James Hardie Fiber Cement Siding in Harrison, Maine

James Hardie fiber cement makes sense on Harrison houses that see both deep cold and long wet spells. The boards are dimensionally stable, so they do not swell and shrink with every thaw the way wood does, and they do not get brittle in a hard freeze the way thin vinyl can. On a lake house where a north wall stays damp from October to May, a material that will not rot or feed mildew is worth the higher first cost.

Fiber cement also reads as painted wood, which suits the older capes and farmhouses around Harrison village and Bolsters Mills better than most alternatives. Lap siding with a smooth or light woodgrain face, paired with wide trim, keeps the look of a clapboard house built a century or more ago. The product is non-combustible, a real consideration for camps set among dense pine and hemlock at the end of long private roads. The boards are heavy and need careful cutting, and the factory finish lasts longest when the ends are sealed and the bottom course is kept clear of the ground and of snow piled off the roof. Plan the job for a season when the house is accessible and the ground is firm enough for staging, since many lakeside lots slope steeply to the water.

Census estimates count about 1,800 housing units in Harrison, with a median year built of 1980. Roughly 20 percent went up before 1940 and about 26 percent before 1960, another 24 percent date from 1960 to 1979, and about 26 percent were built in 2000 or later. Close to 89 percent are single-family detached houses, and about 90 percent of occupied homes are owner-occupied. Nearly 500 units, a bit more than a quarter of the stock, are held for seasonal or recreational use, mostly camps and cottages on the lakes. In practice that means three kinds of houses: 19th-century capes and connected farmhouses in and around the villages, modest ranches and camps from the postwar decades, and larger year-round homes and rebuilt lake houses from the last 25 years. Many older camps have been winterized and added onto in stages.

Harrison is inland lake country, well away from salt air, so cold and snow do the damage here. The closest National Weather Service normals come from the forecast office in Gray, which records about 84 inches of snow a year for 1991 to 2020, and Harrison sits farther north and inland still. Winters bring long stretches below freezing broken by thaws, which is the cycle that drives ice dams and splits old paint and caulk. Long Lake runs about 12 miles from end to end, so homes on the shore face wind that builds over open water. Lots set back in the woods have the opposite problem: shade and damp that keep siding, roof valleys and deck boards wet long after a storm.

Building permits come from the Harrison Code Enforcement Department at the Town Office on Front Street, whose officer is also the shoreland zoning administrator. The town Building Permit Requirements Ordinance requires a permit before anyone builds, modifies or adds to a structure, and names only routine minor maintenance, such as painting, as exempt, so ask the office before a residing or re-roofing job. The officer has 30 days to act on a complete application, and a permit lapses after a year without a substantial start. Inspections are booked 24 hours ahead. Near the lakes, the Shoreland Zoning Ordinance sets a 100-foot setback for new structures from great ponds.

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