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Restored ranch home with white fiber cement siding, shingle accents, and new trim

Rot at grade corrected on a 1960s ranch

A 1960s ranch with wood siding buried in mulch, where the fix was structural before it was cosmetic.

James Island, SC

Restored ranch home with white fiber cement siding, shingle accents, and new trimRotted wood siding and damaged trim near grade on a James Island ranch homeBeforeAfter
Before: rot at gradeAfter: Hardie with water table
The problem
Wood siding was buried in mulch with no clearance at grade, so the bottom three courses stayed wet year-round. Rot had reached the band joist in two spots and carpenter ants had followed the moisture in.
What we did
Rotted framing and sheathing repaired, grade clearance re-established at 6 inches, taped WRB, HardiePlank with a HardieTrim water table, and cut edges primed before install.
Result
Bottom courses stay dry through summer storms, the insect path is closed, and the homeowner has documented clearances for the manufacturer warranty.

Project Specs

Scope
Re-side + structural repair, 1,850 sq ft of wall
Product
HardiePlank HZ10 lap, HardieShingle gable accents
Duration
14 working days
Investment range
$29,000 – $34,000
Extras
Band joist repair, regrading at two elevations

Investment ranges reflect the scope described. Your house gets measured before it gets priced.

Six inches is not a suggestion

Manufacturers publish a 6-inch clearance between siding and grade because a wall needs to dry, and the bottom courses on this ranch had been sitting in mulch for years. They never dried. Rot had reached the band joist in two places and carpenter ants had followed the moisture in behind it.

This is the most common siding failure we see on older Lowcountry homes, and it is almost always landscaping rather than product. Mulch gets topped up every spring, the grade creeps up an inch at a time, and eventually the cladding is buried.

Structural repair before cladding

Rotted framing and sheathing came out first, including the affected band joist sections. Nothing about a new wall works if what it fastens to is soft, and covering compromised framing with new siding is how a job that looks finished fails inside five years.

We also regraded at two elevations to re-establish clearance, so the condition that caused the rot does not simply rebuild itself over the next few seasons.

Detailing the bottom of the wall

A HardieTrim water table sits at the base of the new wall, giving the bottom course a defined termination with a drip edge instead of a raw cut sitting close to the ground. Every cut edge was primed before installation — a step that gets skipped constantly and is exactly where fiber cement takes on water.

HardiePlank HZ10 lap runs the field with HardieShingle accents at the gables. The homeowner has documented clearances for the manufacturer warranty, and the bottom courses stay dry through summer storms.

James Hardie fiber cement sidingCost guide: what siding replacement costsAll siding projects

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