Eau Claire, WI · Trusted Home Improvement Since 1993
Siding That Protects Your Home and Looks Great Doing It
New siding installed by a licensed contractor with 33 years of experience. Vinyl, LP, Hardie board, and fiber options available. Free estimate — call today.
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Midwest Home Improvements
Why Choose Midwest Home Improvements
New siding is one of the highest-return improvements you can make to a home's exterior — and one of the easiest to get wrong if the contractor cuts corners on installation. At Midwest Home Improvements, we've been installing and replacing siding across western Wisconsin since 1993. Owner Stephen Bonander has done this work for 33 years, and we're fully licensed and insured, which means you won't be held liable for accidents or damage that occur while we're on the job. If your siding is cracked, warping, or showing moisture damage, don't wait — call us at (715) 894-1120 for an honest assessment.
The cost of a siding project depends on several factors: the size of the home, the material you choose, how much prep and removal work is involved, and whether any underlying sheathing needs repair before new panels go up. Vinyl siding is typically the most budget-friendly option, while LP siding, Hardie board (fiber cement), and engineered wood sit at a higher price point because of the material cost and installation precision they require. A smaller single-story home might come in well under $10,000; a large two-story with complex trim details and significant removal work can run $30,000 or more. Every job is different — contact Midwest Home Improvements for an accurate estimate.
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Siding Materials Compared: What Actually Holds Up in Wisconsin Winters
Wisconsin's freeze-thaw cycles are hard on exterior cladding. Not every material handles that stress the same way, and the wrong choice can mean cracking, moisture infiltration, or paint failure within a few years of installation. Here's the honest breakdown. Vinyl is durable and low-maintenance, but cheaper vinyl can become brittle in extreme cold. LP siding and fiber cement (Hardie board) both handle temperature swings well and hold paint far longer than wood. Engineered wood products like LP SmartSide also resist impact better than standard vinyl. We'll walk you through what fits your budget and your home's exposure before we recommend anything. We won't push the most expensive option when a mid-range product is the right call for your situation.
Fiber Cement (James Hardie) Siding vs Vinyl in Wisconsin
Fiber cement siding, and specifically the James Hardie product line homeowners ask us about by name, is engineered from cement, sand, and cellulose fiber, which makes it behave very differently from vinyl when a Chippewa Valley winter swings from a 20-below January morning to a thaw by afternoon. The short version: fiber cement doesn't get brittle in the cold and it won't warp or sag in July heat the way lower-grade vinyl can. That dimensional stability is the single biggest reason we recommend it on exposed elevations here.
The freeze-thaw cycle is where the two materials genuinely part ways. Vinyl is a single extruded panel that expands and contracts with every temperature swing, and after enough cycles cheaper grades crack, particularly on north and west walls that take the wind off open farmland outside Elk Mound and Eau Claire. Fiber cement is dense and moisture-resistant, so wind-driven snow and ice sitting against the wall doesn't soak in and freeze inside the panel. Water that gets behind and freezes is what splits siding apart, and this is the failure we're specifically designing against on Wisconsin homes.
What 33 years here has taught us: the color you pick on a fiber cement panel is still the color you'll have in fifteen years, because the finish is baked on rather than painted over the top. That's not marketing, it's what we watch happen on the homes we sided a decade ago.
Color retention is the other Wisconsin-specific advantage, and it cuts both ways against our climate. James Hardie's factory-applied ColorPlus finish is cured onto the board rather than field-painted, so it resists the UV fade of long July afternoons and the constant wet-dry-freeze punishment of the shoulder seasons. Field-painted wood and even some vinyl finishes chalk and fade unevenly after a decade of that; a baked-on fiber cement finish holds its tone far longer. It also carries a Class A fire rating, which vinyl cannot match.
On cost of ownership, be honest with yourself about the horizon. Fiber cement costs more up front than vinyl, both in material and in the installation labor, because the board is heavier, has to be cut with dust control, and demands precise fastening and flashing to perform. What you're buying for that premium is a longer service life, a finish that doesn't need repainting on the vinyl repaint cycle, and far better resistance to hail, wind-thrown debris, and the impact damage that dents aluminum and cracks cold vinyl. If you plan to be in the home a long time, that math usually favors fiber cement. If you're siding a rental or a home you'll sell inside a few years, mid-grade vinyl is often the smarter spend, and we'll tell you that straight. Not sure which side of that line you're on? Call (715) 894-1120 and we'll walk your elevations with you before you spend a dime.
What Our Siding Installation Process Looks Like
Every siding job starts with an inspection of what's underneath. Rotted sheathing or compromised house wrap that gets covered up by new panels is a problem you'll be dealing with in three to five years, not three to five months. We pull off the old material carefully, assess the structure, and make any necessary repairs before a single new panel goes on. After that, we install the appropriate moisture barrier, run the new siding from the bottom up with proper overlap and nailing patterns, and finish all corners, trim, and penetrations. You'll also want to think about your seamless gutters at this stage — it's the right time to make sure your drainage system works with the new cladding. When we're done, the site is cleaned up and you do a walkthrough with us before we leave.
Signs You Need New Siding Now, Not Next Year
Warping and buckling panels, soft spots when you press against the wall, paint that peels repeatedly after a fresh coat, visible mold or mildew staining, and higher-than-normal heating or cooling bills — these are the signals most homeowners ignore until the damage runs deeper than the cladding. By the time water has worked past the siding and into the sheathing or framing, you're looking at a substantially more expensive repair. Siding isn't just cosmetic. It's your home's primary weather barrier, and when it fails, everything behind it is at risk. If you're seeing any of these warning signs, check out our recent projects to see the kind of work we do, then give us a call.
Pairing New Siding with Other Exterior Work
Since the crew is already set up outside and the ladders are already up, siding installation is a practical time to address related exterior projects. New custom windows integrate cleanly with fresh siding and eliminate the awkward flashing patches you get when windows are replaced years apart from the cladding. If you're thinking about adding a deck or railing, or even a full home addition that calls for windows built for new construction rather than replacement units, coordinating that work alongside a siding project can save you mobilization costs and keep the exterior materials consistent. We do all of this work in-house — we don't hand your project off to subcontractors.
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Our Work
Our Work
Reviews
What Homeowners Say About Working With Us
Honest feedback from real customers across the region we serve.
Stephen and his crew did our siding last fall and it looks fantastic. They found some soft sheathing on the north side that a less careful crew would have just covered up. Glad they caught it.
We got three quotes and Midwest was the most straightforward about what we actually needed. No upselling, no pressure. The Hardie board installation came out clean and the trim work is sharp.
Thirty-three years of experience shows. These guys know what they're doing and they cleaned up every day before they left. Rare.
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Serving western Wisconsin since 1993. Honest. Professional. Affordable. Call (715) 894-1120 or email info@homeimprovementseauclairewi.com to schedule a walkthrough with Stephen.
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