Three Bids, Three Different Projects
You have three siding replacement estimates sitting on the kitchen table, and the numbers are thousands of dollars apart. Same house, same walls, wildly different bottom lines. That gap is the single most confusing part of a siding project for most Raleigh homeowners, and it rarely means one contractor is gouging you and another is doing you a favor.
It usually means the three bids are describing three different projects.
Older Triangle neighborhoods are full of homes still wearing hardboard or wood siding that has quietly given up after a couple of decades of humid summers and spring storms. When that siding finally needs to go, the estimate you sign is the only document standing between you and a long list of assumptions. Here’s how to read one.
What a Complete Siding Replacement Estimate Should Include
A real estimate is a scope of work with a number attached, not a number with a sentence attached. Before you compare prices, compare what each contractor actually wrote down.
| Line item | What you want to see |
|---|---|
| Product and profile | The specific product, by name. HardiePlank® lap siding, HardiePanel® vertical siding, and HardieShingle® siding are different products with different labor requirements. |
| Finish | Whether the boards arrive primed for field painting or factory-finished with ColorPlus® technology. This single line moves the price more than almost anything else. |
| Trim and accessories | Corner boards, window and door trim, frieze, and fascia. Reusing old trim behind new siding is a common way to make a bid look cheaper. |
| Weather barrier and flashing | House wrap, seams, and flashing at windows, doors, and roof intersections. This is the part you never see again once the siding goes on. |
| Rot and sheathing repair | How damaged sheathing is priced. Look for a stated unit rate rather than silence. |
| Tear-off and disposal | Removal of existing siding and haul-away, spelled out. |
| Crew | Whether the installation is handled by in-house employees or subcontracted out. |
| Warranty | Product warranty and workmanship warranty, described separately. |
| Schedule and payments | A start window, a rough duration, and a payment schedule that isn’t front-loaded. |
If two bids both cover all of that and still differ, now you’re comparing real numbers. If one of them is a paragraph and a total, you don’t have an estimate. You have a guess.
Why Two Siding Installation Bids Can Be Thousands Apart
Most of the spread comes down to a handful of scope decisions that are easy to bury.
- Finish is the big one. Factory-applied ColorPlus boards cost more up front than primed boards, but the primed bid quietly assumes someone paints the house afterward. If that painting isn’t in the bid, the cheaper estimate isn’t cheaper. It’s incomplete.
- Trim is the second. Replacing all exterior trim alongside the siding costs more than working around what’s already there, and a bid that skips it will win on price and lose on how the house looks in five years.
- Then there’s labor. A crew that gets rotated in from a staffing pool prices differently than a company that employs its own installers year-round. Fiber cement siding installation is unforgiving about fastener placement, clearances, and cut edges, and the finished product reflects who was holding the nail gun.
Questions to Ask Before You Choose a Siding Contractor
Who is physically doing the work?
Ask whether the crew is made up of employees or subcontractors, and whether the person who sold you the job will be on site during it. At Robert Gordon Services, every installer is in-house, and every project is owner-supervised, which is a large part of why the work stays consistent.
What’s your standing with the manufacturer?
James Hardie® runs a Contractor Alliance program, and you earn status through verified installation quality and customer satisfaction over time. Robert Gordon Services holds Elite Preferred Contractor status and was named a President’s Club Award winner in 2017, one of twenty contractors nationwide that year.
How do you handle surprises?
Sheathing rot behind old siding is common in the Triangle and impossible to fully price before demolition. You want a contractor who tells you the rate ahead of time, not one who discovers it mid-project.
Can I see recent local work?
Ask for addresses in Raleigh, Durham, Cary, or wherever you are. Photos are easy. Neighborhoods are harder to fake.
What’s in writing?
Anything promised verbally that isn’t on the estimate doesn’t exist. Get it added before you sign.
Ready for a straight answer on your own house? Robert Gordon Services provides free, no-obligation siding replacement estimates across the Triangle. Call (984) 214-4596 and we’ll walk your home, measure it properly, and give you a scope you can actually compare against anyone else’s.
Read the Fine Print on Warranty and Fiber Cement Siding Installation
Homeowners tend to treat the manufacturer warranty as the whole safety net. It isn’t.
James Hardie backs its fiber cement products with a long-term limited product warranty, plus a separate finish warranty covering ColorPlus boards. That coverage protects the material. It doesn’t protect you if installation fails to meet the manufacturer’s specifications, and installation errors can compromise coverage.
That’s why the workmanship warranty matters just as much. Ask how long it runs, what it covers, and who honors it if the company changes hands. A contractor who installs to spec every time has no reason to be vague.
Red Flags in a Siding Estimate
- A large deposit up front. A reasonable deposit covers material. A payment schedule weighted toward the front covers the contractor.
- A bid that expires today. Legitimate pricing holds for a reasonable window. Urgency is a sales tool.
- No proof of license and insurance. Ask for certificates. Verify them.
- Door-knocking right after a storm. Storm-chasing crews follow weather, not warranties, and they are rarely around when you need a callback.
- Vague product language. “Hardie board” or “fiber cement” with no product name attached tells you nothing about what’s going on your walls. What many Triangle homeowners call “Hardie board” is usually HardiePlank lap siding, and the specific profile and finish belong in writing.
Getting a Siding Replacement Estimate You Can Trust
The best estimate isn’t the lowest or the highest. It’s the one that describes your project accurately enough that you know what you’re buying.
Robert Gordon Services has been installing James Hardie siding across Raleigh, Durham, Cary, and the rest of the Triangle since 2003. We put the full scope in writing, use our own crews, and are happy to sit down and walk you through why each line item is there. Bring us your other bids if you want. A good estimate holds up next to anything.
Contact us today to get your free siding estimate!
James Hardie®, HardiePlank®, HardiePanel®, HardieShingle®, and ColorPlus® are registered trademarks of James Hardie Technology Limited.
