Lap Siding Options for Bay Area Homes: Profiles, Exposures and Materials

Lap siding is horizontal boards installed so each one overlaps the board below, and the choices that change its look are profile, exposure, texture and thickness. The main profiles are plain bevel (clapboard), Dutch lap and beaded. Exposure, the visible height of each board, usually runs from 4 to 8 inches. Texture is smooth or woodgrain, and thick-profile boards such as Hardie Artisan cast a deeper shadow line. Fiber cement, engineered wood, vinyl and cedar all come in lap form, so you can usually pick the look first and the material second.

Lap siding profiles at a glance

Flat-face profiles aren't true lap siding, but people often compare them. Our shiplap siding guide covers them separately.

Bevel and clapboard

Traditional bevel siding is a wood board sawn thicker at the bottom than the top, so each course sits at a slight angle and leaves a shadow line. "Clapboard" is the older name and is now used interchangeably. Fiber cement plank and most engineered wood lap boards are flat boards of even thickness, but installed with the same overlap they give the same look. This is the profile on most Bay Area lap re-sides, including our Petaluma HardiePlank re-side.

Dutch lap

Dutch lap has a concave cove or notch along the top of each board, so every course shows a second, softer shadow line. It is mainly a vinyl profile today. Alside's Prodigy insulated siding, for example, is sold in double 5-inch Dutch lap and double 6-inch clapboard, where each panel shows two courses. James Hardie's current plank line doesn't include a Dutch lap profile, so on fiber cement the closest look is a narrow-exposure plain or beaded plank.

Beaded lap

Beaded siding has a small rounded bead milled along the bottom edge of each board. It adds a fine line and a more formal, historic feel. James Hardie makes beaded plank in Cedarmill and Smooth textures, listed at 8.25 inches wide with a 7-inch exposure. Beaded boards usually pair best with simple trim, because the bead already adds detail.

Exposure: how wide each board shows

Exposure is the part of each board you see after the next board overlaps it. It changes the scale of the whole house. Narrow exposures make more lines and read finer and more traditional. Wider exposures read bolder and more modern, and they need fewer courses, which saves some labor.

Standard 5/16-inch Hardie Plank is 12 feet long. James Hardie's catalog lists these sizes, though not every width is stocked in every color or region:

Allura publishes the same six widths and exposures for its 5/16-inch lap siding. LP SmartSide lap comes in 16-foot lengths, which means fewer butt joints on long walls, and in two thickness series (38 and the thicker 76).

On an older house, measure the existing exposure before you choose. Matching it is the simplest way to keep the house's original proportions, especially if you are re-siding only part of it.

Smooth vs woodgrain

Most fiber cement lap comes in two textures. Hardie calls them Select Cedarmill (a cedar grain) and Smooth; Allura calls them Traditional Cedar and Smooth.

• Woodgrain reads as painted wood and suits traditional homes. Up close the grain repeats more regularly than real cedar.
• Smooth looks cleaner and more contemporary and suits modern and mid-century designs, and older homes whose original siding was smooth painted wood. Smooth surfaces show paint sheen more, so a lower-sheen finish usually looks better.

Pick one texture for the whole house. Mixing textures on the same wall looks like a repair.

Thick lap: Hardie Artisan

Standard fiber cement lap is 5/16 inch thick. Hardie Artisan Lap is 5/8 inch, twice as thick, and James Hardie lists it in 7.25-inch (6-inch exposure) and 8.25-inch (7-inch exposure) widths. The thicker edge casts a deeper shadow under each course, which is closer to the look of real bevel cedar. Artisan boards can also be mitered at outside corners on site, so the house can be finished without corner boards. Artisan is primed only and is painted after installation.

It costs more than standard plank in both material and labor, so it is often used where it shows most, such as street-facing walls. Our South San Francisco Artisan lap project shows the effect.

Lap siding materials

• Fiber cement (James Hardie, Allura): noncombustible, holds paint well in fog, and the most common lap choice on Bay Area re-sides. Hardie's ColorPlus factory finish is available on many plank sizes.
• Engineered wood (LP SmartSide): lighter, longer boards and wood-like cutting. Combustible, so check fire-zone requirements.
• Vinyl: lowest cost and the widest choice of Dutch lap and double-course profiles. Not suited to fire hazard zones.
• Cedar and redwood: the original Bay Area lap siding, still used on historic work, with the most upkeep. See our cedar siding guide.

Which lap profile suits which house

• Victorian and Edwardian: narrow exposures, smooth texture, with shingles or decorative trim in gables.
• Craftsman: 6- to 7-inch exposure in a woodgrain or smooth finish, usually with shingles in gables. Our shake and shingle guide covers that pairing.
• Ranch and mid-century: wider exposures and smooth boards, sometimes combined with vertical siding on an entry wall or bump-out. See vertical siding options.
• Modern farmhouse: lap body with board and batten gables, light body color and dark windows.
• Contemporary: thick Artisan lap or wide smooth plank in a single dark or neutral color, with minimal trim.

Installation details for lap siding

Lap siding is forgiving, but a few details decide how it ages in Bay Area fog and rain:

• Courses aligned to windows. A good layout lines courses up with window heads and sills so there are no thin slivers above or below openings.
• Butt joints staggered and flashed or backed as the manufacturer requires, and never lined up course after course.
• Clearance at the bottom of the wall, above roofs and at decks, with kick-out flashing where a roof edge meets a wall.
• Corners finished with trim boards, metal corners or, on Artisan, mitered boards.
• Weather barrier and window flashing lapped shingle-style behind the siding.

Our article on what a correct James Hardie install looks like goes through each one, and our James Hardie siding page explains how we install lap siding. We give a free written estimate after a walkthrough.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most common lap siding exposure?

Exposures of 6 and 7 inches (on 7.25- and 8.25-inch boards) are the usual middle ground for fiber cement re-sides. Narrower exposures look more traditional and wider ones more modern. On an older house, matching the existing exposure keeps its proportions.

What is the difference between lap siding and clapboard?

Clapboard is a traditional name for wood lap siding made from tapered boards. Today the terms are used almost interchangeably for any horizontal siding where each board overlaps the one below.

Is Dutch lap siding available in fiber cement?

James Hardie's current plank line doesn't include a Dutch lap profile. Dutch lap is mainly a vinyl profile. In fiber cement, a narrow-exposure plain or beaded plank gives a similar traditional look.

Is Hardie Artisan worth the extra cost?

Artisan is twice the thickness of standard Hardie lap, which gives deeper shadow lines and allows mitered corners. It is worth it when you want a high-end look closer to real cedar. Many homeowners use it on street-facing walls and standard plank elsewhere.

Should lap siding be smooth or woodgrain?

Woodgrain suits traditional homes and reads as painted wood. Smooth looks cleaner and more modern. Either holds paint well; just use one texture throughout the house.

Sources

• James Hardie: Product catalog with Hardie Plank sizes and exposures (PDF)
• James Hardie: National product catalog, Artisan lap siding (PDF)
• Allura: 3-part specification sheet (lap siding sizes)
• Alside: Prodigy insulated siding sell sheet (Dutch lap and clapboard profiles)