
Vendors
HardiePlank lap siding or LP SmartSide trim and siding: Which is best? Could the best choice for your application be something else entirely—like cedar, vinyl or another type of composite? Debates can be long and fierce. Here at Builders FirstSource in Michigan, where winters last too long and summers can be unpredictable, there is no debate because JamesHardie, LP SmartSide and all the other brands we carry rank among the best siding manufacturers in their fields. We believe in offering a full selection so that you can decide which siding is best for your job—new construction or remodel—and we can have it onsite and ready when you are.
Both JamesHardie and LP SmartSide are premium brands designed for tough climates like Michigan’s. However, they have very different approaches to creating house sidings that are as versatile, durable and strong as they are beautiful and able to complement any architectural style.
HardiPlank

HardiePlank lap siding is a masonry product. It’s made of fiber cement and comes with either a smooth texture, or a molded deep-grain wood texture. It’s noted for its noncombustibility and its resistance to warping, buckling, sagging or melting. Painstaking improvements and technological advancements have resulted in a wide selection of boards, shingles and trims that last through long, cold winters and resist the molds and mildews of humid summers. It’s also highly resistant to pests and insects. As a masonry product, it is heavier and requires professional installation and tools to prevent chipping or cracking
LP SmartSide
LP SmartSide trims and sidings are treated engineered wood products. Using wood strands as a base, LP SmartSide relies on a four-component SmartGuard manufacturing process incorporating zinc borate, adhesive resins, waxes and a resin-saturated overlay. The light yet high-performance boards are designed to stand up to extreme weather conditions like freeze-thaw cycles, heavy moisture, hail and other impacts, and even 200-mph wind gusts. They’re also resistant to pests, insects, rot and fungus. Boards are a generous 16 feet long, and boards, panels, shingles and trim all cut just like traditional wood with standard tools.
Both HardiePlank and LP SmartSide products come in deep woodgrain as well as smooth finishes, and both are more than equal to the challenges of Michigan weather, sun, wind and wear. Both can come prepainted from the factory in many colors, or pre-primed and ready to paint.
If you’d like a closer look at JamesHardie, for example, more specs on LP SmartSide products, or comparisons with other brands or siding materials, stop by your nearest Builders FirstSource location in Michigan. We’re in Alpena, Bad Axe, Cadillac, Caro, Fremont, Gaylord, Kalamazoo, Petoskey, Rudyard, Saginaw, St. Helen and Traverse City. No job is too large or too small, and our staff guides you from quote to completion. In Michigan, your siding has a real job to do—protect your home from the elements—and Builders FirstSource has all the materials you need to do that—including fiber cement and engineered wood.