Siding is cladding fastened to the wall in boards or panels, most often vinyl, fibre cement such as James Hardie, engineered wood, or steel and aluminum. Sela Developments installs and replaces siding in Calgary over a lapped sheathing membrane with flashed openings, following each manufacturer's instructions. For hail, the City of Calgary rates fibre cement and steel well and does not recommend standard vinyl. Switching from one siding material to another needs a City of Calgary building permit, which we apply for.
01 · Overview
Siding is a cladding of boards or panels that is fastened to the wall and overlaps so water runs down and off. In Calgary the main choices are vinyl, insulated vinyl, fibre cement such as James Hardie (often called Hardie board), engineered wood such as LP SmartSide, and steel or aluminum.
Behind every type the National Building Code, Alberta Edition asks for the same things:
As siding contractors in Calgary, Sela Developments removes old cladding, repairs the sheathing and membrane, flashes the openings, installs the siding and parges the exposed foundation below it.
02 · Before you start
Four questions come up on every siding job.
Each material has a different price, weight, look and maintenance cycle. The City of Calgary puts installed cost for engineered wood at 45% above standard vinyl, fibre cement at 65% above, and steel at 100% above, based on RSMeans 2020 data.
The City of Calgary describes Calgary as part of “hail alley”, the area of Canada that sees the most hail. The August 5, 2024 storm caused nearly $2.8 billion in insured damage, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada. The City’s own hail checklist asks homeowners whether they have aluminum or vinyl siding.
Starter strips, nail placement, end gaps, overlaps, flashing and clearances to grade are covered up on the day they are installed. If one of them is wrong, the problem stays hidden until the wall shows damage.
Owners recladding a stucco house often ask whether to switch to siding. The decision affects cost, look, permit and how repairs are made later.
03 · Key insight
Siding is not glued to the house. It hangs on fasteners that let it expand and contract, and water that gets behind it has to run down and out. Install it tight and it buckles. Seal it shut at the bottom and water stays in.
The code builds this in. Vinyl fasteners must go in the centre of the nailing slots. The code also treats loosely fastened cladding with a clear air space behind it (at least 10 mm deep at the bottom of each piece) as a capillary break. In Calgary, where the code lists a moisture index of 0.4, a separate drained gap behind the siding is not required for houses and small buildings, so the membrane and the way each piece is lapped do the work.
That is why we treat the instructions for each product as the specification, not a suggestion.
04 · How we work
The right siding is the one whose hail rating and price you can both accept, and the City of Calgary’s comparison puts those side by side:
| Siding | Hail and weather (City of Calgary) | Installed cost vs standard vinyl |
|---|---|---|
| Standard vinyl | Not recommended. Cheaper vinyl is easily damaged by hail and extreme heat and can crack with weather swings. | Baseline |
| Insulated vinyl | Some impact resistance against hail and high winds | +60% |
| Aluminum | Hail can dent or scratch it without affecting the wall. Does not crack in freeze-thaw. | +35% |
| Engineered wood | Better impact resistance than vinyl and aluminum. Handles freeze-thaw without warping. | +45% |
| Fibre cement | Proven to stand up to strong wind and hail without damage. Must be kept painted. | +65% |
| Steel | Stands up well to wind, rain, hail and winter storms | +100% |
We price each option you are considering, so the difference is a number, not a guess.
For hail exposure, fibre cement and steel rate highest on the City’s comparison. If you choose James Hardie fibre cement, the HZ5 line is the one the company designs for freezing temperatures, snow and ice. After a storm we photograph and measure damaged siding elevation by elevation so the repair scope can be checked against the insurer’s estimate.
The details we follow on every job:
Where you or your designer want a drained rainscreen gap behind the siding, we build it with furring strips over the membrane.
Siding is lighter, can be installed in colder weather, and a damaged board can be replaced on its own. Cement stucco has no fasteners through its face, holds up to moderate hail, and in the City’s comparison costs about the same as fibre cement (70% above vinyl against 65%). Switching from stucco to siding needs a City of Calgary building permit. Read our stucco page for the other side of the comparison.
05 · In short
Siding in Calgary lasts when the material suits the hail risk and each piece is fastened loose enough to move, lapped to shed water and set above grade. Sela Developments installs vinyl, fibre cement, engineered wood and metal siding over a lapped membrane with flashed openings, and applies for the building permit when you change materials.
Compare siding with three-coat and acrylic stucco, or see how siding fits a full exterior renovation in Calgary. When you are ready, send us photos of the house and we will book a measure.
Last reviewed October 22, 2026 by the Sela Developments team. See our editorial policy for how we write and check these pages.
On the job
The City of Calgary says fibre cement board has been proven to stand up to strong wind and hail storms without damage, and that steel stands up well to hail. Aluminum can dent without affecting the wall. The City does not recommend standard vinyl because cheaper vinyl is easily damaged by hail and extreme heat. Insulated vinyl adds some impact resistance.
Like-for-like repair or replacement usually does not need a permit. The City of Calgary lists replacing siding with a different siding material as work that needs a building permit, so going from vinyl to fibre cement, or from stucco to siding, means a permit. We confirm the permit during the quote and apply for it.
James Hardie makes an HZ5 product line for climates with freezing temperatures, extreme seasonal temperature swings, snow and ice, with a surface engineered for paint adhesion and moisture resistance and an added drip edge. Fibre cement must stay painted. Primed boards need their finish paint within 180 days of installation.
Vinyl can, with care. Below 4.4°C (40°F), the end gap at corner posts and channels grows from 1/4 in to 3/8 in so panels have room to expand in summer. Primed fibre cement and engineered wood need their finish coat within 180 days of installation, so boards hung in late fall are painted once temperatures meet the paint maker's limits.
Siding is lighter, faster to install in cold weather and easier to replace one board at a time. Stucco has no fasteners through the face and costs a little more than fibre cement by the City of Calgary's comparison. Switching needs a building permit. Either way, the membrane and flashing behind the cladding decide how long the wall lasts.
Send the address, photos of each side of the house and the siding you are considering. We measure, check the wall behind the old cladding, and send a written quote with the permit and schedule.