Is Hardie Siding woodpecker proof? You bet.

Most of the time when a homeowner calls for a siding consultation, they are dealing with an annoying maintenance issue: loose corners, siding falling off, paint peeling, that kind of thing. Other times, the homeowners are just tired of the way their home looks and want a fantastic boost in curb-appeal. This project was a little different: woodpeckers were attacking the walls!

This family lives on a naturally forested acreage south-west of Edmonton, and they routinely enjoy visits from local wildlife (one of our meetings was even interrupted by a cow moose and her calf grazing on some young trees). One of the most frequent visitors in recent years has been woodpeckers.

Woodpeckers are beautiful, perceptive, and intelligent birds. Woodpeckers are also extremely industrious, and will happily destroy your siding to get a little grub. The original siding on this house was cedar shakes. Cedar shakes were a perfect exterior choice for the style of home and the surroundings, but the gaps between each piece (known as keyways) were a perfect nesting ground for insects. The woodpeckers could hear the bugs underneath the thin layer of cedar, happily punched through with their powerful beaks to grab an easy meal. There were hundreds of woodpecker holes in the siding, on every wall of the home.

When they reached out, the homeowners were at their wits’ end. They loved the look of their cedar shakes, but had tried all kinds of home remedies to deter the woodpeckers with limited results. Ultimately, they decided to look into new, more resilient siding.

At our first meeting, it was obvious that they had a number of goals for their project. First and foremost, they wanted woodpecker resistant siding. They also wanted to re-side with something that would be low-maintenance and would last for years to come, as they intend to pass the home on to their children when they eventually move. Finally, they wanted to honor the unique design and surroundings of their home.

First, we looked at a number of simulated shingle products, such as Tando Shake and Hardie Shingle. While those products can mimic a cedar finish on shingles similar to the existing shakes, they ultimately weren’t a fit for the overall goals or budget of the project. For these reasons, we moved to a HardiePlank lap siding exterior.

James Hardie fiber cement siding is the perfect choice in the battle against woodpeckers. The durable cement compound is hard, and a woodpecker would have a miserable time trying to get through. Hardie siding also contains absolutely zero nutrients for insects, so bugs aren’t drawn to it. Even if there are insects beneath James Hardie siding, it will always be easier for the woodpecker to move on to a new food source than to fight through Hardie board. This is what makes James Hardie siding virtually woodpecker proof.

With the help of their children, the homeowners landed on a stunning product and colour combination that ties in the original materials while completely transforming the overall look. The family selected Hardie Plank in Deep Ocean for the siding, with Earth Tone Series Smart Trim corner and window trims.

Deep Ocean is a rich blue that almost sparkles when the sun hits it through the trees, but still shows soothing depth when resting in the shade. Natural river rock masonry finishes off the design, surrounding the front deck and matching the existing stone work on the chimney. (Masonry to be completed in spring of 2020)

The Earth Tone Series finish on Smart Trim does some heavy lifting to make the exterior design stand out, and it’s definitely up to the task. The cedar finish on engineered wood trim boards are a reminder of the original cedar shakes that won’t attract any woodpeckers. As an added bonus, they’re simply gorgeous! The way the Deep Ocean and Cedar finishes play off each other is an absolute highlight of this completely new exterior.

The homeowners now have a home that they are proud to pass to their children some day, and they can enjoy it woodpecker-free.

If you’re interested in re-siding your home, for woodpecker related reasons or not, reach out to us! We’d love to chat about it.

And if you’re not at that stage yet, you can check out some of our other projects. See siding renovations in Hardie, vinyl, stone veneers and more via our project page below: