Lithia sits in the inland stretch of Hillsborough County — FishHawk Ranch, Starling, Fern Hill, and the older acreage lots further out along Lithia Pinecrest Road all fall inside our regular service loop. It's a different kind of neighborhood than the coastal parts of the Tampa Bay area: bigger lots, newer construction mixed with older homestead-style properties, and a lot of pride in how these houses look from the street. When a homeowner here calls about siding, it's usually one of two situations: the original builder-grade siding on a 15-to-20-year-old FishHawk home is failing, or an older place further out has wood or a first-generation siding product that's simply worn out. Either way, we walk the property, tell you honestly what we see, and explain what we'd do about it — no pressure, no scare tactics.
This page is about us and how we work: our process, what we install and why, our warranty, and what to actually expect if you hire us. If you're comparing siding companies in Lithia, this is the page that should answer your "who are these guys" questions.
Alpine Exteriors installs one siding product: James Hardie fiber cement. We don't offer vinyl, we don't offer LP SmartSide or other engineered wood panels, and we're not going to quote you three options and let you pick based on price alone. That's a deliberate business decision, not a lack of options.
Here's our reasoning, plainly stated: vinyl siding expands and contracts significantly in Florida heat, which over time can lead to buckling, warping, and gaps at seams — problems that show up worse on south- and west-facing walls that take direct sun most of the day. Engineered wood products carry moisture sensitivity that requires very precise installation and ongoing maintenance to avoid swelling or edge deterioration, especially in a climate as humid as ours. Fiber cement doesn't share those weaknesses. It holds paint longer, it doesn't warp in heat, and it stands up to wind-driven rain — which matters a lot in a county that sees real tropical weather every summer and fall. We'd rather install one product exceptionally well and stand behind it than stretch across several product lines and dilute our expertise on any of them.
We're a Florida-licensed contractor, license RB29003900, and every Hardie install we do is by crews who install this product routinely, not occasionally.
Homeowners generally want to know two things before they sign anything: what actually happens, and in what order. Here's our process:
We inspect the existing siding, the sheathing underneath where accessible, window and door flashing, and any trouble spots — corners, roof-wall intersections, areas near sprinkler heads or irrigation overspray, which is a common cause of premature siding wear in this area. We'll tell you if we find rot or water intrusion before we ever talk about new siding.
You get a detailed, itemized proposal: product, profile, color, trim details, and scope of tear-off if applicable. No verbal-only quotes.
James Hardie products are ordered pre-primed or factory-finished depending on the line you choose. We schedule delivery to land close to your start date so materials aren't sitting exposed to weather on-site longer than necessary.
Old siding comes off in sections, not all at once on a home left open to weather overnight during storm season — we sequence the job to limit how much of the house is exposed at any given time. Once sheathing is visible, we address any soft spots or water damage before anything new goes up. This step is where an honest contractor either does right by you or doesn't; we document what we find with photos.
A proper water-resistant barrier and correctly lapped flashing around every window, door, and penetration go in before a single piece of Hardie board is installed. This is the part of the job nobody sees once it's finished, and it's the part that actually determines whether the siding performs for the next 30 years.
Installed to James Hardie's published fastening and clearance specifications — proper nail pattern, correct ground clearance, correct gapping at butt joints. We don't cut corners on manufacturer spec because that's exactly what voids a warranty.
Trim boards, corner details, and caulking at penetrations, followed by finish paint if you selected primed material rather than a factory ColorPlus finish.
We walk the exterior with you, point out details, and answer questions before calling the job complete.
Two separate warranties apply to a James Hardie installation, and it's worth understanding both:
Manufacturer warranties on fiber cement are typically tied to installation following the manufacturer's specifications exactly, which is another reason we don't deviate from published install standards to save time on a job.
Lithia is our home base for this part of the county, and we regularly work throughout FishHawk Ranch, Fishhawk Trails, Starling at FishHawk, and the acreage properties along Lithia Pinecrest Road, Fort Lonesome Road, and out toward Balm and Pinecrest. We also serve the surrounding Hillsborough County communities — Bloomingdale, Riverview, Brandon, and Valrico — since a lot of siding work in this corridor follows similar house ages and construction types. If you're not sure whether your address falls in our normal range, ask — most of the time it does.
A typical single-family Lithia home runs anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks depending on square footage, trim complexity, and whether it's a full tear-off or a install over furring strips on masonry. We'll give you a realistic window up front, not an optimistic one, and we account for Florida's afternoon thunderstorm pattern in scheduling rather than pretending it won't happen. Expect some noise, a work vehicle in the driveway, and a job site kept reasonably tidy — debris and old siding get hauled off, not left in a pile at the curb for weeks.
After completion, we're a phone call away if something needs attention. That's part of why we keep our crews local rather than subcontracting out to whoever's available — accountability matters more to us than volume.
Being inland, Lithia doesn't take direct storm surge the way coastal Hillsborough does, but it absolutely takes the wind and the rain. Summer and fall bring frequent thunderstorms with sideways-driving rain, and tropical systems moving up from the Gulf or across the peninsula bring sustained wind loads that test every seam and fastener on a home's exterior. Fiber cement's density and dimensional stability hold up to that kind of repeated wind-rain cycling far better than lighter, more flexible siding materials. Combine that with Lithia's humidity — which never really lets up, even in winter — and you've got a climate where a siding material's resistance to moisture-driven swelling and rot matters more than in most parts of the country. James Hardie fiber cement is manufactured specifically with this kind of climate in mind, which is a large part of why it's the only product we put on a house.
Not every Hardie product fits every home. Part of our proposal process is helping you match the right profile to your house's style and your goals for the project.
| Product | Best For | Look |
|---|---|---|
| HardiePlank Lap Siding | Most traditional and FishHawk-style homes | Classic horizontal lap, smooth or cedar-textured |
| HardieShingle Siding | Accent gables, dormers, coastal-cottage styling | Staggered or straight-edge shingle profile |
| HardiePanel Vertical Siding | Modern facades, board-and-batten accents | Clean vertical lines, often paired with trim battens |
| HardieTrim Boards | Corners, window and door surrounds, fascia | Crisp, paintable trim that resists rot |
We don't publish flat pricing because every house is different, but the factors that move the number the most are consistent from job to job:
We itemize all of this in the proposal so you're not guessing where the number comes from.
Whether you go with us or someone else, these are the things worth confirming before signing a contract:
If a siding company can't answer these clearly, that's worth paying attention to.
If your Lithia home's siding is showing its age, or you're planning ahead for a project this year, we're happy to come take a look and give you an honest assessment — no pressure, no obligation. Reach out through the form below for a free estimate.
Most single-family homes in FishHawk Ranch or the surrounding area take anywhere from several days to about two weeks, depending on square footage, trim complexity, and whether we're doing a full tear-off. We build realistic timelines around Florida's afternoon storm pattern rather than ignoring it.
Confirm an active Florida contractor license through the DBPR, verify current liability insurance and workers' comp, and get a written itemized proposal rather than a verbal number. Also ask how the manufacturer warranty and the contractor's own workmanship warranty are separated, since they cover different things.
Vinyl expands and contracts significantly in Florida heat and can buckle or gap over time, especially on sun-exposed walls, while fiber cement holds its shape and paint far longer. We'd rather specialize in one product we can install and warranty confidently than offer several we install less often.
HardiePlank is a horizontal lap profile used for most of a home's main walls, giving a classic clean look. HardieShingle mimics a staggered or straight-edge shingle pattern and is often used as an accent on gables or dormers rather than the whole house.
Lithia doesn't take direct storm surge like the coast, but it still gets heavy wind-driven rain and sustained tropical-storm winds during hurricane season. That means proper flashing, weather barrier installation, and fastening to manufacturer spec matter just as much here as they do closer to the water.