St. Petersburg Siding Siding Built for Historic Kenwood's Older Housing Stock
Historic Kenwood is one of St. Petersburg's oldest and most architecturally distinct neighborhoods, known for its concentration of early-20th-century bungalow and Craftsman-style homes, mature oak canopy, and a look that's part of what makes the neighborhood a designated historic district. Homes here weren't built to today's building code, and many still carry original wood siding, old repairs, or mismatched patch jobs from decades of Florida weather working on them. When it's time to re-side a home in Kenwood, the goal isn't just weatherproofing — it's doing it in a way that respects the character of a genuinely old house while giving it siding that will actually hold up to Pinellas County's climate for the next several decades.
We install James Hardie fiber cement siding exclusively, and we think that decision matters more in a neighborhood like Kenwood than almost anywhere else we work. Older homes have less margin for error — old framing, old flashing details, and decades of prior repairs mean the siding product and the installation both need to be right the first time.
What St. Petersburg's Climate Does to Older Homes
St. Petersburg sits on a peninsula surrounded by Tampa Bay and the Gulf, and that geography shapes everything about how exterior materials age here. A handful of factors hit Kenwood's older homes especially hard:
- Hurricane-force winds: Pinellas County sees tropical systems and occasional direct hurricane impacts that put real lateral and uplift stress on siding, especially on homes with original wood siding that's already lost some structural integrity over the decades.
- Wind-driven rain: Storms here don't just drop rain straight down — wind pushes it sideways into wall assemblies, which is exactly the condition that finds gaps in old caulk lines, failed flashing, and warped boards.
- Intense, year-round UV: Florida sun is relentless on painted wood siding, breaking down paint film and accelerating cracking and checking far faster than in more temperate climates.
- Salt air: Kenwood isn't waterfront, but St. Petersburg's proximity to Tampa Bay and the Gulf means airborne salt is a factor citywide, contributing to corrosion of fasteners and accelerated wear on lower-grade materials.
Layer those four factors onto a home that's 80-100+ years old, and you often find siding that's been patched, painted over, and patched again — a home that looks fine from the street but has real moisture and structural issues underneath.
Why Original Wood Siding Struggles Here
A lot of Kenwood's charm comes from original wood siding profiles, and we understand why homeowners want to preserve that look. But original wood siding on a century-old home has usually been through multiple paint cycles, moisture cycles, and at least a few storm seasons without proper protection. Wood is not inherently a bad material — it's that decades of Florida sun and rain exposure, combined with maintenance gaps that are common in older homes, tend to leave original wood siding thin, soft in spots, or holding moisture behind old paint layers. Replacing it with a fiber cement product that mimics traditional lap or shingle profiles lets a home keep its bungalow character without asking 100-year-old wood to keep doing a job it was never built to do for this long.
Why We Only Install James Hardie
We made a decision as a company to install James Hardie fiber cement siding exclusively — not LP SmartSide, not vinyl, not Cemplank or Allura, not primed spruce or cedar. That's not a marketing angle; it's a standard we hold because of what we've seen play out on Gulf Coast homes over time.
| Material | Trade-off in this climate |
|---|---|
| Vinyl siding | Can warp or distort under intense heat, and is more vulnerable to cracking under wind-driven debris in storm events. |
| Primed wood (spruce/cedar) | Requires disciplined repainting and caulk maintenance; UV and humidity cycles shorten the window before it needs attention. |
| LP SmartSide (engineered wood) | Performs well in many climates, but as a wood-based product it depends heavily on maintained paint film and sealed edges to resist moisture intrusion long-term. |
| Other fiber cement brands | Similar base material to Hardie, but we've standardized on one manufacturer's climate-engineered product line, factory finish, and warranty structure for consistency. |
| James Hardie fiber cement | Non-combustible, engineered for high-humidity/high-UV climates, factory-applied ColorPlus finish, strong transferable warranty. |
James Hardie makes HZ5 product lines specifically engineered for high-humidity, storm-prone climates like ours, and their ColorPlus finish is baked on in a controlled factory process rather than field-painted, which matters enormously under Florida UV exposure. It's also non-combustible, which is a real consideration during dry spells and with the density of older homes and mature tree canopy in a neighborhood like Kenwood. We'd rather install one product we trust completely and stand behind than offer five options and hope the cheaper ones hold up.
Working on a Historic-District Home
Re-siding a house in a historic district isn't the same as re-siding a house in a newer subdivision. Profile, reveal, and trim detailing all matter to the finished look, and Hardie's lap, shingle, and panel product lines give us the range to match a range of bungalow and Craftsman details without resorting to a flat, generic modern look. Before we start, we walk the whole exterior with the homeowner, talk through what profile and color best fit the home's original character, and flag anything — old damage, prior repairs, trim condition — that needs attention as part of the job rather than as a surprise change order later.
What We Check Before Installation
- Condition of the existing wall sheathing and framing once old siding is removed
- Flashing at windows, doors, and roof-to-wall transitions
- Signs of past moisture intrusion or wood rot that need repair before new siding goes on
- Proper house wrap or weather-resistive barrier installation per Hardie's specifications
- Correct fastener spacing and clearance from grade and roofline, per manufacturer install requirements
Skipping any of these steps is how a siding job looks good for a year or two and then fails early — which is a common story on older homes that got a fast, budget re-side at some point in the past.
Beyond Siding: Roofing, Windows, and Decks
Siding rarely sits alone on an older home's punch list. We also handle roofing, windows, and decks, and on a lot of Kenwood homes those systems age together — a roof nearing the end of its life, single-pane or poorly sealed original windows, and a deck or porch structure that's seen the same decades of sun and storms as the siding. Addressing these as connected systems, rather than one at a time in isolation, tends to produce a tighter building envelope and fewer surprises down the road, especially around window and door flashing details that directly affect how well new siding performs.
What a Project Typically Involves
Every home is different, but a re-siding project on an older St. Petersburg home generally follows the same sequence:
- On-site assessment of existing siding, trim, and any visible moisture or structural concerns
- Product and profile selection to match the home's architectural character
- Removal of existing siding and inspection of sheathing/framing underneath
- Repair of any damaged framing, sheathing, or flashing found during removal
- Installation of weather-resistive barrier and James Hardie siding per manufacturer specifications
- Trim, caulking, and final finish work
- Final walkthrough with the homeowner
Cost Factors Worth Understanding
We don't publish blanket pricing because every home's condition and scope is different, but a few factors consistently drive cost on older Kenwood homes:
| Factor | Why it affects cost |
|---|---|
| Condition of sheathing/framing under old siding | Hidden rot or damage on an older home often isn't visible until removal begins |
| Trim and detail complexity | Bungalow and Craftsman trim details take more labor than flat modern facades |
| Siding profile chosen | Lap, shingle, and panel Hardie products carry different material and labor costs |
| Home size and story count | More square footage and higher walls mean more material and labor time |
| Access and site conditions | Mature landscaping, narrow lots, and older foundations can affect staging and scaffolding needs |
Why a Local Crew Matters Here
A neighborhood like Kenwood rewards a crew that's worked on homes like this before — that knows what to expect when old siding comes off a century-old wall, understands what wind and moisture loads Pinellas County actually produces, and isn't guessing at how a Florida hurricane season treats an exterior over time. We're a St. Petersburg-based crew doing this work in our own county, which means we're not learning the local climate on your home — and we're still around locally if a question comes up after the job is done.
If you're weighing options for a Historic Kenwood home — whether the siding is original wood showing its age, a prior repair that didn't hold up, or you're just planning ahead — we're glad to walk the exterior with you and talk through what we're seeing, no pressure and no obligation. Reach out using the form below to set up a free estimate.