In the 1970s I did a lot of painting and repair work on
houses that had been resided with the cement shingles
referred to as asbestos siding. The material held paint
exceptionally well and seemed like it would last forever,
but because it was brittle, it cracked and shattered easily.
Because the material had been discontinued, my partner
and I always kept our eyes open for extra shingles stashed in
basements and garages. Often, we had to remove good pieces
from the back of the building to replace broken pieces in front.
Fiber-Cement Update
This earlier type of fiber-cement siding fell out of favor
because it was full of asbestos, hard