James Hardie

James Hardie was founded in Melbourne in 1888 and is the largest fibre cement manufacturer in the world. Fibre cement itself is a mix of portland cement, sand and cellulose fibre.

The HardieZone system splits North America into ten climate zones based on eight weather variables; Canada falls into HZ5. Boards for that zone use a substrate with additives bonded into the material for moisture resistance and dimensional stability, and HardiePlank HZ5 adds a sloped top edge with a bullnose drip edge to shed water away from the wall. ColorPlus Technology applies several coats of paint at the plant with curing after each one, so boards arrive finished and can go up year-round. The family includes HardiePlank lap siding, HardiePanel vertical panels, HardieShingle, HardieTrim, HardieSoffit and HardieBacker tile backer. Siding carries a 30-year non-prorated limited warranty, trim 15 years and the ColorPlus finish 15 years.