Cedar is the heritage cladding of the coast, and nothing quite matches the warmth of real wood on a West Coast home. Western red cedar is naturally rot and insect resistant, and our region still has access to quality heritage stock for board-and-batten, channel, and bevel siding, as well as shingle walls.
Wood is also the most demanding cladding to keep alive in our wet climate, and that comes down entirely to the build. Cedar needs to breathe, so we install it over a vented rainscreen cavity with stainless fasteners that won’t bleed black streaks, and we back-prime or finish every face before it goes up. Without that air gap, moisture gets trapped and feeds moss and rot from behind, where you can’t see it until boards are already failing.
Expect to re-oil or re-stain on a cycle, because shaded lots under the coastal canopy grey and grow algae faster than sun-exposed walls. We install new cedar cladding, restore and selectively replace boards on heritage homes, and set up the assembly so the wood has the best possible shot at a long, good-looking life.