Bellingham Homeowners researching siding replacement in Bellingham eventually run into Allura fiber cement (formerly known as Cemplank). It's a real fiber cement product, made by a real manufacturer, and it shows up in plenty of online comparisons as a "budget-friendly alternative" to James Hardie. We get asked about it often enough that it's worth a straight answer: we don't install Allura, and this page explains why, without trashing the product to make our own case look better than it is.
What Allura Actually Is
Allura is a fiber cement siding product manufactured primarily in Alabama and distributed nationally. Fiber cement itself is a good category of building material — it's a mix of cement, cellulose fiber, and sand, engineered to resist fire, rot, and insects better than wood or vinyl. Allura makes lap siding, panels, and trim in that category, and on paper it competes directly with James Hardie's HardiePlank and HardieTrim lines.
To be fair to the product: fiber cement as a material class is sound. Allura boards are non-combustible, they don't attract carpenter ants or termites the way wood siding can, and they hold paint better than wood over time. If someone installed Allura correctly and maintained it, it would outperform vinyl or untreated wood siding in most respects. That's not in dispute.
Where Our Reservations Start
Regional Track Record
James Hardie has been the dominant fiber cement brand in the Pacific Northwest for over two decades. That matters here specifically because Whatcom County's climate — salt air off Bellingham Bay, driving rain off the Strait of Georgia, and a long moss season that keeps siding damp for months at a stretch — is a tough proving ground. Hardie's HZ5 product line was engineered around exactly this kind of climate, with moisture and freeze-thaw performance data built from decades of field installs in wet coastal regions. Allura doesn't have the same length of regional track record here, which means less local data on how it behaves after fifteen or twenty years of Bellingham weather specifically.
Factory Finish Consistency
James Hardie's ColorPlus finish is baked on in a controlled factory process with a specific multi-coat baking cycle, and it carries its own dedicated finish warranty separate from the substrate warranty. Allura also offers a factory-applied finish option, but the depth of color options, the touch-up product ecosystem, and the number of years contractors like us have watched that specific finish hold up in wet, low-sun coastal conditions is thinner. When a finish fails early, it's not a cosmetic footnote — repainting fiber cement siding on a two-story coastal home is expensive, and it's a problem you want to avoid rather than manage.
Installer Network and Warranty Backing
This is the practical issue that matters most to us as installers. James Hardie runs a certified contractor program with specific training, and their warranty structure is transferable and well-documented, which matters to homeowners when they sell. Allura's installer network and warranty administration in this region is smaller and less established. A warranty is only as good as the company standing behind it being reachable, funded, and consistent in how it handles claims years down the road. We'd rather build our business on a warranty structure we've seen work for our customers than one we haven't tested through a real claim cycle up here.
Side-by-Side: What We're Actually Weighing
| Factor | Allura Fiber Cement | James Hardie |
|---|---|---|
| Core material | Fiber cement (cement, cellulose, sand) | Fiber cement (cement, cellulose, sand) |
| Fire resistance | Non-combustible | Non-combustible |
| Factory finish system | Available, shorter regional track record | ColorPlus baked-on finish, decades of PNW data |
| Climate-specific engineering | General fiber cement formulation | HZ5 line engineered for Pacific Northwest moisture cycles |
| Local installer density | Fewer certified installers in Whatcom County | Widely certified, established contractor network |
| Warranty transferability | Varies by product line | Non-prorated, transferable to new owners |
| Upfront material cost | Often somewhat lower | Moderate premium over budget alternatives |
The Cost Question, Honestly
Allura is frequently a few dollars per square foot cheaper on material cost alone. We're not going to pretend that difference is nothing — on a full re-side, it adds up. But siding cost has to be measured over the life of the install, not just at the estimate. The relevant math is installed cost divided by years of low-maintenance performance, not sticker price on the pallet. If a cheaper product needs earlier repainting, more frequent caulk maintenance, or runs into warranty friction at year twelve, the "savings" evaporate — and they evaporate on a schedule that's inconvenient, usually right when a homeowner is trying to sell or has stopped budgeting for exterior maintenance.
We'd rather quote a job honestly at the real long-term cost than win a bid with a lower number and leave a homeowner holding a maintenance problem in year ten.
What Bellingham's Climate Actually Does to Siding
This is worth spelling out because it's the whole reason product choice matters more here than in a drier climate. Bellingham sits on the bay, which means siding on west- and south-facing walls takes salt-laden wind and driving rain for a large share of the year. Add in the region's long stretch of overcast, damp months, and siding here spends more time wet, and dries more slowly, than siding almost anywhere else in the country. Moss and algae growth on north-facing walls and under eaves is a near-guarantee if a product's surface isn't formulated to resist it. None of this is exotic knowledge to anyone who's lived in Whatcom County — it's just the reality any siding product has to survive, year after year, without babying.
That's the lens we run every product through, not brand loyalty. We chose Hardie's HZ5 line specifically because its engineering data and our own installation history point to strong performance under these exact conditions.
What Correct Installation Requires — Regardless of Brand
To be clear, a lot of fiber cement siding failure — with any brand, including Hardie — traces back to bad installation, not the product itself. Fiber cement is unforgiving of shortcuts. A few non-negotiables:
- Proper rainscreen or drainage gap behind the siding so moisture that gets behind the boards can escape
- Correct fastener type, spacing, and depth per manufacturer specification
- Factory-cut and painted edges wherever possible; field cuts sealed per spec
- Flashing detail at every window, door, and penetration — this is where most real-world leaks originate
- Minimum clearance from grade, decks, and roof lines to keep the bottom course out of standing moisture
- Caulking only where the manufacturer specifies it, not as a substitute for proper flashing
We say this because it matters more than brand choice in isolation. A poorly installed Hardie job can fail. A well-installed Allura job can perform reasonably well. But given a choice, we'd rather stack good installation practice on top of the product with the strongest regional data and warranty backing, rather than leave ourselves — and the homeowner — with less margin for error.
Why We Standardized on One Product
Part of the reason we don't install Allura, LP SmartSide, vinyl, or cedar isn't just about any single product's shortcomings — it's that running one product line lets our crews specialize. Every installer on our team knows Hardie's fastening schedule, joint treatment, and trim details cold, because it's the only system they install. That kind of repetition reduces the installation-error risk that causes most siding failures in the first place, regardless of brand. Spreading a crew thin across five different manufacturers' spec sheets is how mistakes happen.
Questions Worth Asking Any Contractor
- Are you certified to install the specific product you're quoting, and can you show documentation?
- What does the manufacturer's warranty actually cover, and is it transferable if I sell the house?
- What's your rainscreen and flashing detail, specifically, for this wall assembly?
- How many jobs with this exact product has your crew completed in this county?
- What happens to my warranty if the installer goes out of business?
If a contractor can't answer these clearly for whatever product they're proposing, that's a bigger red flag than the brand name on the box.
Where This Leaves Homeowners
Allura isn't a scam or a bad product — it's a legitimate fiber cement option that some contractors install well. Our decision to stick with James Hardie is about matching a product's engineering, finish system, warranty structure, and regional track record to what Bellingham and Whatcom County actually throw at a house over twenty or thirty years. We think that combination gives homeowners here the best odds of a siding job that still looks and performs well long after the invoice is paid.
If you're weighing siding options for a home in Bellingham or anywhere in Whatcom County, we're happy to walk your property, look at your exposure to wind and moisture, and give you a straight, no-pressure estimate on what a correctly installed James Hardie system would look like and cost.