Product Spotlight: LP® SmartSide®

Exterior design can make a huge impact on the value of your home, and Talbert is proud to offer customers some of the best exterior siding products available today. LP® SmartSide® has been a long-time favorite with Talbert and the clients we serve.

For this product spotlight, we’ll take a look at why the engineered wood siding and trim from LP is such a great option for builders and homeowners alike.

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LP Building Solutions has a long-standing reputation for exterior products that offer customers reliability and strength they can depend on. The innovative formula for their engineered wood planks has helped homeowners everywhere protect and design successful exteriors.

Sharon Roscher is the Territory Sales Manager for LP Building Solutions and gave us some background on the development of that formula. The company was founded in 1973 when most hardboard siding was “made of ground-up wood flour, in essence,” along with water, resin, or wax. They’d then press that into a board and sell it as siding.

“There was not a whole lot of science around it back in the day,” laughs Sharon. Many manufacturers used different types of wood scrap from different species, and the hardboard planks made in the process were often more vulnerable to moisture and other damage during natural weather disasters.

The resulting lawsuits and contract issues in the 1980s turned off production for many manufacturers, but LP Building Solutions developed a manufacturing process that produced a stronger, more reliable product.

“The planks of wood are made out of aspen,” says Sharon, “and we actually dry that aspen almost to the point it’ll catch on fire, so it’ll soak up the resin.” After, the wood is tumbled with resin. “Then, we press it into a board. We’re the only ones that do it this way. It’s so resin-dense, we’re able to give it a good warranty.”

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The manufacturing process LP Building Solutions developed has helped homeowners everywhere clad their exteriors with a product they can depend on, no matter what the weather brings. “The siding stands up to strong winds, up to 200-mile gusts,” says Sharon.

Talbert is proud to offer such a reliable exterior solution, which also includes a five-year labor warranty to help guarantee the value of the installation. “We’ll pay for the labor to replace the siding,” says Sharon.

To ensure they had exterior options available to every type of customer, LP Building Solutions also offers prefinished siding and trim. “We would inspect these third-party finishes, but people didn’t want multiple warranties to worry about,” says Sharon. “So we now have prefinished options.” With four factories in North Carolina, LP Building Solutions can serve homeowners across the entire region.

The prefinished products have been a good cost-savings for many homeowners. “The average homeowner can spend thousands on repainting siding,” says Sharon.

Maintenance on the engineered wood siding is easier to manage with the prefinished option, so homeowners can enjoy their exterior instead of worrying about it.

“There’s a whole portfolio of products — from lap to shake to board and batten — that’s very popular,” says Sharon.

All of LP’s siding products come in 16-foot lengths, which means a cleaner look on the home’s exteriors. “Fiber cement comes in 12 feet and gives you more seams on projects,” explains Sharon. “There are fewer seams with LP. It’s a much prettier project with fewer chances for moisture problems down the road.”

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Fiber cement is LP’s main competitor, but LP Smartside gives builders a leg up on competitors in a few ways. “We just finished a time study, and our planks are 36% faster than fiber cement to put up,” says Sharon. “There’s a labor shortage right now in North Carolina, for sure, and also for much of the U.S. It makes you more profitable if you can install it faster.”

LP Smartside also comes in 16 colors, so homeowners can get whatever look they’re after on their home. And because production has been streamlined, they can get that look quickly.

“Our process is so quick that we have a three to four week lead time,” says Sharon.

During a time when the construction industry has seen significant change and price inflation, that kind of stability and dependability makes building with LP Smartside attractive.

“Lumber has tripled, OSB has gone through the roof, and builders feel like they have no control,” says Sharon. “So, it’s nice to know that your siding’s pricing won’t go through the roof.”

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To help our customers build more successful projects, Talbert is proud to offer LP SmartSide siding and other LP Building Products. “LP’s largest OSB mill is in Roxboro, where Talbert is, and they stock everything we manufacture. They’re our largest dealer of SmartSide products in the Carolinas.”

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“It’s really a partnership,” says Sharon. “Talbert knows our product well, they can turn around a quote to their customers quickly, and I think that makes a difference to the contractors. The salespeople are so familiar with LP SmartSide that it’s a no-brainer.”

Sharon enjoys the partnership with Talbert because it’s a rewarding collaboration for everyone involved. “Talbert stands by every one of their products and jobs, and it’s also the partnership they have with the customers. It’s often the second generation of customers buying from Talbert.”

Talbert Building Supply is a part of the Lumbermens Merchandising Corporation (LMC), owned by independent lumber and building material dealers across the country. It gives Talbert access to industry-leading products and brands like LP SmartSide, and we’re proud to partner with such excellence.

Click here to learn more about LP Building Solutions and Talbert’s other siding and exterior trim options. Or click here to contact us and discuss your specific needs.