On a single house, siding is one owner's choice. On a townhome property, it is a shared look that every building has to carry. The association usually controls the color palette, profile and trim, a review committee or board signs off on changes, and a project may run across many buildings in phases. The material has to match from the first building to the last.
Midwest Building Exteriors has completed townhome and association projects. For associations we attend board meetings to present the bid, provide a written per-building condition report with photos, run a phased building-by-building schedule with advance notice to residents, and work through the property management company or directly with a self-managed board. The townhome and HOA hub covers every exterior service we offer associations.
We install four siding systems and do not tie an association to a single brand. Vinyl is the value option and never needs paint. LP SmartSide is an engineered wood product with a real lap profile and firm fastener hold; it is our default recommendation in Minnesota's freeze-thaw climate, and that is our opinion based on how we see it perform. Fiber cement (James Hardie) is dense and non-combustible, and we install it whenever an association specifies it. Steel is rigid, rot-resistant and low-maintenance.
The right choice often comes down to what the association's standards already call for, the budget, and how the board wants the property to look. We lay out the trade-offs in writing so the board can compare them on equal terms.
- ✓Vinyl: value, no painting
- ✓LP SmartSide: our default recommendation for freeze-thaw
- ✓Fiber cement (James Hardie): installed when specified
- ✓Steel: rigid and low-maintenance
This is about fiber cement as a material category, not any specific manufacturer. Cement-based boards have a porous internal matrix, and peer-reviewed research has found that repeated freeze-thaw cycling measurably changes that structure and the board's flexural behavior (Gorzelańczyk & Schabowicz, Materials journal, 2019, retrieved 2026-09-16).
Moisture studies point the same way. Building Science Corporation's multi-year Vancouver test hut work on fiber-cement-clad walls tied performance largely to the drainage and drying path behind the cladding (BSC Research Report RR-1306, retrieved 2026-09-16), and InspectAPedia's documented field cases of joint gaps and caulk failure trace back to clearance and flashing details (InspectAPedia field reports, retrieved 2026-09-16). That is part of why LP SmartSide is our default; when an association specifies fiber cement, we install it strictly to the manufacturer's written instructions.
No. Steel is rigid, fire-resistant and will not rot, but hail can still dent it, and adjusters often look at dented gutters and fascia as a first sign of a storm. Choose steel for durability, appearance and low maintenance, not on the assumption that it removes hail risk.
Siding is priced per square, one square being 100 square feet of finished wall. The table below shows installed per-square pricing by material. For an association, the final bid is written per building after inspection, because wall area, trim, number of openings and sheathing condition vary from building to building.
Installed siding pricing by material (2026)
Per square (100 sq ft of finished wall), with typical single-family install times.
| Material | Installed / square | Typical install time |
|---|
| Vinyl | $900 – $950 | 3–5 days |
|---|
| LP SmartSide | $1,200 – $1,300 | 3–5 days |
|---|
| Fiber cement (James Hardie) | $1,200 – $1,300 | 3–5 days |
|---|
| Steel | $1,300 – $1,500 | 4–5 days |
|---|
These are Midwest Building Exteriors' own current 2026 installed prices, confirmed directly by owner Christian Musta: vinyl $900–$950 per square; LP SmartSide and fiber cement $1,200–$1,300 per square depending on finish; and steel $1,300–$1,500 per square (about $13–$15 per sq. ft.), dependent on various factors. One siding square equals 100 square feet of wall.
Ranges are installed totals in 2026 dollars — removal and disposal of the existing siding, house wrap, flashing and kickout details, trim, fasteners, permit, and cleanup included. They are planning numbers, not a quote. Wall area, number of stories, trim and gable complexity, window count, sheathing repair, and color availability all move the final figure. Repairs and partial-wall work are quoted on their own; there is no job-size minimum.
Before we bid, we gather the association's architectural standards and color palette and specify siding color, profile, exposure, trim and accessories for the whole property. Ordering is planned so material for later phases matches the first.
Architectural review submittals are part of the work. We prepare physical samples, photos of the current exterior and a written specification naming product, color and trim, in the format the committee or board uses. If a product named in the association's standards has been discontinued, we source the closest current-production match from the lines we install and present it clearly as a substitution for the board to accept or reject.
- ✓Property-wide specification before the first building starts
- ✓Physical samples and written submittal for review
- ✓Labeled current-production substitute for discontinued products
- ✓Material ordering planned across phases
On a typical single-family home, siding takes three to five days for vinyl, LP SmartSide or fiber cement, and four to five days for steel. Association work is scheduled differently: the board receives a written phase calendar showing the building-by-building order, and residents receive advance notice before work starts on their building.
Most Twin Cities cities require a permit; we confirm and pull it for each building. Permits, deliveries and crews follow the same phase order.
Yes. A damaged section, one wall or a single unit's elevation can be repaired without re-siding the building, provided the association or the responsible owner authorizes the work. The real limit is color match: siding that has faded in the sun will not always match new stock. When a patch would visibly stand out, we say so and price re-siding that elevation as an alternative.
Insulated siding can be added to any repair or replacement as its own line item.
For associations planning ahead, the per-building condition report is also a useful way to see which elevations are aging fastest. Walls with heavy sun exposure, shaded walls that stay damp and areas below roof-to-wall intersections tend to show wear first, and a board can use that information to decide whether to repair now and re-side later, or to plan a full phase for the buildings that need it most.
In many Minnesota townhome communities, siding is a common element covered by the association's master policy, while owners' HO-6 policies cover interior finishes. Read your declaration to confirm. When storm damage may be involved, we document each building with photos and share that documentation with the association's own adjuster, and we can meet the adjuster on site. Coverage decisions belong to the insurance carrier.
The siding is only the outer layer. Behind it is the weather barrier, flashing at windows, doors and roof-to-wall intersections, and the sheathing attached to the framing. On attached buildings, problems often show up where a lower roof meets a wall, under windows and at inside corners, because those are the places water is most likely to get behind the cladding when flashing is missing or has failed.
Our per-building condition report notes visible signs of these issues, such as soft spots, staining or gaps at trim. Sheathing condition can only be fully confirmed once the old siding is off, so the bid explains how any sheathing repair would be handled and communicated before it is done, and kickout flashing, house wrap and trim are listed as separate items so the board can see them clearly.
- ✓Weather barrier
- ✓Window, door and roof-to-wall flashing
- ✓Sheathing condition
- ✓Trim and corner details
On a townhome building, one elevation can span several units owned by different people, and the end walls, garage fronts and rear walls may each face a different direction and weather differently. Siding a building usually means working across multiple units at once, so residents of every unit on that building need notice before work starts.
Where the declaration makes the association responsible for siding, the board authorizes the work for the whole building. Where an individual owner is responsible for part of the exterior, we confirm in writing who has authorized the work before we begin, and we match the product and color to the rest of the building so the unit does not stand apart from its neighbors.
Comparing siding bids is most useful when every contractor is pricing the same scope. Useful checks include whether each bid covers every building and every elevation, which product, profile and color is named, whether removal and disposal, house wrap, flashing and trim are included, how sheathing repair is handled, who pulls permits, how residents are notified, and what the written warranty covers.
Boards can confirm a contractor's Minnesota license through the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry at dli.mn.gov. Our Minnesota license is #BC793031 and our Wisconsin license is #DC-0523005.
- ✓Every building and elevation included
- ✓Product, profile and color named
- ✓Removal, house wrap, flashing and trim spelled out
- ✓Sheathing repair process explained
- ✓Permits and resident notice covered
- ✓Written warranty terms
- ✓License verified
Siding, gutters and windows meet at the same edges. Window trim and flashing are tied into the new siding, and gutters and downspouts are often removed and reset when a wall is re-sided. Coordinating these systems lets the board keep trim and gutter color consistent across buildings and avoids opening the same wall twice.
We install seamless gutters and replacement windows as well as siding. Where windows are the owners' responsibility under the declaration, the board can still set the exterior standard, and we follow it. See our gutters page and windows page for more detail.
MBE's Lifetime Craftsmanship Warranty covers you for as long as you own your home. It's a lifetime warranty on our labor: if something MBE installed was installed incorrectly, we fix it, for the lifetime of that material's suggested lifespan.
For associations, manufacturer material warranties are separate and set by the manufacturer.
Midwest Building Exteriors Inc. holds Minnesota Residential Building Contractor License #BC793031 and Wisconsin License #DC-0523005, with offices in Minneapolis/Richfield (6417 Penn Ave S), Eagan (4651 Nicols Rd #201), and St. Croix Falls, WI (1298 198th St). Our city siding guides cover local housing stock, materials and association color matching in detail: Edina, Bloomington, Minnetonka, St. Paul and Plymouth.
