James Hardie Siding Replacement in Boulder, CO - Evening Blue Cedarmill

The Problem

This two-story home in Boulder, CO had original cedar lap siding from 1982 that had reached the end of its useful life. The paint had failed across most of the exterior, leaving the wood weathered, gray, and checking throughout. Two birds had made holes in the siding and were nesting inside the walls. The homeowner initially came in considering a partial replacement or repaint, but after discussing the pros and cons of repairing aging cedar versus replacing with fiber cement, he moved forward with a full James Hardie replacement.

Why It Needed Replacing

Cedar siding requires ongoing maintenance in the form of regular painting or staining to stay protected. Once the paint fails and the wood begins to check and gray, repair becomes a short-term fix on a material that will keep requiring attention. With bird damage adding penetrations into the wall cavity, a full replacement was the more reliable long-term solution.

What We Did

Replacing cedar siding on a two-story Boulder home is no small undertaking, and this one had some extra complexity. The rear of the house features a large upper deck structure with extensive window and sliding glass door openings, noteably a lot of surface area to work around carefully. The full exterior was stripped of the old cedar lap siding, new housewrap installed across the entire home, and the walls were properly prepped before a single piece of new siding went up.

For the siding itself, the design landed on a combination that works really well on this style of home. The upper floors were clad in James Hardie HardiePlank 8.25" lap siding in Evening Blue: a deep, cool blue-gray that reads sophisticated without being stark. The lower entry and garage facades were finished in Evening Blue board and batten accent panels, creating a clean visual break between the two profiles that gives the front elevation a modern, intentional look. Arctic White HardieTrim ties it all together at the windows, corners, and roofline, sharpening every edge on the exterior.

The Evening Blue and Arctic White combination is one of those pairings that photographs well and holds up even better in person. Against Boulder's tree-lined streets and mountain backdrop, it fits right in as looking updated without being out of place.

Project Details

This is a two-story home built in 1982 with a full rear deck structure and large sliding glass door openings on the back of the house. The scope covered the complete exterior including all lap siding, board and batten accent sections, and trim. A change order was included in the project scope.

Materials Used​

• ​James Hardie 8.25" HardiePlank lap siding ColorPlus in Evening Blue​
  
• ​James Hardie board and batten ColorPlus in Evening Blue​
  
• ​James Hardie HardieTrim in Arctic White​
  

The Result

This project was completed by WestPro Home Exteriors in July 2025. The transformation from weathered, failing cedar to fresh James Hardie fiber cement is significant. The Evening Blue and Arctic White combination gives the home a sharp, updated look that suits the Boulder neighborhood well. Projects like this are common throughout Boulder and across the Colorado Front Range, where cedar siding on homes built in the 1970s and 1980s frequently reaches the end of its useful life and requires full replacement.

Price Context

This project is representative of a typical James Hardie ColorPlus siding replacement on a two-story home in Boulder. Homeowners can generally expect to pay $20–$24 per sq. ft. installed for James Hardie ColorPlus factory-finished siding. That rate covers full tear-off and disposal, housewrap, Z-flashing, penetration flashing, standard HardieTrim, mounting blocks, permit, and all labor. Two-story homes typically fall toward the higher end of that range due to additional labor and access requirements. It does not include sheathing repair, additional siding layers, or specialty trim upgrades, any of which would affect the total cost. To request an inspection and exact estimate for your home, schedule a free siding inspection here.