Anacortes Siding What LP SmartSide Actually Is
LP SmartSide is an engineered wood siding product — strand or panel substrate made from wood fibers and resin, pressed and treated with a zinc borate-based preservative called SmartGuard, then primed at the factory. It's been on the market for decades and has a loyal following among builders who like working with it. We get asked about it often enough in Anacortes that it's worth a straight answer: we don't install it, and here's the actual reasoning, not a sales pitch against a competitor's product.
To be fair to LP, this isn't the OSB siding that gave engineered wood a bad name in the 1990s. The SmartGuard treatment and resin-saturated strands are a real improvement over that era's product, and LP stands behind it with a manufacturer warranty. Our decision isn't that LP SmartSide is defective — it's that, for the specific conditions homes face in Skagit County, we don't think it's the strongest choice, and we'd rather install one product very well than install several products adequately.
What LP SmartSide Gets Right
Before getting into why we pass on it, it deserves credit for what it does well:
- It's lighter and easier to cut and nail than fiber cement, which can speed up labor on some jobs.
- It holds paint well when properly primed and sealed, and takes a traditional wood-grain look that some homeowners prefer over fiber cement's texture options.
- It resists impact damage — hail, stray baseballs, ladder bumps — better than vinyl and comparably to fiber cement.
- It's generally less expensive than premium fiber cement siding, which matters on tight budgets.
If a homeowner has done their research and specifically wants LP SmartSide with full knowledge of its maintenance requirements, that's a legitimate choice. We just won't be the ones installing it, for reasons rooted in what happens after installation day, not on it.
Where It Runs Into Trouble in Anacortes's Climate
Anacortes sits right on Puget Sound and Fidalgo Bay, which means homes here deal with a combination that's harder on siding than most inland Washington towns: salt-laden air off the water, driving rain that hits siding sideways during winter storms, and a moss season that can run eight or nine months out of the year on shaded, north-facing walls. Any siding product's real test isn't the spec sheet — it's how it behaves after fifteen winters of that.
Engineered Wood Core and Moisture
LP SmartSide's core is still wood fiber, and wood fiber's fundamental weakness is what happens when moisture gets past the surface. The SmartGuard treatment protects against fungal decay reaching the strands, but it doesn't make the material waterproof — it makes it moisture-resistant, and resistance is only as good as the seal protecting it. If caulking at joints, seams, and penetrations fails or is never installed to spec, water can migrate behind the board or into a cut edge, and swelling or delamination can follow. In Skagit County's driving rain, wind-blown moisture finds every gap in a building envelope eventually — that's simply the region.
Cut Edges and Field Seams
Every LP SmartSide installation requires field-cut ends and edges to be primed or sealed with the manufacturer's approved sealant before installation, and any nail penetration, corner, or trim intersection is a potential entry point if that step is skipped or done imperfectly. Fiber cement has this exposure too at cut ends, but its core material doesn't react to moisture the way a wood-fiber substrate does — it doesn't swell or delaminate from water intrusion the same way. That difference in how the base material responds to a sealing failure, rather than whether a failure happens, is the crux of our concern.
Maintenance Burden Homeowners Don't Always Expect
LP SmartSide's factory primer is not a finish coat — it requires a homeowner-applied topcoat within a set window after installation, and then ongoing repainting on a cycle, typically every 5 to 8 years depending on exposure and color. On a marine-exposed elevation facing Fidalgo Bay or getting hit by prevailing southwest storms, that cycle often runs shorter. Homeowners considering LP SmartSide should go in with eyes open about what upkeep actually looks like:
- Inspect and re-caulk joints, seams, and trim intersections annually, especially after winter storm season.
- Repaint on the manufacturer-recommended cycle — skipping this doesn't just affect looks, it affects moisture protection.
- Watch shaded, north-facing walls and areas under tree cover for moss and algae growth, which holds moisture against the surface longer than direct sun exposure.
- Address any impact damage, chips, or exposed edges promptly rather than waiting for a scheduled repaint.
- Keep gutters and downspouts clear so runoff isn't sheeting down wall sections.
None of this is unreasonable maintenance for a wood-based product — it's what wood-based products need. But it's a real, recurring cost and time commitment that a lot of homeowners don't fully weigh against a product with a factory-baked finish that doesn't require repainting on the same schedule.
Warranty Fine Print Worth Reading
LP SmartSide's warranty is transferable and reasonably long-term on paper, but like most engineered wood warranties, coverage is conditioned on documented, timely maintenance — proper priming, sealing of cut edges, and repainting on schedule. If a claim arises from moisture damage and maintenance records don't show that cycle was followed, coverage can be reduced or denied. That's not unusual in the industry, but it does mean the warranty's real-world value depends heavily on how diligent the homeowner (or a future homeowner, after a sale) actually is about upkeep. We'd rather put a product on a home whose durability doesn't hinge on a maintenance log being kept for a decade.
LP SmartSide vs. James Hardie Fiber Cement
| Factor | LP SmartSide (Engineered Wood) | James Hardie (Fiber Cement) |
|---|---|---|
| Core material | Wood strand/fiber with resin, zinc borate treated | Cement, sand, and cellulose fiber — non-combustible |
| Factory finish | Primer only; topcoat required by homeowner | ColorPlus baked-on finish, ready to install |
| Repaint cycle | Typically 5-8 years, often sooner in marine exposure | 15+ years for ColorPlus finish under normal conditions |
| Moisture response | Can swell or delaminate if seal fails | Does not swell or rot; engineered for wet climates (HZ5) |
| Fire rating | Combustible, treated wood product | Non-combustible material |
| Warranty maintenance ties | Coverage tied to documented painting/sealing schedule | Coverage less dependent on repainting since finish is factory-applied |
| Upfront cost | Generally lower | Generally higher |
This isn't a case of one product being universally better — it's a case of two different maintenance philosophies. LP SmartSide asks the homeowner to actively protect the material over its life. Hardie's fiber cement core and factory finish are engineered to need less of that active protection to hold up in a wet, salt-air climate like ours.
Why We Standardized on James Hardie
We made a decision as a company to install only James Hardie fiber cement siding, and Anacortes's climate is a big part of why. Hardie's HZ5 product line is engineered specifically for climates with prolonged moisture exposure and freeze-thaw cycling — which describes Skagit County's fall and winter well. The cement-based core doesn't feed moss the way an organic or wood-based substrate can, doesn't swell when a caulk joint eventually fails, and isn't combustible. The ColorPlus factory finish means the color coat is baked on under controlled conditions rather than applied on-site and touched up in the field, and it carries its own finish warranty separate from the substrate warranty.
None of that makes fiber cement maintenance-free — it still needs periodic inspection, caulk touch-ups at joints, and eventually a repaint decades down the line. But the frequency and stakes of that maintenance are lower, and a missed year or two of upkeep is far less likely to translate into core damage. For a company that installs siding and then has to stand behind it, that gap in forgiveness matters.
Making the Right Call for Your Home
If you're set on LP SmartSide after weighing all this, we'd rather tell you honestly that it's not what we install than take the job and cut corners on a product we don't specialize in. Our crews know Hardie's fastening patterns, joint treatment, and manufacturer specs inside out because it's the only siding system we install — and that focus is what lets us back the work with confidence in a climate that doesn't forgive shortcuts.
If you're weighing LP SmartSide against James Hardie for a home in Anacortes or elsewhere in Skagit County, we're happy to walk your specific exposures — how much direct salt air, shade, and driving rain your walls actually see — and give you a straight answer about what we'd recommend. Reach out for a free, no-pressure estimate and we'll look at your home in person before you decide anything.