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James Hardie Home Additions & ADU: The Orlando Owner’s Guide
If you’re planning a James Hardie-clad home addition or ADU in Orlando, the installed cost typically runs $45,000 – $130,000 depending on square footage, foundation work, and how much of the existing roofline has to be tied in. We’re a James Hardie-trained contractor in Orlando, and we stock the trim, siding, and accessory materials needed for additions and accessory dwelling units, so you’re not waiting on a special order that stalls your framing crew. Most Orlando homeowners reach out because their current siding or trim has failed, water got in, and they’re deciding whether to patch, replace, or expand.
The usual story we hear at the kitchen table: the homeowner opens up a wall during a renovation, finds rot behind the old siding, and realizes the smart play is to bump out a few feet or build the ADU they’ve been thinking about anyway. That’s the moment we hand over a written price, not a ballpark. Give you the number first, then pick up the tool.
Which James Hardie Models This Applies To
Our home addition and ADU work in Orlando centers on the full James Hardie exterior system: HardiePlank lap siding (5/4 in. x 6 in., 8-1/4 in., and 12 in. exposures), HardiePanel vertical siding, HardieTrim boards (1×4, 1×6, 5/4×4, 5/4×6), and HardieSoffit panels. If you’re tying into an existing home built with James Hardie products, the critical detail is matching the lap exposure and trim width so the addition doesn’t look like it was bolted on later. Mismatched exposure is the most common way we can spot a previous owner’s shortcut.
One compatibility gotcha specific to Florida: James Hardie recommends a 6-inch clearance between the bottom of the siding and the ground or roof surface, and in Orlando’s summer rain cycles, we’ve seen homes where gutters were undersized or missing entirely, causing splash-back that wicked up the siding and rotted the bottom course. If your original install ignored that clearance, your “failed siding” may actually be a drainage issue. We’ll tell you before you spend money on the wrong fix.
Our project materials come from recognized trade brands like James Hardie for siding and trim, plus KraftMaid for cabinetry, and Cambria or Silestone if your addition includes a kitchen or bath. Each carries its own manufacturer warranty alongside our 365-Day Done Right Promise.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your James Hardie Home Additions & ADU Is Failing
- Swelling or buckling at the bottom course. This usually means water is wicking up from ground contact or splash-back. In Orlando’s humidity, a small miss on install clearance turns into delamination within a few summers.
- Paint peeling at the cut edges of trim boards. Field-cut edges need to be primed before install. If they weren’t, moisture creeps in there first. You’ll see it around windows, corners, and the gap where trim meets siding.
- Caulk pulling away around windows and doors. James Hardie products move with temperature swings, and Orlando’s afternoon thunderstorms create fast cool-down cycles. Old caulk cracks, water follows, and the flashing behind it starts to fail.
- Soft spots when you press on trim boards near the roofline. That’s usually a gutter or kick-out flashing issue above the problem area. Fix the flashing or the new board rots too.
- Visible swelling at butt joints in the lap siding. Butt joints need proper flashing or a gap sealed with the right caulk. If water’s been getting in there, you’ll see the joint open up slightly and the ends start to swell.
See the difference
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After
Before
After
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
Here’s what a James Hardie home addition or ADU runs in Orlando:
- Home Addition (300 – 800 sq ft): $45,000 – $130,000 installed
- ADU Construction (full, detached): $90,000 – $220,000 installed
- Garage Conversion (to living space): $30,000 – $80,000 installed
- Bathroom Remodel (within an addition): $9,000 – $28,000
- Kitchen Remodel (within an addition): $14,000 – $45,000
What drives your number up or down: foundation type (slab vs. crawl vs. raised), whether we’re matching an existing roofline or building a new one, the linear footage of Hardie siding and trim, and whether your addition includes plumbing rough-ins for a bath or kitchen. Every quote includes a written line-item price before any work starts. No change orders once we’ve agreed. No “we found a surprise after demo” conversation. The number on the front end is the number on the invoice.
We pull permits for every addition and ADU in Orlando and unincorporated Orange County, and we schedule the inspections. If it fails inspection, we fix it and re-pull the inspection at no charge. That’s covered under the 365-Day Done Right Promise, in writing.
DIY or Call Us?
There are a few things you can do safely on a James Hardie installation: keep the bottom edge sealed and painted, trim back landscaping so it’s not touching the siding, and check that your downspouts are directing water away from the foundation. These are maintenance items, and you should do them whether we built the addition or not.
What you shouldn’t do is pull off siding or trim yourself on an occupied wall. Once you open the envelope, you’re racing Orlando’s rain to get it closed back up, and a tarp only does so much. If you pull a section of trim around a window and find the flashing was installed wrong, you now have a bigger repair than the one you started with. That’s the moment to call us at (850) 427-6454 and let us put eyes on it. The estimate is free, and you’ll get a written price you can hold us to.
FAQs
James Hardie siding and trim are engineered for 30+ years, but the real-world lifespan in Orlando depends on install details: proper clearance above grade, primed field cuts, flashed butt joints, and functioning gutters. We’ve seen Hardie siding in Orlando fail at 8 years because of bad install, and we’ve seen 25-year-old installs that look new because the details were right.
In most cases, yes. If the failure is localized to window trim, a corner board, or a bottom course of lap siding, we can match the James Hardie product and replace only what’s rotted. The key is matching the exact trim width and lap exposure so the repair doesn’t announce itself. If water got behind the sheathing, the repair gets bigger, and we’ll show you the rot before we quote the fix. Call (850) 427-6454 and we’ll take a look.
A straight-run home addition of 300 – 500 square feet typically takes 10 – 16 weeks from permit approval to final walkthrough in Orlando. ADUs run 14 – 24 weeks depending on utility tie-ins and foundation work. We give you a defined arrival window at the start and a written schedule, then we hit it. If weather or inspections push a date, you’ll know as soon as we do.
We keep the common Orlando items on hand: 8-1/4 in. lap siding, 1×4 and 5/4×4 trim in the standard pre-primed white, and the matching corners. For specific colors or the 12 in. exposure boards, we order from our James Hardie supplier with a 5 – 10 day lead time, and we’ll tell you that before you sign anything. No surprises about material timing.
Written by Trevor Nash, Owner, Penhallow Remodeling Orlando at Penhallow Remodeling Orlando, serving Orlando and nearby areas.
