Earlier this year, James Hardie announced a partnership with one of our favorite HGTV couples—Chip and Joanna Gaines. I’m sure most, if not all, of you are familiar with their show Fixer Upper, where modest homes are turned into dream homes with their signature and timeless modern-farmhouse design. And if you have ever driven south on I-35 to Austin or San Antonio in Texas, I am willing to bet that you stopped in Waco to visit Joanna’s Magnolia Market, which has arguably by itself turned downtown Waco into a bustling, happening place.
If you are a fan of the Gaines style in Fixer Upper, then you’ll be a fan of their partnership with James Hardie. The Magnolia Home + James Hardie Collection is an exclusive offering of Hardie siding products and accessories that have been hand-pinked by Joanna herself. Joanna shares that she and Chip “were really excited to collaborate with James Hardie. Our aim is always to not only give clients a beautiful home, but one that will stand the test of time.”
Hear from Chip and Joanna yourself on how James Hardie products have helped them to deliver beautiful homes in Waco with unique design challenges.
Sideco is especially excited about the curated color palette from Joanna.
We think Joanna has helped introduce bold but sophisticated colors that can help homes have unique curb appeal in their neighborhoods. She shares what inspired her to develop these colors below:
Sideco now has samples of the Magnolia color line, and we encourage you to visit our Sideco showroom to see them in person. Over the coming months, we will be changing the colors of several of our exhibits to Joanna’s color line, so that you can see them at scale. You are welcome to call (501-851-1089) and schedule an appointment, or to drop on by at a time convenient for you. Be the first to bring bold, sophisticated colors to your neighborhood!
Sideco has been in business now for 37 years. During that time, when a customer signed a contract, we typically started their job within 2-3 months.
That is no longer the case. Sideco is now scheduling 6 months out, and we may be approaching 7-8 months out.
There are several reasons for this dramatic change:
We know that it can be difficult for a customer to make a very important, costly decision about the future of their home, and not see the direct results of that decision until 6-8 months later. But we want to reassure you that, in the end, it is worth it—you are not only ordering the highest quality materials available on the market for your home, but you are (more importantly) hiring the most qualified team in Arkansas to properly install those materials, a team and company that has stood behind its work for 37 years, and will do so for another 37 years.
When you entrust the remodeling of your home to a contractor, you are making a very important decision that boils down to trust. Do you trust this company to take as good care of your home as if it were their own?
Sideco has been in the home remodeling business for 37 years now. If we had to distill those nearly four decades of experience into one piece of advice, it would be that the most important decision a small business will make is who to hire.
One of the most common reviews from our customers is their admiration for our employees. They often note that our crews arrive early and depart late; that they clean the job site everyday; that they are polite, courteous, and communicative; and that they do what they say they will do.
We are a close-knit group at Sideco. We proudly display the name and face of every employee on our website. You will notice that some of them share last names—some are families, some are siblings, and some are fathers and sons. We think that says a lot about our culture.
It is no accident that when we give you 10 reasons why to hire Sideco, we start with two personnel items—we are a company that hires employees, not subcontractors, and we believe in extensive certification and trainings for our craftsmen. You will not find another company like this in Arkansas, and if you hire us, you will most certainly notice the difference.
James Hardie Fiber Cement Siding looks great virtually forever. But that does not mean that it doesn’t need a good scrubbing every now and then.
Most homeowners who do not have James Hardie on their home resort to repainting siding to give it that fresh, updated look. All it takes with James Hardie, though, is a thorough cleaning, and the siding will look just like it did when it rolled off the manufacturer line.
How do you clean James Hardie Fiber Cement Siding? Good question.
The most common culprit at play here is dirt. And if you have ever been around kids, then you know the secret formula to tackle any dirt stain—warm water and soap.
For your James Hardie Fiber Cement siding, we recommend warm water from the sink with a little dish soap added to the mix. Then, grab a non-abrasive brush with soft bristles. Try to find a brush with a long handle extension, so that you can reach all crooks and crannies of your exterior. After scrubbing a section with the warm soap water, rinse it all off with a spray nozzle attached to your garden hose.
If you are looking to clean some mold and mildew that has accumulated we recommend using some mildew specific clear and water.
We’ve seen folks use a power pressure washer to clean their siding. James Hardie, the company, actually advises against it. Our recommendation is that **if ** you decide to use a pressure washer, be sure to use a low-powered one. It really does not take much at all to clean fiber cement siding.
For you homeowners with large walls that stretch upwards two- or three-stories—please be careful! If you are not experienced with extension ladders, never forget that there is always another option—hiring a professional to clean your siding!
A damaged wood deck is not a matter of “IF,” but “WHEN.”
Deck damage includes weathering, warping, shearing, buckling, and rotting. While you can certainly delay some of these issues with proper staining and vigilant cleaning and re-staining, they are unfortunately inevitable.
There are four kinds of deck damage that you should monitor for. Some are worse than others; some are fixable and others, frankly, are not, if you have used wood materials.
If you have any one or a combination of the issues identified above, it may be time to replace your deck.
Do not make the mistake of replacing it with traditional wood again. We highly encourage our customers to study and consider TimberTech’s advanced decking materials. TimberTech is high-end composite decking material that is perfect for everyday decks, pool surrounds, waterfront retreats, & rooftop escapes. It will practically last forever, with zero maintenance!
Owning a home is likely the most significant financial decision most of us will make in our lifetime. As such, we better make the right decision when we buy; and we better take good care of that home after we buy it.
Sideco’s specialty is especially relevant in today’s housing market. According to Redfin, (a large national realtor), nearly 25% of homeowners have lived in their current home for over 20 years. The average homeowner has been in their home for 13 years. This is quite a difference from prior decades, where homeowners “moved up” every five or six years.
There is a record low inventory of new homes across the nation. Couple that with record increases in home value appreciation. It's the perfect scenario. Now we are helping our customers find ways to make their current homes their “dream homes.” Why go shopping for that “perfect” home, when you can design and build your own vision right where you are?
Making an investment to build an outdoor living area in your backyard is no longer a “waste of money.” Creating a space for yourself, your friends, and your family to enjoy is actually a wise move. It will help you preserve and enhance the equity value of your home. The same can be said for any improvement that Sideco assists its customers with. Windows, front entry or patio doors, siding, gutters—these are vital (but also beautiful!) all enhance your most important financial investment, your home.
Replacing the siding on your home is an excellent way to increase your curb appeal. Know that your design choices are by no means limited to what is there today. With James Hardie Fiber Cement siding, you have dozens of unique design and color options!
Plank, or lap, siding is the original James Hardie profile, and is still the most popular choice today. It is available in multiple styles and textures, include smooth finish and cedar finish.
https://www.jameshardie.com/dream
Another common siding is “vertical siding,” also with several design options and textures. “Board and Batten” is a more traditional style, common on cottages and ranch style homes for example. But it can also be designed appropriately for more modern homes.
Get the authenticity of cedar shingles with the strength of James Hardie. Better than the real thing, it resists rotting, curling, warping and splitting. It is an excellent way to add accents to certain sections of your home.
We are all constantly reviewing things in our heads. For small businesses like Sideco, good customer reviews are a mark of success. And on the flip side, negative customer reviews can be a bad sign.
Sideco still receives most of its business through referrals; in fact, repeat customers and referrals are generally 50% of our business. This is perhaps the best possible customer review — someone trusts Sideco so much that they are willing to hire us again or assure their friends, family, and neighbors that they can trust us.
But for that other 50% of our prospective customers who are new to Sideco, we must work hard to gain their trust.
One obvious place they can turn is Google. Google’s five-stars are a familiar ranking system for practically every business in the world. But Google reviews can be bought and faked. Worse, competitors can hire “hitmen” to defame companies through negative reviews.
Sideco thankfully has a “5-star rating” on Google, but that isn’t what we are most proud of. What we are most proud of is our Guild Quality review.
Guild Quality is a customer satisfaction software company. Their “niche” is the home improvement industry, and they are generally hired by reputable brands to monitor the quality of local contractors.
James Hardie (the brand or vendor) hires Guild Quality to monitor local companies like Sideco (the contractor) across the country, as a way to help protect their own brand. They wish to partner only with local contractors that can match their level of excellence. This is how they ensure that.
Sideco is Arkansas’ only James Hardie’s Elite Preferred Contractor Alliance, and in order to be so, we had to consent to these third party customer reviews. Sideco is the only contractor in the state of Arkansas to have this level of trust with James Hardie.
Guild Quality only surveys confirmed customers. Unlike Google or Facebook or Yelp or Angie’s List, these reviews are impossible to fake. Our overall, average customer rating is 99%. The average satisfaction for subcategories is as follows:
We’re confident that you’ll come to appreciate our culture and philosophy. But if you need a little nudging, customer reviews are the first place to start. We have no doubt that you will be impressed by what you read.
