material. The siding was painted on site with an exterior acrylic rated for Texas sun.

The Result

The project took four days. The home passed landmark commission review with no issues, and the new siding matches the original cedar profile so closely that neighbors can't tell the difference. The fiber cement carries a 30-year warranty and will hold paint for 12 to 15 years, compared to the cedar that was splitting after 8 years.