LP SmartSide Siding Installation
LP SmartSide siding is our first recommendation for most Montana homes, and we install it across the Flathead Valley. It gives you the look of real wood lap or board-and-batten siding, but it is engineered specifically for the conditions that destroy ordinary cladding here: hail, hard freezes, and big temperature swings. Here is what it is, why it fits this valley, and how we install it.
What LP SmartSide actually is
LP SmartSide is engineered wood: wood strands treated and bonded into boards through LP's SmartGuard process. Per LP, every strand is treated with zinc borate, water-resistant waxes, and adhesive resins, then finished with a resin-saturated overlay. The zinc borate resists termites and fungal decay, the waxes resist moisture, and the resins bond it all into a board with real impact strength. Unlike traditional wood, there are no knots or weak spots, and the boards come in 16-foot lengths, which means fewer joints on your walls.
Why it fits Montana
Two things kill siding in the Flathead Valley: impact and freeze-thaw. LP publishes hail impact testing conducted at Texas Tech's debris impact facility, where SmartSide lap siding held up better than comparable fiber cement and vinyl. LP also builds the product for cold climates, and states it is engineered to withstand freeze-thaw cycling without the cracking and spalling that brittle claddings develop. That matters on a wall that goes through dozens of freeze-thaw swings every spring and fall, then takes hail off the mountains in July.
Styles, trim, and finishes
SmartSide comes as lap siding, vertical and panel siding, and matching trim, so the whole wall system is one product family. Boards arrive primed and ready for paint, and factory-prefinished options exist if you want to skip painting entirely. Because it takes and holds paint well, you can repaint down the road in any color instead of being locked into what you chose at install. On most Flathead homes we pair lap siding on the main walls with board-and-batten in gables, all trimmed from the same line.
How we install it
Engineered wood only performs if it is installed to spec, so we follow LP's published installation instructions: correct clearances at grade and rooflines, proper fastening, sealed cut edges, and flashing at every penetration and roof-to-wall junction. That last part is where our roofing background pays off. Kickout flashing and step flashing behind the siding get done the way we do them on a roof job. The product is backed by manufacturer warranty programs, and a correct install is what keeps you eligible for them.
Treated to the core against fungal decay through LP's SmartGuard process
Hail impact performance backed by LP's published testing
Engineered for freeze-thaw cycling in cold climates
16-foot lengths mean fewer joints on your walls
Paintable and repaintable, with factory-prefinished options
Installed to LP's instructions by a licensed Montana contractor
How it goes
- 01
Walkthrough and documentation
We photograph every elevation, fly the drone where upper walls or gables are hard to see, and note the flashing and water problems the new siding needs to solve.
- 02
Scope, style, and color
We write up the scope with lap, panel, and trim selections, primed-for-paint versus prefinished, and everything the price includes, in plain language.
- 03
Tear-off, prep, and install
Old cladding comes off, sheathing gets inspected and repaired, then weather barrier, flashing, and SmartSide go on per LP's installation instructions.
- 04
Walkthrough and photo record
We walk the finished walls with you and deliver photos of the work, including what went on behind the siding, for your records and any future sale.
