There's only one siding alternative that has almost no downside when it comes to cladding your home: Hardie board siding in Atlanta. Atlanta Hardie board siding masquerades under many names, including fiber cement siding, cement board siding, and Hardie plank siding in Atlanta, among others. Whatever you choose to call it, when it comes to performance and price, there just isn't anything that compares in today's siding market. Why not? Let's take a look at the alternatives, and why you might want to think twice about them if you live in the greater Atlanta metro area.
Hardie Board Siding is Superior to Aluminum
Aluminum is the old standby. While it was used almost exclusively by siding contractors for decades following WWII, it has since met its match in composite sidings like Hardie plank siding in Atlanta. The problem with aluminum is its ability to resist impacts. If you can crush a soda can in your hands, why should you expect aluminum siding to stand up to a major Georgia spring thunderstorm and accompanying hail? The easy answer: you shouldn't. Aluminum has a lot of advantages, but unless you like the pockmarked look, you should think twice about installing aluminum siding on your home.
Hardie Board Siding is Superior to Steel Siding
To be honest, steel siding has almost no downside. The one problem you might experience with this siding is the rust factor. New lines of steel siding with baked-on coatings have reduced the occurrence of rust in steel siding exponentially compared to steel that was simply painted in years past, but all it takes is one major scratch and you've got issues, especially if you fail to follow up with some touch up work. Of course, touching up steel siding is an option, but any paint supplier will tell you that patchwork doesn't last like the original baked-on coating, and if your steel siding has been around a few years, as it invariably will, it can be almost impossible to find a perfect match color wise.
Hardie Board Siding is Superior to Wood Siding
There's a reason Atlanta is classified as a subtropical climate according to the Kloppen Classification. It gets over 50 inches of annual rainfall and the humidity can make summers downright unbearable in the A-T-L. That's a rough combination of elements for wood siding, and a recipe for destruction if you're the type that puts off regular house paintings. If rot, warping, cracking, and splitting are your idea of quality siding, then by all means go with wood. If not, Hardie board siding in Atlanta is your answer. Oh, and did we mention that Hardie plank siding in Atlanta is also insect proof? Termites and carpenter ants can be a real problem in the South. Wood siding only gives those pests more to chew on.
Hardie Board Siding is Superior to Vinyl
Vinyl siding is the biggest competitor for Hardie plank siding in Atlanta. In fact, vinyl siding is the most installed siding in the nation, by a factor of two, making it the biggest competitor of every other siding material on the market. Usually people will claim price as the reason they chose vinyl siding, but those folks should have done more research. Most Hardie siding in Atlanta is cheaper than high end vinyl lines. And with a 50 year warranty, Atlanta Hardie siding actually saves you money when you factor in the life span of the materials. Finally, vinyl is tougher than ever, but it's not as tough as Atlanta Hardie plank siding. Since major thunderstorms and tornados are no stranger to the Atlanta area (did you know that the Atlanta metropolitan area reports more tornadoes than anywhere else in the state of Georgia?) you shouldn't settle for anything less than the best when it comes to protecting your home. The best, by all accounts, is Hardie board siding in Atlanta.
Hardie Board Siding in Atlanta
By now, you've probably figured out what makes this the best siding material to hit the market in most of recorded history. It's tough as nails, it's moisture and insect proof, impact proof, and it comes with a 50 year warranty. Add to that the facts that it's virtually incombustible, it looks great, and it takes paint better than all its competitors, and you're left with a siding material that's unrivaled in the greater Atlanta metro area.
Finding an Atlanta Hardi Board Siding Contractor
If Atlanta Hardie plank siding sounds like the siding material you've been searching for (and how couldn't it?), then your first step should be searching out several siding installers to come give bids on what it's going to cost to clad your home in fiber cement siding. Never forget that Georgia doesn't require its contractors to obtain licenses of any kind, meaning that there are no guarantees that the guy listed in the phone book knows what he's doing when it comes to installing Hardie board siding in Atlanta. The only way to find out for sure is to weigh each contractor's estimate against other "experts," and to check references. It's a sure-fire way to avoid problems before your project ever gets started. Of course, combining that diligence with a contractor referral service like ServiceMagic doesn?t hurt, either. ServiceMagic does a lot of the research for you ahead of time, so you can be even more confident, once you've made your choice, that everything will go according to plan when you choose to install Atlanta Hardie siding on your home. 
Matt Goering, formerly a carpenter and house painter, is a freelance writer for the home improvement industry who has published over 600 articles.