LP SmartSide Siding Installation — Engineered Wood Lap and Panel
Engineered wood siding that looks like painted cedar and takes a hailstorm, installed with the sealed cuts, joint flashing and clearances that keep it that way through Minnesota winters.
JMB Builders installs LP SmartSide siding across the Twin Cities metro: lap siding, vertical panel with battens, and matching SmartSide trim, over new house wrap with every window and door flashed. Every cut end is sealed, every joint is gapped and flashed, and the siding stays clear of the roof and the ground. Priced per project, quoted from your photos within one business day and confirmed with a measured site visit.
- Lap, panel and board-and-batten SmartSide
- Cut ends sealed, joints gapped and flashed
- Photo quote first, then a measured visit
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
LP SmartSide is the siding most of the new houses north of the cities are wearing. It is an engineered wood product: wood strands, resin and wax pressed into a board with a treated core and a primed or prefinished face. It cuts and nails like wood, comes in long lengths so there are fewer joints than cedar, and it does not dent like vinyl or crack like fiber cement when hail hits it. It also holds paint better than real wood because it does not move as much.
What it does not forgive is a bare cut end. Every place a board is cut, the edge is exposed wood strand and it has to be primed or sealed before it goes on the wall. The bottom of the siding has to stay clear of the ground, the deck and the roof shingles by the gap the manufacturer specifies, or it wicks. Butt joints get a gap and a piece of joint flashing behind them. Nails go through into framing, not just sheathing, at the spacing on the label. Miss any of that and the siding swells at the edges in a few years and the owner blames the product.
We install it the way the instructions say and the way we would want it on our own house. Prefinished SmartSide comes with the color baked on; primed SmartSide is painted after install, and painting is quoted as its own line on every job.
What you supply
- Photos of every side of the house and a close-up of the current siding and a window
- Your choice of lap width, panel or board-and-batten, and prefinished color or paint color
- Driveway space for the dumpster and the material delivery
- A decision on whether windows are replaced at the same time
What JMB supplies
- Removal and disposal of the old siding and trim, sheathing replaced where soft
- House wrap taped at seams, flashing tape at every window, door and penetration
- LP SmartSide lap, panel or board-and-batten in the width and finish you chose
- SmartSide trim at corners, windows and doors, with drip cap flashing over every opening
- Every cut end primed or sealed, joint flashing behind every butt joint, correct gaps to roof and grade
- Kick-out flashing where a roof meets a wall, blocks for lights and hose bibs
- Painting of primed siding and trim, quoted as its own line
- Photos of the wrapped house and the finished house in your job folder
How it is priced: per project
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- Wall area and number of stories; second-story walls need staging
- Number of windows, doors and corners to trim
- Lap vs. panel with battens; battens are more pieces per square foot
- Prefinished vs. primed, and painting of primed siding as its own line
- What comes off and what the sheathing looks like under it
- New windows installed during the siding job
- Aluminum or SmartSide soffit and fascia at the same time
Photos of each side from the yard get the photo quote. The site visit measures the walls and opening count and confirms it.
How long it takes
A single-story house: about a week to side. A two-story: one to two weeks. Painting primed siding adds a few days after, weather allowing.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized quote within one business day. We only come out to measure first when the job needs a tape measure — no pressure, no games.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Lap siding
The standard look: horizontal boards in a cedar-grain or smooth face, in several widths. Long lengths mean fewer butt joints, and each joint gets flashing behind it. Prefinished or primed for paint.
Board and batten
Vertical panel siding with SmartSide battens over the seams. Popular on farmhouse-style homes and pole barns. The panel edges and the batten tops need the same sealed cuts and flashing as lap.
Shakes and accents
SmartSide shake panels on a gable end or a front bump-out with lap below. A belly band with a drip cap separates the two so water does not run behind the lap.
Trim package
SmartSide trim boards at corners, windows and doors, frieze under the soffit, and a water table at the bottom. Sized so the siding runs into the trim, with a drip cap flashed over every horizontal piece.
LP SmartSide Siding Installation — Engineered Wood Lap and Panel: questions, answered
Is LP SmartSide better than vinyl siding?
It is a different product. SmartSide is thicker and stiffer, looks like painted wood, and stands up to hail and baseballs where vinyl cracks. It costs more to buy and install and it needs paint eventually, unless you choose prefinished. Vinyl is cheaper and never needs paint but shows its seams and can buckle. For a house you plan to keep, SmartSide is what we would pick.
Does LP SmartSide siding need to be painted?
Primed SmartSide does; it comes with a factory primer and needs finish paint after it is installed. Prefinished SmartSide comes with the color already applied and does not. Either way, every cut edge gets sealed at install. Painting is quoted as its own line on our jobs, or leave it primed and paint it yourself.
Why does engineered wood siding swell at the edges?
Because a cut end was left bare, the bottom edge was set too close to a deck, a roof or the ground, or the butt joints were driven tight with no gap or flashing. Water gets into exposed strand and it swells. Installed with sealed cuts, the right gaps and joint flashing, it stays flat. That is the whole difference between a good SmartSide job and a bad one.
Can LP SmartSide go over existing siding?
No. The old siding comes off so the sheathing can be checked, the house wrapped and the windows flashed. SmartSide needs to be nailed into framing, and the wall behind it needs to be flat, neither of which you can guarantee over old siding. It is a tear-off and re-side, and that is where the wall gets fixed.
Do you install LP SmartSide on a pole barn or garage?
Yes. Board and batten SmartSide on a pole barn or a detached garage is a common job, and the same rules apply: sealed cuts, clearance at the slab or the skirt board, and flashing at the doors. On a pole barn we go over the girts with the wall detail the building needs. Ask about it on the metal buildings page or send photos.
How long does LP SmartSide siding take to install?
About a week for a single-story house and one to two weeks for a two-story, once the material is on site. That includes tear-off, wrap, flashing, trim and siding. Painting primed siding adds a few days after the siding is on and needs dry weather above the paint's minimum temperature.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough. You hear back within one business day. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed September 24, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All siding pages
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