# Engineered Wood Siding Fort Collins | LP SmartSide > Engineered wood lap and panel siding, the material many know as LP SmartSide, installed with sealed edges. $9,000 to $22,000 for a whole house. URL: https://fortcollinssidingcontractors.com/engineered-wood-siding/ # Engineered wood siding in Fort Collins brings the look of painted wood lap to your walls Engineered wood siding gives you the look of painted wood lap in a lighter, longer board, and it's one of the sidings we install at Fort Collins Siding Contractors [/ →](/) . It's made from wood strands bound with resin and finished with a coated surface. People often search for it as LP SmartSide, which is one maker's name for engineered wood. Get Your FREE Estimate [#estimate →](#estimate) See the price range [#pricing →](#pricing) - Free estimates - Over 10 years in business - Licensed - Insured ![Two-story home with engineered wood lap siding painted warm gray and white trim](/images/misc/newer-two-story-fort-collins-home-with-engineered-.webp) ## What's included in our engineered wood siding - Lap and panel profiles - Wood-grain surface - Cut edges sealed - Ground and roof clearance kept - Primed or factory-finished ## What is engineered wood siding? If you’re looking at engineered wood siding in Fort Collins, you’re probably wondering what it actually is. Here’s the short version. It starts as wood strands coated with a resin binder, then gets pressed into boards and panels with a primed or factory-finished surface. The face is pressed with a wood-grain texture. Once it’s painted, it reads as a painted wood lap wall from the street. Many people know it by one maker’s name, LP SmartSide. Older houses may have hardboard siding, an earlier wood-fiber board. Engineered wood is the newer, strand-based version of that idea. It’s a common pick when hardboard has worn out and you want to keep the same look. It also handles our weather well. In LP’s own testing, the siding showed no signs of impact after being hit with 1.75-inch hail at 81 miles per hour, and that matters along the Front Range. ## Lap and panel profiles ### Lap siding Engineered wood lap siding comes in long boards with a wood-grain face. Long boards mean fewer butt joints on a wall. Fewer joints means fewer places for water to find its way in. That’s a real plus on a long, plain wall. ### Panel siding Panels come in large sheets, often with vertical grooves. They work well on garages, gables and bump-outs. You can pair them with battens for a board-and-batten look. It’s a quick way to add some character to a wall without changing the whole house. ![Engineered wood lap siding with wood-grain texture and a sealed cut edge next to a trim board](/images/content/close-view-of-engineered-wood-lap-siding-with-wood.webp) ## What engineered wood needs to do well Engineered wood is still a wood product. It does well when water can’t sit on it or soak into its edges. These are the details we watch on every install: - **Cut edge sealing.** Every cut end and notch gets sealed or primed before the board goes up, not just the ends you can see. Missing paint on a cut edge is one of the most common install mistakes, and it’s the easiest to prevent. - **Ground clearance.** LP’s installation instructions call for at least 6 inches between the siding and the finished grade. Splash-back, mulch and snow stay off the bottom edge that way. - **Roof clearance.** Where a roof meets a wall, the siding stops at least 1 inch short of the shingles. Kickout flashing then sends water into the gutter instead of down the wall. - **Paint kept up.** LP says a primed board needs its finish coat as soon as possible, and within 180 days of install. After that, we refresh the paint when it starts to wear. A good install also pays off on paper. LP backs its siding with a transferable 50-year limited warranty (prorated, with a 5-year labor and material feature), and that coverage depends on the details above being done right. ## How engineered wood compares in weight and handling Engineered wood is lighter than fiber cement and cuts more like lumber. It also doesn’t kick up the fine dust that fiber cement does when it’s cut. Compared with natural wood, you get longer, straighter boards with a consistent face. Here’s the quick version: - **Versus fiber cement:** lighter, easier to handle, less cutting dust. - **Versus natural wood:** straighter boards, a uniform face, and a factory-primed surface. If you like the look of real wood grain and boards you can stain, see our wood and cedar siding [/wood-and-cedar-siding/ →](/wood-and-cedar-siding/) page. If you’re weighing it against a cement board, our fiber cement siding [/fiber-cement-siding/ →](/fiber-cement-siding/) page covers that material. ## Where engineered wood fits Most of the engineered wood we install goes on during a full siding replacement [/siding-replacement/ →](/siding-replacement/) . The old siding comes off, and we check and wrap the wall first. It’s also a good way to replace worn hardboard siding with a board that has a similar look. You keep the character of your home and get a sturdier surface. If you’re thinking about engineered wood siding in Fort Collins, we’d be glad to take a look at your walls. Reach out and we’ll talk through what fits your home and your budget. ## What does engineered wood siding cost? This range covers a whole house, roughly 1,250 to 2,000 square feet of wall, with tear-off and new trim included. ### Engineered wood, whole house $9,000 to $22,000 Get Your FREE Estimate [#estimate →](#estimate) ## How our engineered wood siding works Every job follows the same order, from the estimate form to clean-up. 1. 01 ### Step 1: Send the estimate form Tell us whether you're thinking about lap, panel or both, and the color you have in mind. 2. 02 ### Step 2: We look at the house We check the walls and note the spots that need extra care: roof lines, low walls near soil, decks and patios. 3. 03 ### Step 3: You get a written estimate It covers tear-off, wrap, trim, the engineered wood profile and the finish. 4. 04 ### Step 4: Install, seal and clean up Boards go up over a wrapped wall with clearances kept, every cut edge is sealed, and the site is cleaned up. ## What engineered wood work looks like up close Example photos of the problems and details described on this page. Click any image to see it larger. Panel profile on a garage wall Kickout flashing and clearance where a roof meets the wall Ground clearance at the bottom course Long boards mean fewer joints on the wall ## Engineered Wood Siding questions ### Is LP smart siding good? LP SmartSide is one maker's name for engineered wood siding, and engineered wood is a good choice for many houses when cut edges are sealed, it's kept clear of the ground and roof, and the paint is kept up. It's lighter than fiber cement and comes in long boards with a wood-grain look. It's still a wood product, so edges that stay wet are the thing to watch. ### Is cement fiber siding a better choice than hardboard siding? Neither is better for every house. Fiber cement is heavier, stiffer and not made of wood; hardboard and today's engineered wood are lighter wood-based boards that cut and install more easily but need sealed edges and paint kept up. Whole-house prices run $15,000 to $30,000 for fiber cement and $9,000 to $22,000 for engineered wood. ## Related siding services ![Two-story house partway through a re-side, with new lap siding on one wall and old siding on the next](/images/misc/two-story-frame-house-in-fort-collins-partly-re-si.webp) ### Siding Replacement Old siding off, the wall behind it checked and wrapped, new siding on. Learn about replacement [Siding Replacement →](/siding-replacement/) ![Two-story house with sage green fiber cement lap siding and white trim under a blue sky](/images/misc/two-story-house-in-fort-collins-with-new-sage-gree.webp) ### Fiber Cement Siding Lap, panel and shingle styles, factory-finished or painted. Learn about fiber cement [Fiber Cement Siding →](/fiber-cement-siding/) ![House with natural cedar lap siding in a semi-transparent stain under a bright blue sky](/images/misc/house-with-natural-cedar-lap-siding-in-a-semi-tran.webp) ### Wood and Cedar Siding Cedar lap and shingle siding, and log siding. Learn about wood and cedar [Wood and Cedar Siding →](/wood-and-cedar-siding/) ## Get Your FREE Estimate Tell us about the house and what you're seeing. We'll look at it and send a written estimate for your engineered wood siding. - Free estimates - Over 10 years in business - Licensed - Insured We take estimate requests through this form only. Add the street address so we can find the house, and a few words about what you see. Thanks, we got your request. We'll reply by email with the next steps for your free estimate.