There are many threats to your home exterior in Colorado. The climate and the natural surroundings present challenges to home exterior maintenance and siding health. At Bellwether, we live and work in Colorado, and we personally understand these challenges—and how to beat them.
Moisture infiltration is a leading cause of siding damage in Colorado homes
Colorado is a dry climate—but that doesn’t mean that moisture infiltration doesn’t threaten Colorado home siding. Because of our heavy snows and ice storms, coupled with the baking sun, homes in Colorado are really vulnerable to moisture infiltration.
When it’s cold outside, many home siding products will contract. This allows rain, snow, or melting ice to seep into small gaps or cracks in the home siding. When the sun is out—which is more than 300 days in Colorado—the siding planks warm back up and expand, trapping in moisture, that’s heating up behind the cladding.
Moisture infiltration weakens many types of siding products, causing spongey materials and permanent physical damage to the home exterior. Unchecked, moisture infiltration can create bigger problems, such as mold and rot—and this can occur beyond the exterior cladding, affecting even the interior walls if not caught and treated.
Weather elements can also damage home siding in Colorado
Colorado has pretty extreme and unpredictable weather, and many of these climate elements threaten the integrity of Colorado home siding.
With quick changes in the weather come hail and ice storms, which may dent or crack many types of siding material. Many siding products—such as vinyl siding and wood siding—are extremely susceptible to weather damage, especially if they have been weakened by years of exposure to moisture and baking sun.
Mountain communities and homes in heavily wooded areas are threatened in high winds and could be damaged by falling branches and other airborne debris. And in these areas, the biggest risk for homes not hardened with fire resistant products: wild fire and smoke damage.
Colorado homeowners also need to consider pest invasion and damage caused by wildlife
Part of the joy of living in Colorado is being surrounded by nature—but this can also present a problem when it comes to maintaining Colorado home siding. Colorado is home to many birds and small rodents that are persistent in damaging siding by pecking, burrowing, and exploring exposed walls.
When siding is damaged from moisture, it is even more vulnerable to pest infiltration, including bugs ands small animals that can slip inside spongey or cracked siding.
The best way to safeguard against siding damage is to choose a high-quality fiber cement siding
We always recommend James Hardie fiber cement siding because it is the best way to prevent all of these types of damage to your Colorado home exterior.
Fiber cement siding is a genius combination of cement and cellulose fibers, firmly pressed in a factory-controlled setting to be impenetrable to moisture. It maintains its shape and position, never contracting and expanding, even in extreme temperatures, and it will never absorb moisture or shift to expose walls to snow, ice, and rain. It also is armor in the Colorado sunshine, which will not crack or peel neither the siding plank nor the color backed by James Hardie’s Color Plus technology.
James Hardie fiber cement siding is also a hardened shield against hail, wildlife, and other natural elements that threaten to damage other siding products. It will hold up in storms, against debris, and pesky animals, protected by a 30-year warranty.
And most importantly, James Hardie fiber cement siding has a grade-A fire rating, making it completely resistant to spark and flame, a crucial feature for protecting homes in Colorado’s high-risk wildfire areas.
Avoid common siding damage pitfalls by choosing James Hardie fiber cement siding
James Hardie fiber cement siding is the perfect siding product for homes in Colorado, safeguarding against all of the elements that make other siding products vulnerable after a few years. James Hardie fiber cement siding is designed to withstand all of Colorado’s natural challenges and will last a lifetime with little to no maintenance.
