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Charleston Charm

Small New Home Community Outside Charleston Mixes Regional Architecture, Upgraded Materials

Cloudbreak Court is being developed by Cline Homes, a local homebuilding company founded in 2005. The operation is run by brothers Jeff and Scott Cline, along with their father Stu Cline, who serves as Director of the company. The elder Cline is well known in homebuilding circles: he was previously CEO of Morrison Homes, one of the largest builders in the country.

An Early Adopter

Cline says he first learned about James Hardie products while at Morrison Homes—which was building up to 5,000 units a year. The material offered a "no maintenance, no service" value proposition to the builder, and Hardie quickly became their preferred exterior product. Cline, in fact, became one of the earliest proponents of the product among U.S. builders.

"All of our houses at Morrison were Hardie," he recalls proudly. Other siding manufacturers tried to get the homebuilder to switch to competing products, Cline says, but "we ended up feeling that Hardie was still the best."

That loyalty carries through to his latest venture, Cline Homes. All of the homes in Cloudbreak Court feature HardiePlank® siding, HardieTrim® and HardieSoffit® exteriors. The company's three other projects in the Charleston area also use James Hardie products.

Aesthetic Advantages

Aside from its legendary durability, the Hardie product offers many aesthetic advantages, the veteran homebuilder says. Cline believes the HardieTrim® 5/4 board, for example, allows him to "give a little more depth and enhance the detailed window trim" on a home. Likewise, he is pleased with the vented HardieSoffit panels, which provide a "really clear, clean approach to ventilating your roof systems well." The HardieSoffit also eliminates having to install unsightly metal between adjacent materials. "That’s a pretty clean look, so we like that."

While he does not think many homeowners can easily discern painted HardiePlank from other materials, once they discover their home uses Hardie products, they know "it's a higher quality and it's going to perform for many years for them," he says.

The homes at Cloudbreak Court include six different designs inspired by historic Charleston Single homes in the downtown district, which are characterized by a narrower footprint, detached garages, and expansive porches. The builder has incorporated energy efficient windows, a tankless water heater system, upgraded wood flooring and molding, stainless steel appliances, fully landscaped yards and many other perks for buyers.

Sixteen homes have been sold and occupied, while two spec homes and six lots remain. Prices range from $399,000 to $449,000, with interior spaces measuring from 2,200 up to 2,750 square feet.

The tranquil neighborhood, which is anchored by its own pond, is just five minutes from the shops and restaurants of Charleston.

Cline, who installed HardieShingle on his own home in upstate South Carolina, is sold on the superiority of the Hardie materials. "You've got a product that we think is going to be a long-term, high performance product for the customer. Whether it was with Morrison Homes or with Cline Homes, that's actually been the success we've had."

Cline Homes is now in its fifth year, he says, and has not had a single service problem related to exterior trim or siding.

For more information on Cline Homes, visit: http://www.cline-homes.com/