Masonite & Hardboard Siding Replacement in Salem
If the bottom edges of your lap siding have swollen or gone soft, the house may have hardboard or OSB siding, and both class-action settlements closed years ago.
Swelling along the lower edges of lap siding is the classic failure of hardboard siding, often sold under the Masonite name, and of LP Inner-Seal OSB siding. Both were used on houses built and re-sided in the 1980s and 1990s, the same years much of the Salem area’s housing went up: the median home in Salem was built in 1980, and in Keizer in 1981 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Swollen boards do not go back, so the real choice is between replacing the damaged boards and replacing the siding.
How to tell if you have hardboard or OSB siding
- Look at the grain. Hardboard lap siding usually carries an embossed wood-grain pattern that repeats. Real cedar grain changes from board to board, with knots.
- Look at a damaged edge. Hardboard breaks down into a soft, fibrous mat. OSB shows flakes of wood strands pressed together. Plywood shows layers.
- Press the bottom edge. Wood-fiber siding that has taken on water feels soft and swollen. Fiber cement stays hard, and vinyl is a thin, hollow panel.
- Check the back of a loose or removed board. Some products carry a maker’s stamp.
Not sure? What siding do I have? walks through each material, and a contractor can identify it on site.
Are the Masonite and LP siding settlements still paying?
No. The Masonite hardboard siding class-action settlement covered siding installed from 1980 through January 1998, and its claims deadline passed in 2008. The LP Inner-Seal OSB siding class action, settled in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, covered siding installed before 1996, and its claims process is closed as well. Replacing failed boards is now the homeowner’s cost, which is why it pays to get the scope right the first time.
Replace the damaged boards, or re-side?
Replace boards when the swelling is limited to a few boards on one or two walls and the rest are sound. The catch is matching: many hardboard profiles are no longer made. Options include using boards salvaged from a less visible wall, or replacing a whole wall section between corners so old and new never sit side by side. Every new cut end and nail hole needs sealing and paint.
Re-side when swelling runs along several walls, when boards are soft rather than just flared, or when paint keeps failing on boards that have not visibly swollen yet. Those boards are the same product, facing the same weather. A full siding replacement also brings the barrier, flashing and drainage gap behind the siding up to Oregon’s current code.
What replaces hardboard siding?
- Fiber cement lap siding, from makers such as James Hardie and Allura, factory-primed or prefinished.
- Engineered wood lap siding, such as LP SmartSide, a different product line from the LP Inner-Seal siding in the settlement.
- Vinyl siding in lap or Dutch lap profiles.
- Cedar, where the house and the budget suit it.
The siding cost page lists published figures for replacing 1,250 square feet of siding with fiber cement or vinyl, each with its source and the date it was checked.
What turns up when the old siding comes off
- Sheathing damage behind the softest boards. In Salem, repairing or replacing sheathing needs a building permit; siding on its own does not, unless the wall must be fire-resistive.
- A missing or torn weather barrier. New siding goes over a continuous water-resistive barrier under Oregon’s residential code.
- Missing kickout flashing where lower roofs meet walls; the worst damage may sit right below those corners.
- Older paint underneath, on a house that was re-sided over or next to pre-1978 painted surfaces. Disturbing 20 square feet or more of painted exterior on a pre-1978 house requires a contractor with a Construction Contractors Board lead-based paint renovation license.
If the damage is plywood panels peeling apart rather than lap boards swelling, see T1-11 siding damage. For soft trim and sills in solid wood, see dry rot in siding and trim.
Request a siding quote and mention that you suspect hardboard or OSB siding. We connect you with an independent siding contractor who covers your ZIP code, and the contractor quotes repair or replacement directly.
What you may notice
Lower edges of lap boards swollen, flared or mushroomed.
Boards soft enough near the ground that a thumbnail or screwdriver sinks in.
Paint that will not stay on the bottom edges, however often it is repainted.
Nail heads sunk into the board, with swelling around them.
Boards that have buckled, or worn through to a fibrous surface.
A repeating embossed wood grain, where real wood grain would vary board to board.
What causes it
Hardboard (often called Masonite) and LP Inner-Seal OSB siding are wood-fiber products that soak up water through unsealed edges and nail holes, then swell and lose strength. Both were common on houses built in the 1980s and 1990s, and both class-action settlements closed to claims years ago.
Hardboard siding is compressed wood fiber. Once water gets past the paint at edges, joints and nail holes, the fibers swell and the board loses strength.
LP Inner-Seal siding is oriented strand board, wood strands bonded with resin, and it fails the same way at unsealed edges.
Nails driven too deep break the paint film and give water a way in.
Boards installed close to soil, decks or roofs, and caulk joints left to fail.
Gaps in paint maintenance that leave bare edges exposed through a wet winter.
How soon it needs attention
Swollen hardboard does not shrink back when it dries, and soft boards hold water against the wall behind them. A few flared edges are not an emergency, but softness spreading along whole walls through Salem's rainy season, when November through January each average roughly six to seven inches of rain (NOAA 1991-2020 normals), is worth a contractor's look before the damage moves into the sheathing.
Request a Siding Quote
Describe the siding project once. Requesting a quote is free, with no obligation.
Services that fix it
Siding Replacement
A full tear-off and re-side: old cladding off, rotted sheathing repaired, then a new water-resistive barrier, flashing, trim and siding.
Fiber Cement Siding
Fiber cement lap, panel and shingle siding from makers such as James Hardie and Allura, in factory-primed or prefinished boards.
Vinyl Siding
Vinyl lap, board-and-batten and shake-style siding, plus repair of panels that have buckled, cracked or pulled loose.
Common questions
Is Masonite siding the same as hardboard siding?
Masonite is a brand name that became shorthand for hardboard siding in general. Other companies made hardboard lap siding too, so a house said to have Masonite siding may have another maker's hardboard. They look and fail in much the same way.
Can I still file a claim for failing hardboard or LP siding?
Not under the major class-action settlements. The Masonite hardboard siding settlement covered siding installed from 1980 to January 1998 and stopped taking claims in 2008. The LP Inner-Seal OSB siding settlement, from the U.S. District Court in Oregon, covered siding installed before 1996, and its claims process has also closed.
Can swollen hardboard be sealed or painted to save it?
Paint and sealed edges help protect boards that are still sound, but they do not shrink boards that have already swollen or give back their strength. Soft or mushroomed boards need replacing.
What is the best replacement for hardboard siding?
There is no single best choice for every house. Fiber cement, engineered wood and vinyl are all used to replace hardboard, and cedar suits some houses. The cost page compares published fiber cement and vinyl replacement figures, and a contractor can price the options for your walls.
Request a Siding Quote
Describe the siding project once. Requesting a quote is free, with no obligation.