We used it. Wanted something a bit fire resistant and hail resistant. Vinyl fades and melts in grass fires. Hardiboard gets broken by hail. Steel gets dented. Wood burns and needs paint. We love our smart side. Got it in blue with white trim.

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Awesome! Thank you so much for sharing your experience! Did you use the smart side products for the trim as well? Sounds like a beautiful combo!

We did. Our contractor did a great job and gives out our address to show his exterior remodeling work. We used the blue shingle texture in the gable ends separated from the same color blue woodgrain on the lower level by white trim. Did a good job breaking up large areas of siding on the gable ends. I'll try to find pics.

Thank you! That would be great! I just can't decide if I want woodgrain trim or smooth.

JDS - Can you repost your comment? I am only saw half of it and am interested in what you had to contribute. Thank you!

Check out the prefinished colors for your region. They are prefinished in a controlled environment and it comes with a fade warranty. I found out my local supplier had a specific color palette and there were some pretty nice ones available.

I didn't go the Hardie route as several contractors said they have complaints on the dark prefinished colors fading (although they have a warranty), you have more seams and the texture looks like vinyl where the LP has a deep wood grain look.

Thank you for the feedback! We do like the deep wood grain look of the LP Smart Side. Unfortunately, I don't love the look of wood grain trim and think I will go against the grain (pun intended) and do a smooth trim. Thinking of using miratec or azek for the smooth trim.

I can not stand fake looking materials. Why using them?

LP does make a smooth product that I have considered using. However, the smooth LP siding is a fiber substrate instead of a strand substrate material. I heard from one supplier that the strand substrate is more durable. I haven't been able to find much online about it and I really don't know the difference between strand and fiber substrates.

Sorry, prefinished at the prefinishers factory.

The maintenance of wood in the upper midwest is quite extraordinary.

I rarely see traditional wood products on houses except stained cedar shingles and lodge style homes.

Its tough to apply context to some comments without knowing zone or location.

I can not stand fake looking materials. Why using them?

I agree with you whaas about your comment regarding zone and location. I feel the comment above was uncalled for.

And on the Gulf coast in FL it's a maintenance headache to upkeep wood, including having to deal with termites and moisture problems. Most people here either do stucco or Hardie.

JDS, are there any particular manufacturers you recommend for double dipped/pressure treated shingles?

My choice to go with a alternative product is due to the expansion and contraction of wood products. The wood will split and the paint will start to separate. The upkeep on the first house I lived in was a nightmare.

Do you not see this on your northern projects?

I definitely don't have alot of experience with exterior siding but I can tell you working in a paint store for 10 years the #1 pain point was wood siding next to wood decks.

But I do understand that the power of trends is difficult to resist whether it be to stick with tradition or to depart from it.

Such a true statement!

Thank you so much for the information and feedback JDS. I have found that a lot of suppliers do not stock the smooth LP. I actually only found out about it from finding it at Menards of all places. We will be having the entire exterior of the house painted in the spring, so we will not be using any pre-finished material. Have you ever used the smooth LP (I am thinking probably not due to your preferences and client preferences)? I am having a hard time finding examples of houses with it. Thank you! And by the way, we are in Michigan.

first post, you will be hearing more from me as i have a house i want to build in 3 years ! This is a pic of my childhood home with cedar shake shigles, nothing beats them, this is an example of natural siding.........

Can anyone give any advice on trim size? I am trying to decide what size to use for window/door trim, outer and inner corner trim, frieze and starter board, and fascia. The house is a 2200 square foot ranch. I would say we are doing a "coastal craftsman with a touch of transitional elements." Large windows and doors - most windows are 6 foot tall and 6-9 feet wide. We have two sliding french doors that are 118" wide. All doors are 8 foot tall. The siding will be mainly 8" plank with a 6 7/8" reveal. We are doing this trim style:

Thank you!!!

Here is the house exterior (digital rendering, not exactly everything we will be doing - we want a bit chunkier trim, square posts, ledgestone):

Definitely not on the coast. This is just the digital rendering of our unmodified plans. Our builder suggested 6" trim around the windows and doors, but I am worried that will be too big and I can really find any good pictures of 6" window trim.

Here is what the builder recommended:

Window trim 1x6

Freeze boards 1x6 or 1x8

Starter 1x4 or 1x6

Inside corners 1x2

Outside corners 1x6 or 1x8

Here are the elevations:

Rear:

Note: header height was changed from 8'10" to 8'2" ...already done, so please no opinions about that :)

Lots here, but here are the points I am most interested in.

"If the band under the windows is a sub-sill that is good but if it is flat casing trim it will require special flashing to prevent water penetration. I've seen that mistake result in a major lawsuit."

I don't love the look of a sub-sill. I didn't know it served a purpose. Can you elaborate on this point? I was planning on doing flat casing like this:

<div><a href='https://www.houzz.com/photos/the-artisan-craftsman-exterior-phvw-vp~14566829'><img src='http://st.hzcdn.com/simgs/3a31985a03bf268a_3-6177/craftsman-exterior.jpg' border=0 width='320' height='212' /></a></div><div style='color:#444;'><small><a style='text-decoration:none;color:#444;' href='https://www.houzz.com/photos/craftsman-exterior-home-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_736~s_2116' >Craftsman Exterior</a> by <a style='text-decoration:none;color:#444;' href='http://www.houzz.com/professionals/home-builders/c/Evans-City--PA' >Evans City Home Builders</a> <a style='text-decoration:none;color:#444;' href='http://www.houzz.com/pro/brennanbuilders/brennan-builders-inc' >Brennan Builders Inc.</a></small></div>

Windows are already ordered and openings are already cut. Posts are changing. Doors will be bigger than pictured (8 foot) and wider (3'6"). Fake dormer has been removed. We aren't doing keystone head trim. I like the trim of the photo above. We will be using the stone (my husband really likes it). We will be using plank siding on the front of the house - shakes only on front and rear gables (cost reasons). We will be using inner and outer corner trim, as well as starter board and frieze board.

Thank you for all of your feedback!