A visit to Allegro Builders' online portfolio gallery, at www.AllegroBuilders.com, is like looking through a coffee table book on America's historical architectural styles: Victorian, Creole, Spanish, Bungalow, Craftsman and more. Yet while each Allegro home is skillfully crafted to appear from another historical era (and stand gracefully next to its "old world" neighbors), these one-of-a-kind homes are fitted with updated amenities, as well as the latest building technology and energy-efficient features.

One Allegro home currently under construction, in the sought-after Houston Heights area, will become the first home in the region to use HardiePlank™ and HardieTrim™ with ColorPlus® Technology. James Hardie plans a strong product rollout in the Houston market, and this custom gem is proving to be quite a calling card. The full wrap on the 3,500 square foot home was installed in late December, and the project is scheduled for completion in May 2008.

ColorPlus: The longest-lasting solution
James Hardie has taken their proven, long-lasting product and made it better with its proprietary ColorPlus Technology. This unique manufacturing process takes paint formulated especially for James Hardie products and bakes it on the siding in a controlled, factory environment enabling a consistent, quality finish that resists peeling, chipping and cracking for 15 year. This can be two times longer than conventional painting methods.

According to Greg Swedberg, a designer at Allegro Builders, the client "put a lot of weight" in the exceptional warranty. "They were looking for a no miss, no mess, low maintenance product, and they were sold on" James Hardie with ColorPlus technology. "The price made sense to them and it was worth it," he says, adding that homeowners were also happy to immediately see the color of their new house as the siding was installed.

For the homebuilder, too, the thought of putting up a pre-finished product and not having to do anything afterwards "was nice to our ears," and helped save on labor costs, Swedberg says.

An Easy Medium
He estimates that approximately 75 percent of the homes constructed by Allegro Builders incorporate siding, and "100 percent of our siding houses are Hardie houses." Swedberg appreciates that the Hardie product is "easy to work with" and allows wiggle room for creative touches, such as historical craftsman motifs and playful gable designs. The house under construction uses a full wrap of 6-inch smooth board, which he says delivers crisp edges, deep shadows, and "another aesthetic level of detail to our elevations."

Allegro Builders President, Lambert Arceneux, is pleased with the elevated level of service provided by Hardie technicians—particularly since ColorPlus is a new product to the area. "If they didn't know the answer" to a question, the Hardie reps would find the person who did, and get back to the builder "in a more-than-timely fashion," he recalls. "They didn't just drop a bunch of product on us and say 'Hey, go install it.' They were there to oversee and facilitate the proper installation of the product," Arceneux says.

According to James Hardie ColorPlus Specialist Johnnie Staggs, the Houston area offers huge potential for the ColorPlus products, particularly with high-end custom homes. Paint failure is common on conventional materials such as wood, he says, due to the area's extreme humidity and weather conditions. ColorPlus, on the other hand, is for the "builder that cares about the future of the homeowner" years down the road, he maintains.

A new advertising campaign touting the benefits of Hardie's ColorPlus lineup is already underway in Texas. Staggs is also concentrating on Houston's rich vein of historical homes and neighborhoods—ideal canvases for James Hardie fiber cement siding with ColorPlus. Currently, 20 siding colors are available in the Houston area.

For more information on James Hardie exterior products with ColorPlus Technology, visit: http://www.jameshardiecolorplus.com.

For more information on Allegro Builders, visit: http://www.allegrobuilders.com

Streetscapes Online, Volume 22 <