Bay Area Siding Company re-sides homes throughout Albany, from the bungalows near Solano Avenue to the compact Spanish-style cottages on the streets below San Pablo. We're a Larkspur-based siding and window contractor working across the East Bay, and a re-side with us is the complete job: pulling the old cladding, checking what's behind it, rebuilding the weather barrier and flashing, and installing your new siding the way the manufacturer specifies.

Thinking about a re-side? Request an estimate or call (415) 619-5167 and we'll walk the house with you.

When patching stops being worth it

Albany's homes are mostly small and old — early-twentieth-century Craftsman bungalows and stucco-and-wood cottages on tight lots, many built before drainage planes and modern flashing were routine. A block from the bay, the steady marine air and salt carry moisture into the wall year-round, so cladding here tends to wear from the outside in. These are the signals that another repair is just buying time:

• Boards or panels that cup, split, or feel spongy when you press on them
• A fresh paint job that's peeling or blistering again within a season or two
• Dark staining, soft trim, or a mildew smell where the wall meets the foundation
• Caulk lines and joints that you're re-sealing over and over
• Original T1-11, hardboard, or thin aluminum that has simply aged out

Why a full tear-off beats a cover-up

It's tempting to fasten new siding straight over the old to save a step, but on an Albany cottage that hides exactly what you need to see. With the cladding off, we can read the sheathing, find the salt-driven rot that likes to collect at sills and around windows, and confirm there's an intact water-resistive barrier — something a lot of these homes never had. Sheathing over the top only adds weight, can seal moisture in, and leaves the underlying trouble in place. Tearing off costs a bit more at the start and leaves you with a wall that's dry from the sheathing out.

Picking the right material

We install a range of siding systems and would rather show you the trade-offs against your own walls than sell you one answer. A few starting points:

• James Hardie fiber cement — dense, low-upkeep fiber cement that shrugs off damp marine air; the Albany James Hardie page goes deeper on it
• Fiber cement generally — the wider category across manufacturers
• LP SmartSide — engineered wood with a real wood look
• Vinyl siding — a lower-cost, low-maintenance route where the home and the block suit it

We also work in CertainTeed, natural wood, and aluminum. Albany isn't in a fire-hazard severity zone, so unlike homes up in the hills your material choice here isn't driven by Chapter 7A — it comes down to how the siding holds up to salt air, how much upkeep you want, and how faithfully it keeps the character of a period home.

What to expect: our process

1. Walk-through — we assess the existing cladding and talk through what you want from the project and your budget.
2. Measure and scope — precise measurements and a written plan for the work.
3. Permit — Albany requires a building permit for a re-side; it's generally handled as an over-the-counter permit through the city's Cloudpermit portal.
4. Tear-off and inspection — the old siding comes off and we examine the sheathing and framing before a single new board goes up.
5. Weather barrier and flashing — a water-resistive barrier and correct flashing at every opening and transition, which is what actually keeps the wall dry.
6. Installation to spec — siding hung to the manufacturer's clearance, fastening, and joint instructions.
7. Finish and walkthrough — trim, caulk, cleanup, and a final look together.

Albany-specific things to know

Permits and the Cloudpermit portal. The City of Albany Building Division reviews and issues permits online through Cloudpermit, and a residential siding replacement is typically treated as a small-scale, over-the-counter permit rather than a plan-check project. We prepare and submit the application so the paperwork isn't yours to chase. If your re-side also changes windows, note that Albany's window rules are stricter and separate — more on that below.

Salt air is the local stress test. Albany sits on the bay plain with steady marine exposure, and that damp, salt-laden air is hard on cladding, fasteners, and paint. It's the single biggest reason we push homeowners here toward low-absorption materials and toward renewing the flashing and weather barrier during a re-side rather than reusing what's there.

Small lots and period character. Lots in Albany are narrow and houses sit close together, which shapes staging, scaffolding, and how we protect a neighbor's wall a few feet away. And because so much of the city is intact 1910s–1930s bungalow and cottage stock, matching the original profile, reveal, and trim details matters if you want the home to still read as itself afterward.

Doing windows in the same project? See Albany window replacement — the city's window design rules are worth planning around early. You can also browse finished jobs in our project gallery or read about our wider East Bay service area.

What affects the cost

There's no honest online price for a re-side because no two of these homes are the same. What moves the number: how much wall there is and how many stories; what the tear-off turns up in the way of rot or failed sheathing; access on a tight Albany lot; the material and finish you choose; how much trim and detail work the period style calls for; whether windows are being integrated at the same time; and the permit itself. We give you a real figure after we've measured and seen the walls.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a permit to re-side my house in Albany? Yes. The City of Albany requires a building permit for siding replacement, submitted through the Cloudpermit system. A straightforward re-side is usually an over-the-counter permit rather than a full plan check, and we handle the filing.

Is Albany in a fire zone that limits my siding material? No. Albany is on the flats and isn't within a Very High or High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, so Chapter 7A's noncombustible-cladding requirements don't drive the decision here the way they do in the hill cities. Your choice is about durability in salt air, maintenance, and matching a period home.

Should I replace the siding or just cover over it? On Albany's older, moisture-exposed homes we almost always recommend a full tear-off. It's the only way to inspect and repair the sheathing, add a proper weather-resistive barrier, and correct flashing — all of which a cover-up hides.

What holds up best against the bay's salt air? Dense, low-absorption cladding like fiber cement tends to weather marine exposure well and holds a factory finish far longer than field-painted wood. We'll talk through the options in person against your home's exposure and style.

Get started

Let's get your Albany re-side scoped and moving. Request an estimate or call Bay Area Siding Company at (415) 619-5167 — we'll look at the walls, talk materials, and lay out the process end to end.