Cortez isn't like the rest of Manatee County, and any siding contractor who treats it like a generic coastal subdivision is going to get it wrong. This is a working fishing village on Sarasota Bay, with a historic district full of old net houses and cracker-style cottages sitting right next to newer builds put up to modern wind codes. The salt air off the water is constant, the humidity doesn't take a day off, and the houses here have to earn their keep against weather that's tougher than what you'd find a few miles inland in Bradenton. When you search for a "siding company near me" in Cortez, what you actually need is a crew that understands that difference — not just a name on a truck.
We're a local siding company, and this page is about exactly that: who we are, how we work, what our warranty actually covers, and what you can expect from the first phone call to the last piece of trim. We install one product line — James Hardie fiber cement siding — and we do it as our full-time trade, not a side offering tacked onto a roofing or handyman business.
Every company claims to be local. Here's what that should actually mean to you as a homeowner deciding who gets to work on your house.
Alpine Exteriors carries Florida license RB29003900. That license is tied to real accountability — it's not a number we picked to look official. When you hire a licensed contractor, you have recourse if something goes wrong, and you have a company that has to answer to the state, not just to your review left on Google. Ask any contractor for their license number before they set foot on your property. If they hesitate, that tells you something.
Cortez is a small place, and word travels fast here. A siding job that drags on for weeks with no communication, or a crew that never shows up on the day they promised, is the kind of thing that gets talked about at the fish market. We schedule realistically, we tell you up front if weather or material lead times are going to shift the timeline, and we don't disappear mid-project. That's not a marketing line — it's how we keep getting called back to this neighborhood.
We made a deliberate decision years ago to install one siding product, not five. We don't offer vinyl, we don't offer LP SmartSide, and we don't offer engineered wood siding of any kind. That's not because those products don't exist — it's because after years of doing this work on Gulf Coast homes, we don't think they hold up to our standard for a house that has to deal with salt air, humidity, and direct sun for decades.
Vinyl siding softens and warps in prolonged direct sun and can crack in a hard impact — a real risk during Florida's storm season. It also can't be painted to match if a color needs to change down the road; you're stuck with what you bought. Engineered wood and wood-composite products are more sensitive to moisture intrusion at seams and cut edges, which matters a great deal in a humid coastal environment where wind-driven rain finds every gap. We'd rather tell you honestly why we don't install these products than sell you something we don't believe belongs on a home a few blocks from the water.
Depending on the look you want and the style of your home, we work with HardiePlank lap siding (the most common choice, available in several exposure widths and textures), HardieShingle for a coastal cottage or shake look that fits right in with Cortez's historic character, and Hardie panel and trim products for accents, gables, and soffit areas. All of it is fiber cement — a mix of cellulose fiber, sand, and cement — engineered specifically for the kind of climate we live in.
Homeowners who've never gone through a full siding replacement usually want to know what actually happens, in order. Here's how we run a project.
We come out, look at the existing siding and substrate condition, take measurements, and talk through your options — colors, profiles, trim details. If we find rot, moisture damage, or framing issues hiding under the old siding, we tell you before we quote the job, not after we've already started tearing into your walls.
This step gets skipped by corner-cutting crews and it's the single biggest factor in how long siding actually lasts. We install a proper water-resistive barrier and flash all windows, doors, and penetrations correctly before a single piece of Hardie board goes up. In a place like Cortez, where wind-driven rain off the bay is a real and recurring event, this is where a siding job succeeds or fails — and it's invisible once the siding is on, which is exactly why it matters that you hire someone who won't rush it.
James Hardie publishes specific fastening patterns, clearances, and caulking requirements for their products, and those specs exist for a reason — they're what keeps the manufacturer warranty valid. We follow them exactly: correct nail placement and spacing, proper clearance from rooflines and grade, and factory-primed or ColorPlus finished boards installed to spec.
Once the siding, trim, and caulking are complete, we walk the property with you, point out anything you should know for maintenance, and clean up debris and packaging before we leave. You shouldn't be the one hauling scrap Hardie board to the curb.
Cortez sits directly on Sarasota Bay, with the open Gulf not far beyond that. That geography shapes everything about how siding performs here.
There are two separate warranties on a siding job, and homeowners deserve to understand both before they sign anything.
| Coverage | Who Backs It | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| James Hardie Product Warranty | James Hardie | Manufacturing defects in the siding material itself; ColorPlus finish warranty covers the factory finish separately from the substrate |
| Our Workmanship Warranty | Alpine Exteriors | Installation quality — flashing, fastening, sealant, and overall craftsmanship on the job we performed |
A manufacturer's product warranty means little if the installation behind it is flawed — most warranty claims that get denied are denied because of installation error, not a bad piece of siding. We stand behind our own labor separately from what James Hardie backs on their materials, and we'll walk you through exactly what's covered and for how long as part of your estimate, in writing.
Cortez is a small village, and we work throughout the surrounding communities on this stretch of the coast, including Bradenton Beach, Anna Maria Island, Holmes Beach, Palmetto, and greater Bradenton. If you're not sure whether your address falls inside our service radius, ask when you call — it's a quick answer, and we'd rather tell you plainly than waste your time.
Every home is different, and we're not going to throw out a number that doesn't reflect your actual house. But these are the real factors that move a siding estimate up or down.
| Factor | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Home size and number of stories | More square footage and taller walls mean more material and labor, plus added equipment for access |
| Current substrate condition | Rot or moisture damage found under old siding needs repair before new siding goes on |
| Siding profile chosen | HardieShingle and specialty trim details take more labor time than standard lap siding |
| Trim and architectural detail | Gables, dormers, and multiple corners and cutouts add installation time |
| Site access | Narrow historic-district lots or tight coastal setbacks can affect staging and equipment access |
Not sure if you're at the "get an estimate" stage yet? These are the signs worth a look:
If any of that sounds like your house, it's worth having someone take a real look rather than guessing. We offer free, no-pressure estimates for homeowners in and around Cortez — no obligation, just an honest assessment of what your home actually needs and what it would take to do it right with James Hardie siding. The form below is the easiest way to get that conversation started.
Most single-family homes take one to two weeks from start to finish, depending on size, trim detail, and weather. Storm season can add delays since we won't install siding correctly in heavy rain or high wind, so we build a little flexibility into every schedule.
Ask for their Florida license number, proof of insurance, whether they'll show you the moisture barrier and flashing details before covering them up, and exactly what their workmanship warranty covers versus what the manufacturer covers. A contractor who's confident in their work will answer all of that without hesitation.
Vinyl softens in direct sun over time and can crack on impact, which is a real concern during storm season, and it can't be repainted if you ever want to change the color. We'd rather install one product we trust for this climate than offer a cheaper option we can't fully stand behind.
HardiePlank is horizontal lap siding available in several widths and textures, and it's the most common choice for a clean, classic exterior. HardieShingle mimics a traditional shake or shingle look and fits well with the cottage and coastal-village character you see throughout Cortez's historic district.
It can, depending on where your property sits and whether it falls within the Cortez Fishing Village Historic District boundaries or a flood zone with specific elevation or material requirements. We check this during the estimate and handle the permitting details as part of the job.