Vinyl vs LP SmartSide vs Hardie — Best Siding for Minnesota
Three sidings, one Minnesota winter, one hailstorm a summer. Here is how each one holds up, what it takes to install, and which we would put on your house.
Vinyl vs LP SmartSide vs Hardie comes down to maintenance and budget. Vinyl is the lowest material cost and never needs paint, but it cracks when hit cold. LP SmartSide is engineered wood: light, cuts like lumber, takes paint well, and the most common choice on our jobs. Hardie is fiber cement: heaviest, best against hail and fire, fussiest to install. JMB Builders installs all three across the Twin Cities metro, priced per project.
- Priced per project, any of the three
- Flashing, house wrap and trim done the same way on all
- Quote from photos in 1 business day
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
Most siding questions in the Twin Cities come down to these three. Vinyl is what much of the metro is wrapped in. LP SmartSide is the engineered wood lap and panel that replaced cedar on most new houses. James Hardie is the fiber cement board with the flat, painted look that holds up the longest. Steel is the fourth answer and gets its own page.
They are not three grades of the same thing. Vinyl is a plastic skin hung loose so it can move. LP is wood strands and resin pressed into a board and nailed tight like lumber. Hardie is cement, sand and cellulose, heavy and brittle, cut with a shear or a dust-collecting saw. Each one fails a different way, and each one asks something different of the installer.
JMB Builders installs all three across the Twin Cities metro, and the parts you do not see are the same on every job: house wrap, window and door flashing, kick-outs, drip caps and trim. Send photos of the house and we tell you which one we would use and why, then quote it.
What you supply
- Photos of every side of the house, plus close-ups of the trim, the windows and any damage
- Which look you want: lap, board-and-batten, shakes, or a mix
- Whether the windows are staying or being replaced at the same time
- Your color choice: vinyl and prefinished LP or Hardie come in the color; primed LP or Hardie gets painted, quoted as a separate line
What JMB supplies
- A recommendation for your house, with the trade-offs written down, before you commit
- Tear-off of the old siding, or a check that the old siding is sound enough to go over
- House wrap, window and door flashing, kick-out flashing and drip caps on every job regardless of siding
- The siding, trim and accessories: J-channel and starter for vinyl, trim boards and flashing for LP and Hardie
- Fastening to the manufacturer's pattern: loose for vinyl, tight for LP, blind or face nailed for Hardie
- Caulk at trim and penetrations, and paint on primed LP or Hardie when you want it done, quoted as its own line
- Photos of the flashing and wrap before the siding covers them, in your job folder
How it is priced: per project
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- Material: vinyl is the lowest cost per square, LP in the middle, Hardie the highest, before labor
- Labor: Hardie takes the longest to hang because of the weight, the cutting and the fastening rules; vinyl the least
- Prefinished vs. primed LP or Hardie, and the painting line if primed
- Wall area, height, and how many corners, windows and doors have to be trimmed and flashed
- Tear-off and disposal of the old siding, and any rotted sheathing found under it
- Style: board-and-batten and shakes take more labor than plain lap in any material
- Windows or doors replaced at the same time, which is cheaper than doing them after
Send the photos and say which of the three you are leaning toward. We quote that one and tell you if we would change it.
How long it takes
A single wall or a section: one to three days. A whole house: about a week in vinyl or LP, longer in Hardie. Painting primed siding adds days at the end and needs warm weather.
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
Vinyl
A plastic panel hung loose on nails so it can expand and contract. Lowest material and labor cost, never needs paint, washes with a hose. Brittle in the cold: a hockey puck or a hailstone cracks it, and a hail claim often means whole walls because faded colors cannot be matched. Panels can wave on a hot wall.
LP SmartSide
Engineered wood: strands and resin pressed into a board with a treated core, sold primed or prefinished. Light, cuts and nails like lumber, holds paint well, takes a hail hit without cracking. Cut edges get sealed, bottom edges stay out of the dirt, and primed boards need paint on a schedule. The siding we hang most.
James Hardie
Fiber cement: cement, sand and cellulose. Heavy and rigid, does not burn or rot, shrugs off hail, holds paint the longest of the three. Brittle to handle, so long pieces take two people and shear or dust-controlled cutting. Fastening and clearances must follow the maker's rules. Highest cost to buy and to hang.
Cold weather
Vinyl is the one that suffers. It shrinks in the cold, so it has to be hung loose with room in the J-channel, and it cracks on impact below freezing. LP and Hardie do not mind the cold, but neither can be caulked or painted once it is freezing. Siding season for all three runs from thaw to freeze.
Hail
Hardie takes hail best, then LP, then vinyl by a wide margin. On a claim, a vinyl house often gets whole elevations replaced because damaged panels cannot be matched. LP and Hardie usually take a chip or dent that can be patched and painted. If hail keeps sending you to the insurance company, steel is the other answer.
Paint and maintenance
Vinyl: none, until it fades or cracks, and then it is replacement. LP: paint on a schedule, caulk checked, bottom edges kept clear of mulch and snow. Hardie: paint lasts longest, caulk checked. Prefinished LP or Hardie skips the first paint job and is quoted that way.
The parts that are the same
House wrap, window and door flashing, kick-out flashing where a roof meets a wall, drip caps over openings, and the trim that finishes the corners and openings. Most siding leaks are flashing leaks. We do this part the same way whether the siding on top is vinyl, LP or Hardie, and photograph it before it is covered.
Vinyl vs LP SmartSide vs Hardie — Best Siding for Minnesota: questions, answered
What is the best siding for Minnesota?
For most houses, LP SmartSide: it handles the cold and the hail, paints well, installs like wood, and lands in the middle on cost. James Hardie is the step up when you want the longest-lasting finish and the best hail and fire resistance and can absorb the higher install cost. Vinyl is the budget answer and is fine on a house that does not get much hail, with the understanding that it will crack when it does. Steel is worth a look if hail claims are a pattern.
LP SmartSide vs James Hardie, which is better?
Hardie lasts longer, holds paint longer, and does not burn or rot. LP is lighter, easier and faster to install, less brittle to handle, and costs less; both handle Minnesota cold and hail well. If the budget stretches to Hardie and you plan to stay in the house a long time, Hardie. If you want a wood look, board-and-batten, or a lower total number, LP. We install both and do the flashing the same way under each.
Does vinyl siding crack in the cold?
Yes. Vinyl gets brittle below freezing, and anything that hits it then, from a snowblower rock to a hockey puck to hail, cracks it instead of denting it. It also shrinks in the cold and grows in the heat, which is why it is hung loose and why a panel nailed tight buckles in July. Cracked panels can be swapped if the color still exists; on an older house it usually does not.
Which siding holds up to hail?
James Hardie best, LP SmartSide close behind, vinyl worst. Hardie and LP take a hard hail as a chip or a dent that can be filled and painted. Vinyl cracks and holes through, and because faded vinyl cannot be color-matched, a hail claim on a vinyl house usually means whole elevations. Steel siding takes a dent rather than a crack and is the other choice on a hail-prone house.
Does LP SmartSide need to be painted?
Primed LP needs a finish coat after it is hung, and repainting on a schedule after that. Prefinished LP comes with the color baked on and skips the first paint job; you touch up cut ends and check the caulk. Either way the cut edges get sealed at install, and the bottom edges are kept clear of soil, mulch and snow piles so the board does not wick water.
Is Hardie harder to install than LP or vinyl?
Yes. It is heavy, so long pieces take two people, and it is brittle, so it breaks if it is carried flat or dropped. It has to be cut with shears or a saw with dust collection. The nailing, the gaps at trim, the clearances at the roof and the ground, and the caulk all have to follow the manufacturer's rules, and a crew that does not know them leaves joints that fail. That is why it costs more to hang than LP, which nails up like lumber, or vinyl, which hangs on a nail hem.
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.
Related jobs we do
Vinyl Siding Installation and Replacement
New vinyl siding that stays flat and stays on: the wrap and flashing underneath done properly, the panels hung with room to move, and the windows and doors trimmed so they do not look like an afterthought.
Read moreLP 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.
Read moreJames Hardie Fiber Cement Siding Installation
Fiber cement siding does not burn, rot, or feed woodpeckers. It is heavy, it is dusty to cut, and it is unforgiving of a sloppy install — which is exactly why it is worth hiring a crew that hangs it right.
Read moreSteel Siding Installation — Steel Lap Siding for Minnesota Homes
Siding that hail dents instead of cracks, woodpeckers give up on and never needs paint — steel lap or board-and-batten hung over fresh housewrap with the flashing done right.
Read moreSiding Repair — Storm, Hail and Woodpecker Damage
Wind took a run of siding off the gable, hail cracked the west wall, or a woodpecker found the LP — we repair the section, fix what is under it, and match it as close as the product allows.
Read moreCedar Siding Repair — Rotted Lap and Shake Boards Replaced
Cedar that has gone soft at the bottom courses, split at the nails or been drilled by woodpeckers — replaced board by board, flashed right and primed, so the house stays cedar.
Read morePage reviewed September 24, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All siding pages
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