2017 Top 100 Products: Exterior Products

To see products in the other 2017 Top 100 categories, click here. Click images to enlarge.

Trim And Siding / Louisiana-Pacific

LP SmartSide Trim & Siding looks like and works and cuts like wood, but offers the durability of LP engineered wood, with the manufacturer’s proprietary four-component SmartGuard manufacturing process for strength and resistance to termites and decay. LP offers a complete line of high-performance trim and siding products to complement almost any building style.

Manufactured Stone Veneer / Boral 

Cast in flexible molds created from exact replicas of natural stones and hand-colored with iron oxide pigments, Boral’s Cultured Stone is made of lightweight aggregate materials that are about one-quarter the weight of full-thickness stone and can be adhered to most wall surfaces. The Contemporary Collection is both modern and modular, offering a clean, linear aesthetic in a range of sizes, depths, textures, and colors that includes the lines Pro-Fit Ledgestone (shown), Hewn Stone, and Coral Stone.

Metal Roofing / CertainTeed 

Engineered to provide durability, low maintenance, and an authentic look, CertainTeed’s Presidio metal roofing line replicates the appearance of slate, clay tile (shown), and wood shakes using Energy Star-qualified material manufactured with up to 50 percent recycled content. Made with durable, deep-draw steel to achieve weather resistance, solar reflection, and noise reduction, Presidio roofing offers a fade-resistant surface with a patented anticorrosive coating that can decrease heat transfer into a home. The roofing is also 100 percent recyclable when it is ultimately removed due to renovation or demolition.

Fiber-Cement Siding / James Hardie

James Hardie fiber-cement siding products—HardiePlank, HardieShingle, and HardieTrim—are designed to provide the natural character of wood while resisting rotting, curling, warping, and splitting, providing a low-maintenance exterior with a wide range of design options. Baked-on color delivers a beautiful finish that resists fading. HardiePlank lap siding offers smooth or textured finishes, or a beaded profile, while HardieShingle captures the look of cedar shingles in three profiles: Staggered Edge Panel, Straight-Edge Panel (shown), and Half Rounds. HardieTrim boards offer an authentic look while providing design flexibility for columns, friezes, doors, windows, and other accent areas.

Exterior Products / Mid-America 

Offering a large selection of exterior products from shutters and window and door trim, to mount blocks, gable vents, and utility and siding vents in a variety of colors, sizes, and architectural styles, Mid-America, a Tapco Group brand, provides products that are impervious to moisture and insects, do not require painting, and are made in the U.S.

Stone Veneer / Echelon

Echelon, an Oldcastle Architectural Products brand, has several offerings in its line of Artisan Masonry Stone Thin Veneers that are lightweight, mimic the look of natural stone, and install quickly and easily: Hillcrest, Kensley (shown), and Westpeak (added in early 2017). The veneers are manufactured using Echelon’s patented dry-cast system, which creates a natural stone look with integrated color throughout the entire depth of each masonry unit, and because the color is integral throughout each stone, it resists fading. The aggregate stone is easy to clean and resistant to salt, water, and thaw damage. 

Synthetic Slate / DaVinci Roofscapes 

For builders seeking roofing materials that offer low maintenance and the beauty of natural slate without its shortcomings or cost, DaVinci’s durable slate roofing is a compelling option. DaVinci’s synthetic offering is lightweight, freeze/thaw resistant, Class A fire-rated, Class 4 impact-rated, and wind resistant to 110 mph. The tiles are available in 50 standard colors and a variety of widths: Multi-Width Slate (12, 10, 9, 7, and 6 inches wide; shown), Single-Width Slate, and the Bellaforte line, which has slates 12 inches wide.

Fiber-Cement Siding / James Hardie

With its deep shadow lines, mitered corners, and smooth texture, Artisan V-Rustic siding from James Hardie looks similar to the distinctive horizontal lines of wood V-groove siding, but with lower maintenance. The siding can be installed horizontally, vertically, or as a soffit, and its Lock Joint system enables blind nailing, eliminating the need to putty, sand, and paint over face nails. V-Rustic is engineered to resist shrinking, swelling, and cracking, even in hot, humid, and wet climates, the manufacturer says, and it is currently available in California, Washington, South Carolina, North Carolina, and South Texas.

Composite Siding / Boral

Boral Composites TruExterior Siding line offers a bevel profile, providing a contemporary, mainstream look similar to cedar or redwood clapboard. The siding features the same poly-ash construction as other TruExterior siding and trim products, delivering a wood look accompanied by various high-performance benefits including durability, dimensional stability, and moisture resistance. Also available is 8- and 10-inch Bevel Siding, a profile that the company says boasts a true taper and deep shadow lines that mimic wood in a realistic manner.

Fiber-Cement Shakes / Nichiha 

With its ½-inch-thick Sierra Premium Shake, Nichiha claims it offers the thickest fiber-cement shake available. The shakes are made from sustainable materials such as FSC wood pulp and fly ash. The shakes feature depths and shadows that look like real wood, while Nichiha has coated them with sealer and primer and partnered with PPG to apply a sandstone base coat and two coats of PPG’s semi-transparent finish to deliver deep, rich colors and durability. Sierra Premium resists rot, pests, warping, and delamination, and the finish is covered by a 15-year limited warranty.

Vinyl Shake Siding / Foundry 

A Tapco Group division, Foundry Specialty Siding makes its shakes from multiple molds of genuine cedar to achieve a warm, authentic look for Split Shake, Foundry’s most popular vinyl cedar shake siding. With random grooves and grain, the deep texture also creates a distinct contrast between light and shadow. Available in 7-inch exposure and 23 colors, Split Shakes maintain their hues thanks to a durable ASA cap that protects against UV rays and the elements. 

Stone Veneer / Eldorado Stone

The Modern Collection of architectural stone veneers from Eldorado Stone features clean lines and a neutral color palette to accentuate modern and contemporary designs. The collection has 14 profiles with dozens of colors in both smooth and textured effects. Created with a blend of natural stone and aggregate, the Modern Collection is suitable for both interior and exterior applications. One of the options, LedgeCut33 (shown), is designed for dry-stack installation and includes 90-degree corner pieces and flat pieces in a choice of four colors and three lengths (12, 18, and 24 inches, with a 3-inch height for each).

Composite Vertical Siding / Louisiana-Pacific

LP now offers 16-foot LP SmartSide Vertical Siding to meet the growing demand for vertical siding boards longer than 8 feet. Best suited for the board-and-batten architectural style, the engineered wood strand substrate panels measure 3/8-inch thick and 16 inches wide and feature a cedar-grain texture with deep shadow lines. The 16-foot length eliminates unsightly horizontal joints and limits waste on small walls.

Stone Veneer Panels / Boral

To provide the look of traditional stone masonry but at a lower cost and with less installation time, Boral created Versetta Stone, a panelized nonstructural, cement-based manufactured stone veneer made from lightweight aggregate materials that is just one-fourth the weight of full-thickness stone. Panels install with nails or screws and have an integrated moisture management system. No additional support footings are required, and there is no need for painting, coating, or sealing. Versetta Stone comes in two cuts, Ledgestone (shown) and Tight-Cut, and in a range of colors.

Fiber-Cement Siding And Trim / James Hardie

With a real wood-grain look and feel, James Hardie fiber-cement products offer both curb appeal and durability. Because it’s five times thicker than vinyl, the company says, James Hardie siding is able to have deeper grooves and a more authentic wood-grain effect. Adding HardieTrim provides the finishing touch. All of James Hardie’s siding products are available primed and ready for field painting, but can also be ordered with ColorPlus Technology, which provides a coat of proprietary finish—in a wide palette of color options—that’s baked on in a closely controlled factory environment for a consistent, vibrant color that resists UV fading. 

Manufactured Stone / ProVia 

Manufactured Stone by ProVia has a range of offerings that include Natural Cut Stone, which has fossilization features and color variations that reflect those found in nature and is available in three colors: Woodbridge, Fernwood, and Ashworth; and PrecisionFit Stone Panels (shown), which attach for a precise fit and quick installation, characterized by irregular edges and dynamic patterns that provide a stacked-stone look. Available colors are Sage Grey, Adobe Sands, and Driftwood.

Stone-Veneer Columns / Ply Gem 

Ply Gem Stone’s Column Collection provides builders and contractors with a way to add curb appeal and character to a house. Designed as an architectural feature for applications including fence and railing accents, the stacked-stone-look columns are molded from a Civil War-era ledgestone fence and then hand-painted. The Column Collection, a part of Ply Gem's Fence & Rail group, is similar to quarried stone with an authentic, variegated design, and the columns require no mortar. Two colors are available: the natural-looking Canyon (shown), and Mystic, a dark gray that fits well with modern designs.

PVC Trimboard / Kleer 

Kleer PVC Trimboard, a product from the Tapco Group’s Kleer Trimboard division, is made from cellular PVC and is available with Kleer’s innovative TruEdge sealed edges that resist stains from dust and dirt. TruEdge not only provides a smoother finish than wood or other PVC boards, the company says, but it also has UV inhibitors to help protect the boards against the elements over time.