yes, you can paint over Hardie. So long as the original factory applied paint is in good condition and whatever color paint you want to use will fully cover the original color(s), then there is no technical reason why you can't do this. If your contractor is planning on using a mixture of different colors of leftover boards, it might take an extra coat of paint to get the color even all over. (Just like you would have to do if you were trying to paint a single shade of blue over a room that had previously been painted in green and yellow stripes.) The contractor's claim that this will extend the warranty by 20 years is another issue altogether! Just WHOSE paint warranty is he saying is going to be extended by 20 years? If your contractor is saying that James Hardie will then warranty the paint job for twenty years, you had better think again. The James Hardie warranty on Color Plus is only 15 years ( See the link) AND it specifically excludes "damages or defects resulting from, or in any way attributable to: ... (e) repair or alteration; ...(j) efflorescence or performance of any paints and/or coatings which are not Hardie..." If the repainted product fails, I think Hardie could and would argue that either the repainting was an "alteration" that caused the original Color Plus to fail OR that the Color Plus didn't fail at all, your second paint job failed and that is a "coating which is not Hardie" and therefore not covered by the Hardie warranty. If your contractor is claiming that HE will personally warranty the paint job for twenty years... well, how sure are you that he is still going to be in business (under the same name) if/when you need to collect on that warranty? If he files bankruptcy or otherwise closes down his current business, you are out of luck. Trust me, bankrupt business get discharged from "unknown" debts arising from future potential warranty claims all the time. A warranty is only as good as the business that stands behind the warranty. PERIOD. Here is a link that might be useful: Color plus warranty from James Hardie

Insulation is installed between the studs, the only reason I have seen foamboard installed is under vinyl---to prevent the vinyl from warping as badly due to heat/cold concentration at studs. It is also touted to be an air movement barrier. The absence of information about foam board on Hardies web site means to me they do not consider it---therefore do not use it.

Cheri, that may be a fair criticism of my use of the word "impervious", with some caveats. There is no product that can truly say that it cannot be damaged by woodpeckers. That said, we have replaced cedar siding on many homes over the years due to repetitive woodpecker damage, and after the Smartside product was installed, they stayed away. I have not seen a single instance where that was not the case in my own experience. The product is much harder than cedar and does not harbor the insects that they are looking for. I'd also clarify that in the context of my comment I was comparing the product to fiber cement, and the Smartside product does have superior impact resistance, which would logically correlate to its resistance to woodpecker "drumming" as well as hail. As far as your picture, is that your home? When was that installed and which product was it? The pic is a little foggy, but it looks like a smoother texture than that of the LP stand based lap siding... I can't say for certain, but that doesn't look like the product. This seems like a questionable first post to the forum as well, particularly since the thread subject is not even about siding. Given that the thread is about Beechworth windows, it should be also mentioned that as was speculated by some professionals as a possibility-- if not likelihood-- a few years ago, this product is no more. http://media.graytvinc.com/documents/Beechworth+Windows_11-08-18.pdf It looks like Rachel was considering the product just a month before the shut things down, I hope that she was not left high and dry.

I made the post to learn which has been limited to speculation, not experience. For those of us in the East, what 150 million, traffic suggest more, vinyl is very popular and is used in new construction. One neighbor is considering replacing his 30 year old vinyl with Hardie, just for a change... . I've lived in NJ longer than that and have never experience hail damage... Colorado? hail is a concern, not here. Still I don't like the touch of vinyl and from what I have found in other searches is the insulation applied as part of the manufacturing process does indeed make the siding much firmer to the touch, straighter and flatter. I have not yet gotten any quotes, but was told insulated vinyl is about 40% less, and due at least in part to requiring less than 1/2 the man hours to install Hardie an none of the hazardous to saw material (cement board) precautions. I am getting quotes on covering my trim with vinyl for either vinyl or Hardie siding. I'm also considering replacing my gutters and down spouts with the 6" size to mostly illuminate the the need to clean leaves out of the gutters. I've been doing that for over 25 years and am just too old to get the second story gutters, especially the one at right angle to a very steep garage roof, not a roof to walk around on. Again, I have a lot of still good cedar clapboard siding and estimate I need to do only two sides of the house in Hardie (say).. that cuts the cost more than in half as I also plan to do the 1 story garage walls myself. It is the vertical board and baton I believe it is called. I may just pull it all off and use Plywood with the same vertical pattern. .. absent all the joints and cracks. Edit: I see another concern was raised while I was bloviating above. The process that was described to me, I think both for cement board and vinyl, insulated or not: remove the existing siding, install a new vapor barrier. I believe both vinyl and and Hardie is then installed using a hanger type .. screwing to studs and the like. This says to me as far as vapor is concerned, neither protects against vapor from inside that gets through the interior vapor barrier and the vapor barrier installed over the sheathing - plywood in my case. As the insulation on the vinyle is nothing more than something filling the lap spaces, just as Hardie does because of its thickness and stiffness. However, the insulation has a much higher R value than does the Hardie, which I'll be is close to zero. Cement and even wood are poor insulators.