Lynden Siding A Fair Look at LP SmartSide
LP SmartSide is a legitimate product, and we want to be upfront about that before explaining why we don't install it. It's an engineered wood siding made from strand board substrate treated with a proprietary process (LP calls it SmartGuard) that includes zinc borate to resist fungal decay and insects. It's lighter than fiber cement, easier to cut and nail, and holds up well to impact. For a lot of homeowners across the country, it performs fine for many years.
Our concern isn't that LP SmartSide is a bad product in general. It's that we've standardized our crews, our warranty, and our installation process around one material — James Hardie fiber cement — and we think that's the right call specifically for homes in Lynden and the rest of Whatcom County.
The Core Issue: It's Still Wood
Underneath the resin-saturated strand treatment, LP SmartSide is an engineered wood product. Wood-based siding, no matter how well treated, behaves fundamentally differently than fiber cement when moisture gets past the surface. The panels themselves resist rot reasonably well when the factory coating and treatment stay intact, but the vulnerable points are the field-cut edges, the seams between panels, and every place a fastener, corner trim, or joint interrupts that factory-sealed surface.
LP is explicit in its own installation requirements that cut ends, edges, and certain joints need field-applied sealant or approved primer/paint to maintain the manufacturer's treatment protection. That's not a one-time task — it's an ongoing maintenance obligation for the life of the siding. Miss a resealing cycle, and that's exactly where moisture finds its way into the strand substrate.
Why That Matters More Here Than Elsewhere
Whatcom County isn't a mild, dry climate where a missed caulking cycle is a minor risk. Lynden sits inland from Bellingham Bay and the Salish Sea, and homes here still deal with salt-laden marine air moving up the Nooksack valley, combined with driving rain off the Pacific and a moss season that can stretch from fall through spring. That combination — persistent moisture, shaded damp siding faces, and salt air accelerating corrosion at fasteners and trim — is close to a worst-case environment for any siding product whose water resistance depends on caulk joints and factory coatings staying perfectly maintained year after year.
We're not saying LP SmartSide fails in this climate. We're saying the margin for error is thin, and the maintenance burden falls on the homeowner for the full life of the product. If a seam opens up or a caulk line fails during our famously long wet stretch, moisture has a direct path into an engineered wood core, and by the time it shows on the surface, the damage is often already done underneath.
Warranty and Installation Sensitivity
LP SmartSide's warranty coverage is tied closely to installation being done exactly to spec — correct clearances, correct fastening, correct sealant at every cut edge and joint. That's true of most siding warranties to some degree, but the consequences of a small installation miss are more serious with an engineered wood product than with a non-combustible mineral-based one, because the failure mode (moisture intrusion into wood fiber) is less forgiving and harder to catch early.
We'd rather not put our name on installations where a single missed caulk joint, five or ten years down the road, can turn into a hidden moisture problem behind the wall. That's a real trade-off we've made a business decision around, not a claim that the product is defective.
Why We Install James Hardie Instead
James Hardie fiber cement is made from cement, sand, and cellulose fiber — there's no wood substrate to swell, rot, or feed fungal growth if moisture reaches it. It's non-combustible, which matters to a lot of homeowners regardless of climate. Hardie's HZ5 product formulation is engineered specifically for climates like ours — freeze-thaw cycles, sustained damp weather, and coastal-influenced moisture — rather than a one-size-fits-all national spec.
The ColorPlus factory finish is baked on and backed by its own finish warranty, so homeowners aren't relying on field-applied caulk and paint maintenance to keep the color and the substrate protected the way an engineered wood product requires. Hardie still needs correct flashing, proper gapping, and quality caulking at trim and penetrations — no siding product is installation-proof — but the base material itself isn't the thing that fails if a joint gets neglected for a season.
Add in a strong transferable warranty that follows the home to the next owner, and it's a product we can stand behind with a clear conscience for the specific conditions Lynden and Whatcom County throw at a house — moss, marine air, and months of driving rain.
What This Means for Your Project
If you're comparing siding options and LP SmartSide is on your list, we're happy to talk through the honest trade-offs in more detail, including cost differences and what installation and maintenance actually look like with each product. We only install James Hardie, so we won't quote or install LP SmartSide — but we'd rather tell you why upfront than let you find out the hard way after the fact.
If you'd like a free, no-pressure estimate on Hardie fiber cement siding for your Lynden home, fill out the form below and we'll walk you through what it would look like for your specific house.