James Hardie Fiber Cement Siding in Cape Elizabeth, Maine

James Hardie fiber cement handles the conditions this coast produces. It does not rot when wind-driven rain gets behind it, it does not feed woodpeckers or carpenter ants, and it is rated as noncombustible, a point worth weighing on lots that back onto woods or open fields. Cycles of freezing and thawing near the ocean are hard on wood and paint; a factory-finished fiber cement board carries its color far longer between repaints than site-painted pine or spruce clapboard.

It also suits the look of the town's older houses. Lap boards with a narrow reveal read like painted clapboard on a farmhouse or Colonial Revival home, and fiber cement shingle panels can echo the Shingle Style cottages that John Calvin Stevens designed along the Casco Bay shore without the upkeep of natural cedar. On oceanfront walls the details matter most: stainless or hot-dipped fasteners, flashed butt joints, and clearance above roofs, decks and grade so the board ends are not sitting in water. Cardinal Exteriors installs James Hardie lap siding and shingle panels.

The Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey estimates about 3,980 housing units in Cape Elizabeth, and roughly 90 percent of them are single-family detached houses. About 88 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied. The estimated median year built is 1967. Close to 40 percent of the stock predates 1960, including about one in five homes built before 1940, and another quarter went up between 1960 and 1979. Only around 7 percent was built in 2000 or later, so most houses here are old enough to have outlived at least one roof and one round of siding. The older layer includes summer houses from the late nineteenth century, when Portland architect John Calvin Stevens designed Shingle Style cottages along the Casco Bay shore. The survey also counts roughly 210 seasonal units, homes that may sit closed through the winter.

Cape Elizabeth has almost no shelter from the sea. The land faces open ocean to the east and south, so wind off the Gulf of Maine arrives with salt spray and nothing to break it, and nor'easters push rain sideways into siding joints, window heads and roof edges. Portland, just to the north, averages about 69 inches of snow a year, with large swings between winters, and storms that bring a foot or more are a regular part of the season. The ocean moderates temperatures near the shore, which means more winter days that hover around freezing and more freeze-thaw cycles on shingles, flashing and deck footings. Fog and damp air keep north-facing walls and shaded roofs wet longer than inland houses see.

Permits run through the Cape Elizabeth Code Enforcement Office, 320 Ocean House Road, which has accepted building applications online since May 2025. Its FAQ states that a building permit is required to construct, structurally alter or enlarge a structure, and that no permit is required to replace siding or roofing. A new deck needs a building permit. The town's Shoreland Performance Overlay District covers land within 250 feet of tidal waters, Great Pond and the Spurwink River, with a 75-foot setback for new structures from most water bodies. Resource protection permits go through the Planning Office, and work in a mapped flood zone needs a Flood Hazard Permit.

Fiber cement is a mix of cement, sand and cellulose fiber pressed into planks, shingles and panels. It does not rot, insects do not eat it, it will not burn, and factory-applied finishes hold color far longer than site-painted wood. It is heavier and more exacting to install than vinyl, which is exactly why installation quality shows. The Back Cove home on this site was re-sided with a complete James Hardie package of wood-grain plank.

• Walls are stripped, repaired and wrapped, with flashing at every opening and roof-to-wall joint.
• Boards are cut with dust-controlled tools and fastened to the manufacturer's nailing schedule.
• Required clearances are held above roofs, decks and grade so the ends never sit in water or snow.
• Butt joints get flashing behind them, and cut ends are sealed or primed as the manufacturer specifies.
• Trim, caulk lines and touch-up are finished so the pre-finished color stays uniform.

• You want the look of painted clapboard without the paint cycle
• Wood siding keeps rotting at the bottom courses and around trim
• The house sits in wind and salt exposure that punishes other materials
• You want a non-combustible exterior

• Product line and profile: lap plank, shingle, panel or board-and-batten
• Pre-finished color versus site painting
• Trim package and detailing
• Tear-off, sheathing repair and house height
• Number of windows, doors and corners to flash and trim

Every job is priced from a free on-site visit. Typical ranges for the trade are on our siding page, and the details of this service are on the James Hardie fiber cement siding overview.

Back to the Cape Elizabeth exterior services overview, or see every town on our Cumberland County service areas page.