Bellingham We Get Asked About Cedar A Lot
Cedar siding has a devoted following in the Pacific Northwest, and it's easy to see why. It's a real wood product with a warm, natural grain that fits the region's aesthetic, it's renewable, and it can be finished in ways that look genuinely beautiful on the right home. We don't dispute any of that. But we're a fiber cement contractor, and we've made a deliberate choice not to install cedar siding on Bellingham homes. This page explains why, honestly, without pretending cedar is a bad product — it isn't. It's a product that demands a level of ongoing homeowner commitment that doesn't match what most of our clients actually want from their siding.
What Cedar Gets Right
Before we get into the trade-offs, credit where it's due. Cedar has natural oils that give it some inherent resistance to decay and insects compared to other softwoods. It's lightweight, workable, and forgiving to cut and shape on site. It also ages in a way many homeowners find attractive — whether that's a maintained stain finish or a natural weathered gray, cedar has real visual character that manufactured products spend a lot of engineering trying to replicate. If a homeowner wants true wood grain and is prepared to maintain it, cedar is a legitimate choice. Our objection isn't to the material itself — it's to what it takes to keep that material performing over the 30, 40, or 50 years a Whatcom County homeowner expects their siding to last.
The Maintenance Cedar Actually Requires
This is the core issue. Cedar siding is not a install-it-and-forget-it product. To hold up, it needs:
- Refinishing (staining or repainting) every 3-7 years depending on exposure and finish type
- Regular inspection for checking, cupping, and splitting as boards move with moisture
- Prompt caulk and sealant maintenance at joints, corners, and penetrations
- Periodic cleaning to remove moss, algae, and mildew growth before it takes hold
- Vigilant gutter and drainage maintenance, since standing water against wood siding accelerates rot
- Replacement of individual boards as they fail, which means keeping matching stock or accepting patchwork repairs
None of this is unusual for wood siding anywhere in the country. What makes it a harder sell here specifically is Bellingham's climate, which stacks several of cedar's weak points on top of each other for most of the year.
Why Whatcom County Is a Tough Environment for Wood Siding
Moss Season Runs Long
Bellingham's wet, mild winters and shoulder seasons create ideal conditions for moss and algae growth on exterior surfaces. On wood siding, that growth isn't just cosmetic — moss and algae hold moisture against the board surface, which is exactly what accelerates decay in an organic material. A homeowner with cedar siding here is signing up for regular cleaning specifically to interrupt that cycle, not just for curb appeal.
Driving Rain and Wind-Driven Moisture
Storms off the Salish Sea don't just fall straight down — wind-driven rain pushes moisture sideways into lap joints, butt seams, and fastener penetrations. Wood siding depends on its finish and flashing details staying intact to keep that moisture out. Once a finish starts to fail or a seam opens up, driving rain finds the gap fast, and wood doesn't forgive prolonged wetting the way engineered materials do.
Salt Air Along the Coast
For homes closer to Bellingham Bay and the surrounding shoreline, salt-laden air adds another layer of wear. Salt air accelerates the breakdown of finishes and coatings, meaning coastal-facing cedar siding often needs refinishing on the shorter end of that 3-7 year window rather than the longer end. It's one more maintenance variable stacked on top of moss and rain exposure.
Cedar vs. Fiber Cement: A Straight Comparison
| Factor | Cedar Siding | James Hardie Fiber Cement |
|---|---|---|
| Moisture behavior | Absorbs and releases moisture; prone to cupping, checking, and rot if finish fails | Engineered to resist moisture-related damage; won't rot |
| Refinishing cycle | Every 3-7 years, sooner in coastal/high-moisture exposure | ColorPlus factory finish rated for long-term color retention; far less frequent repainting |
| Moss/algae resistance | No inherent resistance; requires active cleaning | Denser, non-organic surface is less hospitable to growth |
| Fire resistance | Combustible | Non-combustible core material |
| Pest vulnerability | Some natural resistance, but still a wood product | Not a food source for insects |
| Installation sensitivity | High — finish, flashing, and gapping details are all critical | High — but backed by manufacturer-published install specs and warranty enforcement |
| Warranty structure | Typically limited to the finish product, not the wood itself | Manufacturer warranty on the siding product, transferable to future owners |
The Installation Sensitivity Problem
Cedar siding's long-term performance depends heavily on details that are easy to get wrong and expensive to fix later: back-priming every board on all sides before installation, correct gapping to allow for wood movement, proper flashing at every horizontal joint, and consistent, timely finish application before the siding is ever exposed to weather. Skip or rush any one of those steps and you've shortened the siding's effective life significantly — often in ways that don't show up until years later, when the fix means tearing off boards rather than a simple touch-up. We install a lot of siding in this region, and we've seen how much of cedar's reputation for problems actually traces back to installation shortcuts rather than the material itself. That's a real risk we'd rather not put in front of our clients.
The Cost-Over-Time Reality
Cedar siding often looks competitive or even cheaper than fiber cement on install day. The real cost comparison shows up over a couple of decades, once you account for refinishing labor and materials, board replacement, and the moisture-related repairs that show up when maintenance slips even for a season or two — which happens to most homeowners at some point. Fiber cement's upfront cost is higher, but its maintenance costs are dramatically lower and more predictable, which matters when you're thinking about total cost of ownership rather than just the invoice on installation day.
Why We Standardized on James Hardie
We made the decision to install James Hardie fiber cement exclusively rather than offering a menu of siding materials, cedar included. Hardie's fiber cement is non-combustible, holds up to sustained moisture exposure without rotting, and its ColorPlus factory-applied finish is engineered to resist fading and hold up to UV and coastal air far longer than a field-applied wood stain. Hardie also makes HZ5 products specifically engineered for regions with significant moisture exposure, which fits Whatcom County's climate profile well. The manufacturer backs it with a strong, transferable warranty — something that's much harder to get on wood siding, where warranties tend to cover the finish, not the underlying material. When we stand behind an installation, we want the product underneath it to make that commitment realistic, not something we're hoping a homeowner keeps up with every few years.
Is Cedar Ever the Right Call?
If a homeowner wants genuine wood siding, understands the refinishing schedule, and is committed to staying on top of it — including in a climate that pushes moss growth, driving rain, and salt air at the material simultaneously — that's a legitimate choice, just not one we offer. Before deciding between wood and fiber cement, it's worth being honest with yourself about a few things:
- Are you prepared to budget for refinishing every few years, not just once?
- Do you want to actively manage moss and algae growth, or would you rather the material resist it on its own?
- Is your home's exposure coastal, shaded, or otherwise higher-moisture, which would shorten cedar's maintenance intervals?
- Does your timeline for staying in the home make a 30-50 year, low-maintenance material more valuable than a lower upfront cost?
- Would a lapse in maintenance — a missed refinish, a slow-to-notice leak — be something you could catch and address quickly?
If most of those answers point toward wanting something durable and low-maintenance rather than a hands-on relationship with your siding, that's exactly the case James Hardie was engineered for, and it's why it's the only product we put on homes.
Let's Talk About Your Home
Every home and every budget is different, and the right answer depends on specifics we can only get to by looking at your house. If you're weighing your siding options in Bellingham or elsewhere in Whatcom County, we're happy to walk your property, talk through what we see, and give you a straightforward, no-pressure estimate for James Hardie siding. Use the form below to get started.