No matter where you live, the housing market has presented some challenges with selling a home. With construction slower than ever and so many unsold homes on the market, sellers are looking for a way to differentiate their homes. Whether you plan to sell your home or stay where you are, James Hardie’s maintenance free siding is a great way to add value to your home. Not only can fiber cement “Hardie Board” siding make your home more attractive to a buyer, it will give your home a whole new look. Even new homeowners who bought a short sale or foreclosed home will be interested in fixing up the property. Adding maintenance free siding and other outdoor improvements will have an immediate impact on curb appeal. Why are James Hardie fiber cement shingles considered “maintenance free siding?” There are many reasons why homeowners purchase James Hardie’s Hardie Board or Hardie Plank shingles instead of vinyl or wood. While many people might guess that vinyl is also maintenance free siding, it lacks the character and natural beauty of fiber cement. When an architect sits down to design a new home, he or she will often specify James Hardie maintenance free siding because of its structural strength and architectural beauty. It is also fire resistant, noise dampening and more textural than other types of siding. When you want to fully customize your home’s exterior, James Hardie siding offers the most flexibility with design and color. If your home is located in an area where extreme weather is the norm, James Hardie fiber cement shingles will stand up better to the seasons. It won’t fade, nor will it need to be repeatedly painted or repaired. Homes in higher elevations in Colorado are often covered in snow for a good portion of the year, and they regularly use maintenance free siding to avoid costly annual repairs. In fact, homes look just as beautiful in twenty years as the day when the siding was first installed. What makes maintenance free siding from James Hardie better than wood? While many cabin owners in Colorado still insist on wood siding, they soon learn just how vulnerable their home is to moisture and temperature changes. Mildew grows much faster on wood siding, and is often the main reason for premature wood rot. When temperatures rise and fall, wood siding expands and contracts, which can compromise a painted surface and cause paint to peel or crack. Rather than trying to keep up with the consistent repairs of wood siding, more and more Colorado homeowners are choosing maintenance free siding from James Hardie.