There’s a shift happening in how the best dealers selling exterior products, and it’s producing results that neither product line could generate on its own.

Instead of leading with a single product, the most effective exterior conversations start with a complete system: James Hardie fiber-cement siding as the primary cladding, and TandoStone or Beach House Shake from Tando Composites as the accent, creating a finished exterior that looks like it was designed by an architect rather than assembled from whatever was available at the yard.

This isn’t a sales tactic. It’s a response to what the market actually wants, and it’s opening doors that neither product alone would open.

Why the Combination Works

James Hardie and Tando Composites are complementary in a way that’s almost too clean to be accidental.

Hardie covers the broad expanses of siding that make up the majority of a home’s exterior surface. It’s durable, low-maintenance, and has the brand recognition that homeowners and builders trust. But Hardie siding, on its own, is a flat plane. It doesn’t deliver the dimensional contrast, the texture variation, or the design interest that today’s homeowners are increasingly asking for.

That’s where Tando Composites comes in. TandoStone on the foundation, the gable, or an accent wall adds the visual weight and texture that transforms a Hardie exterior from good to genuinely impressive. Beach House Shake on a dormer, a gable end, or a covered entryway adds warmth and authenticity that fiber cement alone can’t replicate.

Together, they hit every note a homeowner wants: clean lines, premium texture, mixed materials, low maintenance, and a finished look that photographs well and holds its value. The mixed materials exterior trend is driving demand across both residential new construction and remodeling, and this combination is purpose-built for it.

One Crew. One Supplier. No Scheduling Headaches.

The practical advantage of this system is as compelling as the aesthetic one.

Traditional stone or cedar accents require separate trades, separate schedules, and separate suppliers. A builder who wants fiber cement siding with stone accents historically had to coordinate a siding installer and a mason — two different crews, two different skill sets, two different timelines. When the mason is backed up, the job stalls. When the stone is backordered, the whole schedule shifts.

With Tando Composites, that complexity disappears. TandoStone installs like traditional siding. The same crew that hangs Hardie can install TandoStone. No mason, no mortar, no adhesive, no rainscreen. Standard tools throughout. The All-Pro Corner™ system eliminates the precision cutting that stone corners typically require.

For a contractor managing a busy schedule across multiple jobs, this is a significant operational advantage. It means the exterior package, siding and stone or shake accents, can be completed by a single crew in a fraction of the time. That increases project turnover, reduces scheduling risk, and keeps the contractor in control of their own timeline.

For the dealer, it means a single conversation can produce two line items instead of one. Every Hardie job becomes a Tando Composites conversation. Every Tando Composites placement reinforces the Hardie relationship. The two products sell each other.

The pattern that keeps emerging is this: when a contractor sees the Hardie and Tando Composites combination on a finished home, the conversation about both products gets significantly easier. The finished exterior does the selling.

The New Construction Opportunity

Nowhere is the system selling opportunity more immediate than in new construction.

Builders working on development projects need a complete exterior specification — and they need it to be installable, reliable, and cost-effective at scale. The Hardie plus Tando Composites combination meets all three criteria in a way that alternatives don’t.

Natural stone accents on new construction require mason scheduling, which creates timeline risk on projects where every trade is coordinated. Painted concrete panel products have seen installation labor costs rise sharply, eroding the cost advantage they once held over traditional stone. Tando Composites installs at a fraction of that labor cost, by the same crew already on site.

For modular and panelized construction specifically, TandoStone has an additional advantage: it can be installed at ground level before walls are raised. That’s a workflow benefit that makes Tando Composites a natural fit for ready-build customers.

And because Tando Composites is being specified by national builders who are signing up with Tando Composites directly, there’s an emerging pull-through dynamic in new construction markets: builders are walking into one-steppers and dealers asking for Tando Composites by name. The yards that stock it capture that business. The yards that don’t send those builders elsewhere and risk losing the Hardie business that comes alongside it.

How to Lead the Conversation

The system selling approach works best when it’s introduced as a solution to a problem the contractor already has, rather than a product pitch.

The opening question isn’t “have you heard of Tando Composites?” It’s “What are your customers asking for on exteriors right now?” Almost universally, the answer involves some version of wanting more visual interest, more curb appeal, more differentiation from the house next door.

From there, the conversation moves naturally to mixed materials and to the fact that the most popular mixed material combination right now pairs fiber cement siding with composite stone or shake accents. Which leads directly to Hardie and Tando Composites, and to the fact that both are available through BPI, and that a single crew can install the complete package without specialty trades.

The presentation is strengthened enormously by the physical product. Connected Tando Composites panels mounted on an LVL-backed display with corners installed alongside Hardie samples tell the complete story in a way that words alone can’t. The seams disappear. The texture is convincing. The combination looks like a finished exterior, not a product sample. That visual impact is what converts skeptics.

The Dealer Advantage

For dealers, the system selling opportunity is straightforward: every James Hardie customer is a potential Tando Composites customer, and vice versa.

The contractors buying Hardie from your yard are already doing the jobs where Tando Composites belongs. They’re building the homes, finishing the exteriors, and talking to the homeowners who are asking for more visual interest. The only missing piece is knowing that Tando Composites is available — and that you stock it.

Getting Tando Composites on your shelves alongside Hardie doesn’t just add a product. It adds a conversation. It gives your sales team something to offer that competitors who don’t stock Tando Composites can’t match. And it positions your yard as the source for complete exterior solutions rather than individual products.

That positioning compounds over time. Contractors who come to you for the complete package are harder to pull away than contractors who come to you for one SKU at a time.

One Exterior. One Supplier. One Conversation.

The exterior of a home is the first thing anyone sees. It drives curb appeal, property value, and the homeowner’s satisfaction with the entire project. Contractors who can deliver a complete, premium exterior, efficiently and without scheduling complexity, win more jobs and build stronger client relationships.

Hardie provides the field. Tando Composites provides the texture. BPI provides both.

To learn more about stocking Tando Composites alongside James Hardie through BPI, or to request display materials and product samples, contact your BPI representative directly or through our Contact page here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why do James Hardie and Tando Composites work well together?

A: Hardie covers the broad field of the exterior with a durable, low-maintenance, brand-recognized product. Tando Composites adds the texture and dimensional contrast that fiber cement alone can’t deliver. Together they hit the mixed materials aesthetic that homeowners are increasingly requesting — without requiring separate trades, separate suppliers, or separate schedules.

Q: Can the same crew install both James Hardie siding and TandoStone?

A: Yes. TandoStone installs like traditional siding: no mason, no mortar, no adhesive, no rainscreen. The same crew that hangs Hardie can install TandoStone using standard tools. The All-Pro Corner system eliminates the precision cutting that traditional stone corners require, keeping the workflow simple and the timeline under the contractor’s control.

Q: Is this system a good fit for new construction projects?

A: It’s particularly well-suited to new construction. Builders need a complete exterior spec that’s installable at scale, and Hardie plus Tando Composites meets that requirement in ways that natural stone and painted concrete panel alternatives don’t. TandoStone can be installed at ground level before walls are raised, which is a meaningful workflow advantage for modular and panelized construction. And with national builders now specifying Tando Composites directly, there’s a growing pull-through dynamic where builders are walking into yards asking for it by name.