James Hardie Fiber Cement Siding in Falmouth, Maine

James Hardie fiber cement holds up well to the combination Falmouth houses face: salt spray on the Foreside, hard winters everywhere, and dozens of freeze and thaw swings each spring and fall. The boards are made of cement, sand and cellulose fiber, so they do not rot, do not melt, and keep a factory paint finish for years longer than site-painted wood. They are also noncombustible, a practical point for homes backed by woods in West Falmouth and around Blackstrap.

For the older layer of the town, the colonial, Federal and Greek Revival houses that the 1990s survey counted among its 985 pre-1945 buildings, fiber cement can reproduce the look of painted clapboard with a narrow reveal, crisp corner boards and a smooth or subtly textured face. That makes it a common replacement where the owner wants the look of wood without scraping and repainting. It is heavier than vinyl and has to be cut with dust control, and the joints and ends need the flashing and clearances the manufacturer specifies, especially above roofs and decks where snow sits against the wall for weeks.

Census estimates for 2020 to 2024 count about 5,300 housing units in Falmouth, with a median year built of 1986. Roughly 14 percent went up before 1940, about 16 percent between 1960 and 1979, about 31 percent in the 1980s and 1990s, and about 27 percent in 2000 or later. Around 84 percent of occupied homes are lived in by their owners, and about 81 percent of all units are single-family detached houses; the town's 2024 comprehensive plan notes that fewer than 10 percent sit in buildings of three or more units. An older layer runs underneath the subdivisions: a 1992 to 1993 survey recorded 985 buildings from before 1945, including farms, schools and summer homes in colonial, Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate and Romanesque styles. About 190 units are held for seasonal use.

Falmouth has no weather station of its own; the nearest long-term record is Portland International Jetport, a few miles away, where snowfall averages about 69 inches a year and February nights average around 17 degrees under the 1991 to 2020 normals. The coldest reading on that record is 39 below zero, in February 1943. Along Falmouth Foreside, houses face open water on Casco Bay and take the brunt of northeast storms, wind-driven rain and salt carried off the bay. Inland toward West Falmouth and Highland Lake the salt load drops, but tree cover, lake humidity and long stretches of freezing and thawing work on roofs, trim and deck boards instead.

Permits come from the Community Development Code Enforcement Division at 271 Falmouth Road. The town enforces the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code, which means the 2021 International Residential, Building, Existing Building and Energy Conservation Codes. Its permit guidance says work that alters or repairs a structure needs a building permit, and it specifically requires one for replacement windows so egress can be checked. Painting and similar finish work is exempt; roofing, siding and decks are not on the exempt list. Shoreland zoning covers land within 250 feet of Casco Bay, the Presumpscot River, Highland Lake and qualifying wetlands, and within 100 feet of designated streams.

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 Falmouth exterior services overview, or see every town on our Cumberland County service areas page.