Utah’s Only Elite Preferred Installer Of James Hardie Siding

Why? Because We’re Not Afraid To Let Them Survey Our Clients

Many manufacturers offer Wasatch Front exterior home contractors certification levels based on their performance. Often, these designations mean little – but not always.

James Hardie is one of those manufacturers that level their product warranties based on their faith in the company that installed their siding. Only Elite Preferred Installers can pass on James Hardies’ top-level Lifetime Warranty.

Why?

Well, let’s first discuss what it takes to be a Preferred Installer for James Hardie.

James Hardie Preferred Installers

First, you need to use their siding, their nails, and their caulk on every installation.

Yes, James Hardie invented special nails for their fiber cement siding. They didn’t invent the caulk, but it’s the best in the business and guaranteed to last 45 years without drying or cracking.

Then, you have to install over 45,000 board feet of Hardie siding in a year.

You don’t have to use James Hardie trim, so most companies don’t bother.

Hardie trim is expensive, notoriously difficult to work with to get it right, and is much heavier than the inexpensive trim most installers use every day.

Preferred status is good enough for these installers, and they still get to say they did a Hardie installation, even while using the easier trim.

The problem is that the trim they do use can’t live up to James Hardie’s low-maintenance claim and needs annual maintenance, but that is rarely divulged to the homeowner.

The result is that, after seven years or so of no maintenance, the trim starts to fail and causes all kinds of exterior problems. Problems that aren’t covered by any warranty.

Elite Preferred Installers

As an Elite Preferred Installer of James Hardie siding, we have to use only James Hardie products. That means the vapor barrier, nails, siding, and trim all have to come from James Hardie.

The only exception is that metal trim can be substituted for the Hardie trim because it shares the low/no maintenance robustness of James Hardie siding.

We also have to meet the 45,000 board feet per year.

But the final requirement is why we are the only installer in Utah to achieve the Elite Preferred Installer status with James Hardie.

We have to allow James Hardie to survey every homeowner that had us install their siding. And that survey must show that at least 93% of those homeowners are willing to recommend us to friends, or we lose the status.

That is a GIGANTIC raising of the bar that few can achieve.

In fact, we know of at least two companies that could join us as Elite Preferred Installers, but they refuse to submit to the survey process.

Which is just fine by us. But probably not so fine for their customers.

Just Another Tuesday

While we are rightfully proud of earning the Elite Preferred Installer status from James Hardie, we know that its requirements didn’t push us one way or the other.

Doing things the right way, using the right materials, and gaining enough trust for a recommendation is just another Tuesday for us.