What SmartSide actually is
LP SmartSide is engineered wood: wood strands bonded with resin into boards and panels, then given an embossed grain on the face. It comes either primed, ready for paint, or prefinished in a set of factory colors. Once it is up and painted, it reads as wood siding from the street, which is the whole point.
Homeowners usually come to it for one of three reasons. They want a color that vinyl does not come in. They want deeper shadow lines and a heavier board than vinyl gives. Or they are matching an existing wood-sided house, addition or garage and want the new work to look like it belongs.
Where it fits on a house
| Product | How we use it |
|---|---|
| Lap siding | Horizontal boards for the main walls. The traditional look for older homes and farmhouse-style builds. |
| Panel siding | Large sheets for board-and-batten walls, gable ends, dormers and the upper walls you see in our photo above. |
| Trim and fascia | Corner boards, window and door casings and fascia in the same material, so the whole wall paints as one. |
| Soffit | Solid or vented soffit to close in the underside of the eaves. |
Mixing is an option. Vinyl can cover the main walls while SmartSide goes on a front gable or a porch wall, where a painted finish makes the biggest difference. Here is how we handle vinyl siding, the other half of that combination.
Why the installation matters more than the board
Engineered wood behaves well as long as its edges stay sealed and water is kept moving off it. Nearly every problem people have with wood-based siding traces back to how it was put up: cut ends left raw, boards run tight against the roof shingles, no gap at trim joints, or nails set too deep through the face.
So we treat the details as the job. Walls get wrapped first. Cut ends get sealed. Boards stop short of the roofline where a wall meets a roof, so they are not sitting in the water that comes down the shingles. Joints get the spacing the manufacturer calls for, and every nail head sits flush, not buried. It takes longer than slapping boards up, and it is the reason the siding holds its paint.
Paint is part of the plan. Primed SmartSide needs a quality exterior paint soon after it goes up. Prefinished boards arrive with color on them. We talk through which one makes sense for your house, your color, and your HOA at the estimate.
Before you pick a color
If you live in a subdivision with an architectural committee, get the color approved first. In Greenwood, the city asks for written confirmation that the committee was notified before it issues a permit for exterior work in a subdivision, and siding needs a permit there only when the structure changes. In Indianapolis, siding by a contractor listed with the city is exempt from permitting. We bring samples so you have something real to show the committee.
SmartSide questions
No. It is a strand-based engineered wood product made with a resin binder and a treated face, not the old hardboard that swelled when it got wet. It still needs to be installed and painted correctly, which is where we focus.
Yes. An upper wall or gable is a natural place for it, and it is easy to add while we are already there for a roof or a vinyl re-side.
Generally, yes, once paint is counted. We price both on the same estimate so you can compare the whole house, or a mix, side by side.