Boothbay Blue, at a Third of the Other Bid
Before & After
The Work in Progress
About This Project
This one is best told the way the homeowner told it. He'd gotten a quote from another company a summer earlier — "well beyond what we could afford," in his words. The next summer, Michael and Oscar came out, walked the house, and wrote an estimate. His review does the arithmetic: "We paid Siding Vault 36% of what we would have paid."
The difference wasn't just price — it was scope honesty. Part of his house was an addition that already wore Hardie siding, and the other company's estimator claimed it had to be re-sided too, or the rest of the house wouldn't carry a warranty. We didn't impose that condition, because it isn't true. Sound Hardie siding doesn't need replacing to make new Hardie siding warrantable. We quoted the work the house actually needed — and threw in a window replacement the other estimate hadn't even included.
From Green LP to Boothbay Blue
Most of the house wore aging green LP panel siding — his review points readers to "the all-green photo," and it leads our before set too. The tear-off took it all off, housewrap went up with stud lines marked, and the new HardiePlank was fastened into framing with a joint flashing at every seam. He chose the ColorPlus upgrade over primed-and-painted, and the color that sold him was Boothbay Blue — a soft slate blue that sits perfectly against the evergreens that ring the property. Hardie light blocks replaced the rot-prone wood blocks behind the exterior fixtures, and the small utility window came out for a new vinyl unit, flashed and trimmed like every other opening.
One wrinkle got handled the way wrinkles should: partway through, it turned out James Hardie no longer produced the shingle profile in ColorPlus. Rather than shrug, Michael offered to paint the shingles any color the owners wanted, and they chose Jocular Green (SW 6736) — matched to the garage — a small part of the job, handled without drama, which is exactly how he described it in his review.
The Finished Look
Fall 2023, project done, site cleaned — and a review that still does our marketing for us: "The materials (including the caulk) and workmanship are quite satisfactory. I am thankful that Siding Vault was available for this job and happily recommended Michael and his team." His full review sits below, stars and all — the only edits are the competitor's name, which we've starred out ourselves.
★★★★★Google review · Bellingham, WA"Siding Vault did excellent work installing Hardie ColorPlus Siding and Trim on my house. We had LP siding on most of the house (the all-green photo shows the existing siding, with Boothbay Blue the siding installed by Siding Vault), though a small addition already had Hardie. Last summer, I received a quote from ***** ***** that was well beyond what we could afford. This summer, Michael and Oscar from Siding Vault came out and gave an estimate. We paid Siding Vault 36% of what we would have paid *****! ***** was going to do slightly more work, as its estimator claimed that we needed to reside the Hardie-sided addition if we wanted the rest of the house to have any warranty, a condition Siding Vault did not impose. Siding Vault replaced a window, also, that had not been part of the ***** ***** estimate. I expect that if the two estimates had been for the exact same work, Siding Vault's charge still would have been distinctly less than half of *****'s. Michael and Oscar seemed knowledgeable from my initial consultation, sharing helpful information and giving me various options regarding the work to be done. As the work relationship proceeded, Michael was friendly, promptly addressed any questions I had, and offered to paint our shingles (a small part of the job) any color we wanted when it turned out Hardie no longer produced them in ColorPlus. All of the crew was courteous and seemed to keep a safe workspace. Now that the work has been completed, Siding Vault cleaned things up nicely. The materials (including the caulk) and workmanship are quite satisfactory. I am thankful that Siding Vault was available for this job and happily recommended Michael and his team."
