Anacortes Siding If you've spent any time researching fiber cement siding, you've probably run across Cemplank. It's a real fiber cement product, it's been on the market for years, and it's sold through some of the same building supply channels as the brands we do install. Homeowners in Anacortes and around Skagit County sometimes ask us to quote it, usually because a bid from another contractor came in lower using Cemplank instead of James Hardie. We think that question deserves a straight answer, not a sales pitch, so here's why we standardized on Hardie and don't install Cemplank on homes we build or re-side.
What Cemplank Actually Is
Cemplank is a fiber cement siding product manufactured by Plycem, a company that also produces fiber cement under other regional brand names. Like all fiber cement siding, it's made from a mix of Portland cement, cellulose fiber, and sand, pressed and cured into planks, panels, and trim. On paper, the raw material science is similar to what you'll find in any fiber cement product on the market, including James Hardie's. Fiber cement as a category is a good choice for the Pacific Northwest — it doesn't rot, it resists pests, and it stands up to moisture far better than wood or engineered wood siding.
So this isn't a case of us saying fiber cement is the wrong material. It's the right material. Our concern with Cemplank specifically comes down to manufacturing consistency, factory finish quality, product line engineering for our climate, and the strength of the warranty and support structure standing behind the product once it's on a customer's wall.
Manufacturing Consistency and Quality Control
James Hardie is the largest fiber cement manufacturer in North America and has built its reputation specifically around dimensional consistency and tight quality control tolerances. That matters more than it might sound like on a spec sheet. Fiber cement plank that varies slightly in thickness or moisture content from batch to batch makes for a harder, less predictable install — more shimming, more caulking to hide inconsistent reveals, more callbacks down the road when panels don't sit flush.
Cemplank, as a smaller-volume product with a different manufacturing footprint, has historically shown more batch-to-batch variability in the field, particularly in edge finishing and panel flatness. For an installer, that translates into more labor and more judgment calls on-site to get a clean result. We'd rather not build that variability into a job when a more consistent alternative exists.
Why This Matters More in Skagit County
Anacortes sits right on the water, which means our homes take a steady diet of salt air, driving rain off the Strait, and a long, damp moss season that can run from October well into May. Any inconsistency in a fiber cement panel's factory sealing or edge treatment becomes a moisture entry point faster here than it would in a drier inland climate. We don't have the margin for shortcuts on a material that's supposed to be the long-term moisture barrier for a house.
Factory Finish: ColorPlus vs. Field-Applied Options
This is one of the biggest practical differences between the two products. James Hardie's ColorPlus Technology is a factory-applied, baked-on finish process that goes on before the plank ever leaves the plant, cured under controlled conditions with multiple coats and a clear topcoat. It carries its own dedicated finish warranty separate from the substrate warranty.
Cemplank is more commonly sold as a primed product, meant to be field-painted after installation, though pre-finished options exist in some markets. Field-applied paint depends entirely on the weather conditions on installation day, the skill and consistency of whoever is spraying or rolling it, and how well the crew manages dry time before the next rain. In a marine climate like ours, where it's not unusual to get a dry morning and a wet afternoon in the same day, field-finishing siding is a real scheduling and quality risk. A factory finish removes that variable entirely — the color and sealing quality is locked in before the truck even leaves the plant.
| Factor | Cemplank (Primed) | James Hardie (ColorPlus) |
|---|---|---|
| Finish applied | Typically field-painted after install | Factory-baked, multi-coat, before install |
| Weather dependency | High — paint quality tied to install-day conditions | None — finish is already cured |
| Repaint interval | Standard exterior paint cycle, often 7-10 years | ColorPlus finish warranty typically well beyond that |
| Color consistency panel-to-panel | Depends on painter's technique | Consistent, factory-controlled |
| Product engineering for climate | General-purpose formulation | Region-specific HZ formulations |
Climate-Engineered Product Lines
James Hardie manufactures different formulations of its fiber cement for different climate zones across the country — HZ5 for regions that see freeze-thaw cycling, HZ10 for hot, humid climates, and so on. The idea is that a siding product performing in Arizona and one performing on Puget Sound shouldn't necessarily be the exact same formulation, because the failure modes they need to resist are different. Western Washington's version is engineered around our specific combination of sustained moisture exposure, moderate freeze-thaw, and long wet seasons rather than extreme heat or extreme cold.
Cemplank doesn't offer that same degree of regional engineering choice. It's a solid general-purpose fiber cement product, but "general-purpose" is exactly the issue when you're installing on a home three blocks from the water in a county that gets over 30 inches of rain a year concentrated mostly between October and April.
Warranty Structure and What Stands Behind It
A siding warranty is only as good as the company standing behind it 15 or 20 years from now, and the clarity of what it actually covers. James Hardie offers a non-prorated limited warranty on the substrate (commonly in the 30-year range depending on product line) plus a separate ColorPlus finish warranty, and the company has a long track record of honoring claims and maintaining a large enough installer and distribution network that warranty service isn't a theoretical promise.
Cemplank's warranty coverage exists too, but it's a smaller company with a smaller installed base and less market presence in our region specifically. If something does need a warranty claim a decade or two down the line, we want our customers dealing with a manufacturer that's well-established here, has a dealer network nearby, and has a demonstrated history of standing behind its product at scale.
Installation Sensitivity
Fiber cement in general is less forgiving to install correctly than vinyl or wood — it requires proper fastener placement, correct clearances above grade and at roof lines, and careful joint treatment to keep water out. That's true across brands. Where we've found the difference is in how forgiving the product itself is of small installation variances, and how much manufacturer-backed installation guidance and crew training support exists.
James Hardie invests heavily in installer training, published installation guides specific to each product line, and a certified contractor network — we're able to install strictly to spec with a manufacturer's backing behind our workmanship. That level of documented installation support isn't matched to the same degree with Cemplank, which puts more of the long-term performance burden purely on the installing crew's judgment rather than on a well-documented system.
What Correct Fiber Cement Installation Requires, Regardless of Brand
- Minimum clearance (typically 6 inches) between the bottom of the siding and grade, deck surfaces, or roofing
- Proper fastener type, spacing, and penetration depth per the manufacturer's published specs
- Correctly flashed and caulked joints, window and door surrounds, and butt joints
- A drainage plane and weather-resistive barrier behind the siding, not direct-to-sheathing installation
- Factory-cut or properly sealed field cuts to prevent raw edge moisture absorption
- Attention to rainscreen or ventilation gap requirements in high-moisture coastal areas
Cost Difference: What You're Actually Paying For
We won't pretend Cemplank and similar off-brand fiber cement products aren't less expensive than James Hardie, material for material. That price gap is real, and it's the main reason some contractors offer it. But the price difference reflects the things covered above: a factory finish versus field-painting, climate-specific engineering versus general-purpose formulation, and a larger, more established warranty and support network versus a smaller one. When you spread that difference over a 30-plus-year siding investment, and weigh it against a house that sits in a wet, salt-exposed marine climate for its entire service life, we don't think it's the place to save money.
Where This Leaves Homeowners
If a contractor quotes you Cemplank at a lower price than Hardie, that's not automatically a red flag — it's a real product being sold honestly by a real manufacturer, and it may be a reasonable choice in some markets and climates. Our decision not to install it isn't a judgment on every homeowner who has it or every contractor who sells it. It's a standard we set for ourselves based on what we've seen perform reliably here in Anacortes and across Skagit County over the long haul, factoring in the salt air off the Strait, the driving rain, and the moss season that punishes anything with a weak finish or an inconsistent moisture seal.
We install James Hardie because it's non-combustible, backed by a strong transferable warranty, factory-finished with ColorPlus so the color and sealing quality never depend on installation-day weather, and engineered in climate-specific product lines that match what our region actually throws at a house. That's the standard we hold every job to, and it's why it's the only fiber cement brand we put our name behind.
If you're weighing siding options for a home in Anacortes or anywhere in Skagit County, we're happy to walk through what we'd recommend and why. Reach out for a free, no-pressure estimate using the form below.