Cracked Siding, Saved: A Simpsonville Exterior Repaint
When the owner of this Simpsonville rental flew in from Colorado to get the house ready for new tenants, he found cracks running through the fiber-cement siding on every side of the house. Full siding replacement would have wrecked the budget — so TruCare repaired what was there, made it stronger than it was, and repainted the exterior.
Cracks on every wall
The siding on this house is a fiber-cement product with a rough history — board lines from its era were at the center of multimillion-dollar class-action settlements over exactly the kind of cracking, splitting, and breaking this house was showing. Some cracks zig-zagged through the middle of boards. Others had opened into gaps you could see daylight through. Left alone, every one of them was a path for water to reach the sheathing underneath.
The repair that saved the siding
Replacing every damaged board would have meant tearing into a rental that needed to be listed — and spending thousands on siding with the same weakness. Instead, we anchored each cracked board with exterior-grade finish screws on both sides of the crack, pulling the board tight against the sheathing so it can’t flex. Then we filled every crack with SherMax, a urethanized elastomeric sealant rated for ±35% joint movement. If the boards move with the seasons, the seal stretches instead of splitting — and the screws keep the board from moving much in the first place.
Washed first — and honest about what didn’t need paint
Every exterior job starts with a soft wash. Once the grime came off, the fascia, soffit, and garage door looked nearly new — so we told the owner not to pay to paint them. The wash did the work, and the budget went where the house actually needed it: the body, the front porch columns, the header, the faded shutters, and the garage-door trim.
Paint built for weather — and for vinyl shutters
The body got Sherwin-Williams Emerald Rain Refresh in flat — a self-cleaning exterior finish where rain washes dirt off the film instead of letting it lock in. The front door, porch columns, and shutters were done in satin, and the shutters got a vinyl-safe color: dark shades that aren’t vinyl-rated absorb enough sun to overheat and warp a shutter, so the color was chosen to keep its cool.
Rent-ready
The owner flew back to Colorado with the house photographed, listed, and looking like new — without paying for siding replacement, and without paying to paint anything the wash had already saved. That’s the job: fix what’s broken, protect what’s good, and put the money where it counts.
A Review From the Owner
“Completed in 2 days…proof is in the photos. Before: Faded & cracked. After: Looks like new. See for yourself.”
What we used
- Body — Sherwin-Williams Emerald Rain Refresh, flat
- Door, columns & shutters — Satin, in a vinyl-safe color
- Crack repair — SherMax urethanized elastomeric sealant (±35% joint movement)
- Reinforcement — Exterior-grade finish screws anchoring each crack into the sheathing
- Prep — Full soft wash — fascia, soffit & garage door needed nothing more
Questions this project answers
Can cracked fiber-cement siding be repaired instead of replaced?
Yes — in most cases. On this Simpsonville home we anchored each cracked board with exterior-grade finish screws on both sides of the crack, then sealed it with SherMax, an elastomeric sealant rated for ±35% joint movement. The repair flexes with the board instead of re-cracking, costs a fraction of replacement, and disappears under paint.
What causes fiber-cement siding to crack and split?
Some fiber-cement board lines had manufacturing defects — enough that they became the subject of multimillion-dollar class-action settlements over cracking, shrinking, and breaking. Seasonal movement and moisture then work those weak boards until cracks open. If your siding is cracking in multiple places, the product itself is often the reason.
Is it worth painting a rental property before listing it?
Usually, yes — exterior paint is one of the highest-return improvements before listing a rental. The key is spending only where it counts: on this project a soft wash brought the fascia, soffit, and garage door back to life without paint, so the budget went to the body, columns, shutters, and repairs.
What paint works best over repaired siding?
A flat exterior finish hides repairs best — sheen highlights surface texture, flat conceals it. This project used Sherwin-Williams Emerald Rain Refresh in flat, a self-cleaning finish where rain washes dirt off the film, with satin reserved for the door, columns, and shutters in a vinyl-safe color.
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