Siding Replacement in Northborough, MA
When this homeowner reached out to us, their main goal was to boost their home’s curb appeal and replace their old, worn vinyl siding with something far more durable. When you’re looking for long-lasting performance, low maintenance, and solid value, fiber cement is usually the top choice. Luckily, our client already had this material in mind, so our team got straight to work helping them refine the design and layout.
Along with the siding overhaul, there was an old concrete landing at the entry that had seen better days. We demolished it to make way for a brand-new landing built with low-maintenance Trex composite decking boards and matching railings.
After reviewing a few 3D design variations together, the client gave the final green light to James Hardie Fiber Cement Shingle (Straight Edge) with a 5-inch exposure.
Here is a look at what Millhawlk handled across the entire project:
- Full Construction Process: Complete labor and materials.
- Design & Conceptualization: Interactive 3D planning.
- Architectural Drawings: Detailed plans and blueprints.
- Permit Management: Full handling of the entire permit and approval process.
- Surface Preparation & Managing Level Differences
Demolition came with an interesting structural puzzle. The home had a garage addition where the exterior wall sat on a slightly different plane (level) than the original house wall. Compensating for this offset was tricky—especially since we were retaining the existing windows, which meant padding out the wall to flush it up would have looked awkward from a design perspective.
Our solution was to keep the natural wall profile intact and create a seamless aesthetic transition between the two sections.
Once the old vinyl siding was completely removed and the transition was prepped, we wrapped the entire exterior in Tyvek weather-resistive barrier and sealed all window and door perimeters with high-performance flashing tape to ensure the home was completely weather-tight.
- Siding & Trim Installation
With the wall levels accounted for during surface prep, we made the necessary adjustments for our trim details to ensure crisp lines throughout:
- Siding: Installed the approved James Hardie fiber cement straight-edge shingle siding (5″ exposure).
- Corners & Fascia: Fitted matching fiber cement trims for all exterior corners and roof fascia.
- Windows & Water Table: Used durable PVC trim around all window perimeters and the lower water table for maximum moisture protection.
- Concrete Columns: Wrapped four existing concrete columns with clean fiber cement panels for a cohesive finish.
The installation process went exceptionally smooth, and the combination of James Hardie shingles, PVC trims, and the new Trex composite landing completely transformed the exterior look of this Northborough home.
- Final Considerations
By replacing dated vinyl with premium fiber cement shingles and upgrading the entry landing, we gave this house a fresh, elevated curb appeal built to stand up to New England weather for decades to come—another successful exterior transformation by Millhawlk.
