We get asked fairly often why we don't offer vinyl, LP SmartSide, or other engineered wood options alongside James Hardie. The honest answer is that after years of tear-offs and re-siding jobs around Dunedin — from the older bungalows near Edgewater Drive to newer construction off Curlew Road — we've settled on one material because it's the one that consistently holds up to what this part of Pinellas County throws at a house: humid summers, salt-tinged air off St. Joseph Sound and the Gulf, sudden downpours, and the occasional direct hit from tropical weather. James Hardie fiber cement is what we stand behind, and this page is about that specific product line, not a general rundown of siding options.
Standardizing on one manufacturer also means our crews know the product inside and out — the fastening patterns, the caulking points, the clearances Hardie specifies for Florida installations — instead of switching techniques from job to job. That consistency is part of what you're paying for when you hire us.
This is the workhorse of most Dunedin re-sides — long horizontal boards in a range of widths and textures (smooth, cedarmill, beaded). It's what covers the bulk of a typical single-family home here, and it's engineered specifically for high-humidity, high-UV climates like ours under Hardie's HZ5 formulation for the Southeast.
A lot of the character homes in Dunedin's older neighborhoods use shingle-style siding on gables or dormers as an accent against lap siding below. HardieShingle gives us that staggered, individual-shingle look without the maintenance headache of actual wood shingles in a coastal climate. HardiePanel (vertical board-and-batten style) shows up on some of the newer coastal-modern builds going up near the water.
We pair the siding with HardieTrim boards around windows, doors, and corners so the whole envelope is fiber cement — not fiber cement siding with wood trim that rots out first and undermines the rest of the job within a few years.
ColorPlus isn't a marketing label for "pre-painted." It's a multi-coat color application, baked onto the board at the factory under controlled conditions before it ever reaches a job site. That matters in Florida specifically because field-applied paint on siding has to cure in whatever humidity and temperature we happen to have that week, and it's applied over a material that's already been exposed to the elements during shipping and installation. A factory-cured finish bonds more evenly and resists the fading that intense Gulf Coast UV causes to standard field paint within a few years.
Dunedin has a real range of house character — Scottish-heritage downtown charm, mid-century block homes, and newer builds with a coastal palette. ColorPlus offers a curated range from muted coastal neutrals to deeper tones that hold up without the chalking you'd see on a cheaper painted product after a couple of Florida summers. We'll walk you through swatches against your roofline, trim, and the surrounding streetscape rather than just handing you a color chip.
One of the real advantages of going with the brand-name product instead of a generic fiber cement is the warranty backing behind it. Here's how the pieces fit together:
| Coverage | What's Included | Length |
|---|---|---|
| HardiePlank/Panel/Shingle substrate | Cracking, rotting, or defects in the fiber cement itself | 30 years, non-prorated |
| ColorPlus finish | Fading, chipping, peeling of the factory-applied color coat | 15 years |
| HardieTrim boards | Substrate defects on trim products | 15–30 years depending on product |
| Alpine Exteriors labor/install warranty | Installation workmanship — flashing, fastening, sealing | Provided separately; ask us for current terms |
The manufacturer warranty is transferable to a new owner within a limited window if you sell the home, which is worth mentioning to buyers if you're planning to list in the next few years — a documented Hardie warranty is a selling point Dunedin buyers recognize.
Dunedin sits right on the water — the causeway to Honeymoon Island, the marina, the bayfront trail along the Pinellas Trail corridor all put homes within a mile or two of salt air even if they're not technically waterfront. Salt-laden moisture is hard on a lot of building materials over time. Fiber cement doesn't absorb moisture the way engineered wood products can, and it doesn't corrode the way some metal siding systems do in direct coastal exposure.
Wind-driven rain during a tropical system tests siding in a way that ordinary weather doesn't. James Hardie's boards are rated for high-wind zones, and when we install them we're following Hardie's Florida-specific fastening and clearance specs — not a generic install pattern pulled from a colder climate's spec sheet. That's a detail that matters more here than almost anywhere else we've worked.
Florida's warmth and moisture are exactly the conditions termites and wood rot like. Fiber cement removes that vulnerability entirely on the siding itself — one less thing to worry about on a house that's already dealing with everything else this climate demands.
We're occasionally asked to bid a job in vinyl or an engineered wood product because it's cheaper up front. We don't offer those, and it's worth explaining why in plain terms rather than dodging the question:
None of that is a knock on any specific brand — it's simply the standard we've decided to hold our own work to, and we'd rather turn down a job than install something we don't fully back.
A re-side in the historic downtown core, with its close-set bungalows and walkable charm, calls for a different approach than a re-side on a newer build out toward Alt 19 or in one of the golf-course communities. We take board width, reveal, and trim detailing into account so the finished house still reads as belonging to its street — not like a generic upgrade dropped onto an older frame. That's part of the estimate conversation, not an afterthought.
A typical Hardie re-side on a Dunedin home involves removing the old siding down to the sheathing, addressing any water damage or rot we find underneath (which is common on homes that have had moisture problems for years), installing a weather-resistant barrier, and then hanging the Hardie boards to the manufacturer's fastening and clearance specs. We handle the trim, caulking, and touch-up painting at cut edges as part of the job — small details that determine whether the finished product actually performs the way the warranty assumes it will.
If your home's current siding is showing cracking, soft spots, peeling paint that won't hold, or visible gaps at the seams, that's usually a sign it's time to start planning a replacement before minor issues become structural ones.
James Hardie has been manufacturing fiber cement siding for decades and is the largest fiber cement siding producer in North America, which matters practically — it means consistent product availability, an established network of contractors trained to their specs, and a manufacturer with enough scale to stand behind a 30-year warranty. Hardie also engineers regionally: their HardieZone system produces different formulations for different climates, and homes here are built to the HZ5 specification designed for the Southeast's humidity and heat rather than a one-size-fits-all national product.
If you're weighing a siding replacement or new install in Dunedin and want to talk specifically about James Hardie products, ColorPlus color options, or how the warranty applies to your situation, we're glad to walk the exterior with you and put together a free, no-pressure estimate — just fill out the form below.
Florida requires a state contractor license for exterior work like siding installation, and Alpine Exteriors holds RB29003900. A licensed contractor carries required insurance and is accountable to state licensing boards, while unlicensed work leaves homeowners with no recourse if something goes wrong.
We install James Hardie products exclusively and our crews are trained specifically on Hardie's fastening, clearance, and finishing specifications rather than generic siding methods. That specialization is part of why we don't diversify into other siding brands.
HZ5 is James Hardie's HardieZone formulation engineered for hot, humid climates like the Southeast, as opposed to formulations built for drier or colder regions. Homes in Dunedin should be sided with HZ5-rated product to get the performance the warranty is based on.
ColorPlus is designed to outlast standard field-applied paint significantly, and the finish itself carries its own 15-year warranty against fading and peeling. Most homeowners go many years longer than a traditionally painted exterior before any touch-up is needed, and that touch-up is typically limited to cut edges or scratches rather than the whole house.
Homes near St. Joseph Sound or the causeway deal with more sustained salt air exposure, which is harder on materials prone to corrosion or moisture absorption than it is on fiber cement. We factor in a home's specific exposure — waterfront, near-water, or further inland — when discussing installation details and expected long-term performance.