Berkeley Wood Siding

No material is more woven into Berkeley's identity than wood. The city's brown-shingle homes, its First Bay Tradition houses, and its Craftsman blocks were clad in cedar and redwood, and for many owners nothing else looks right. Real wood siding — clapboard, shingle and shake, board-and-batten — is a premium, renewable, repairable cladding with a warmth manufactured products chase but never quite match. Bay Area Siding Company installs and restores wood siding, and this page is an honest account of what living with it involves, including where it's the wrong call.

Restoring or re-cladding in wood? Request an estimate or call (415) 619-5167.

The case for wood

Wood earns its place on the right home for real reasons:

• Authentic character. On a brown-shingle or Craftsman house, cedar or redwood is the material the architecture was designed around — the look is genuine, not simulated.
• Repairable. Individual boards or shingles can be swapped out, and the whole wall can be refinished; you're not tied to replacing a system.
• Renewable and natural. For owners who want a natural material, wood is exactly that.
• Profiles that suit the city. Shingle and shake for the brown-shingle vernacular, clapboard for Craftsman and Victorian lines, board-and-batten for a cleaner vertical look.

The two honest trade-offs

Wood asks for something back, and there's no point pretending otherwise:

• Maintenance is the highest of any cladding. Wood must be painted or stained on a cycle, and it's vulnerable to rot, water intrusion, and pests if the finish lapses — a real factor in Berkeley's damp winters. Budget for upkeep, not just installation.
• Wood is combustible. This is the one that governs the decision in Berkeley. Solid wood siding will burn, which makes it a poor fit for a home in the hill fire zones.

The Berkeley fire reality — read this before you commit to wood

If your home is in the Berkeley hills, the combustibility of wood isn't a detail, it's the deciding factor. Parcels in the Combined Hillside District and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone are subject to exterior-wall rules that favor noncombustible or ignition-resistant claddings and tested assemblies, and a solid-wood skin runs directly against that intent. Cal Fire's state fire-hazard maps were revised in 2025, and the fire-zone rules depend on your parcel's designation, the product, and how much of the wall you're touching — so we confirm the specifics with the City rather than assume. For a hillside home that wants the wood look, the honest answer is usually to look at a noncombustible substitute that reads as wood: fiber cement and James Hardie come in shingle and lap profiles that hold the brown-shingle character while being noncombustible. If you want a real-wood texture with far less upkeep and are outside the fire zones, LP SmartSide engineered wood is worth comparing.

Where wood still makes sense

None of that rules wood out. On flatland and lower-neighborhood homes outside the high-hazard zones, where the historic character is paramount and the owner is committed to the maintenance, real cedar or redwood is a legitimate and beautiful choice — and sometimes the one that keeps a landmark-quality home true to itself. Design review may apply on character homes depending on scope, which we handle at permitting. For the wider material decision, see Berkeley siding replacement.

Cost drivers

Wood sits at the premium end, and the total reflects the species (cedar and redwood aren't cheap), the profile (hand-applied shingles are labor-intensive), the home's size and detailing, and the finish. There's also the lifetime cost: paint or stain on a cycle is part of owning wood. Installation cost turns partly on what tear-off reveals once old siding is off and the sheathing, water-resistive barrier, and flashing can be inspected. A City of Berkeley permit applies, and design review may as well on character homes.

FAQ

Can I put wood siding on a home in the Berkeley hills? Solid wood is combustible, so in the hill fire zones it generally runs counter to the exterior-wall rules favoring noncombustible or ignition-resistant materials. We confirm your parcel's designation with the City; for hillside homes we typically recommend a noncombustible cladding that still reads as wood, like fiber cement shingles.

How much maintenance does wood siding really need? More than any other cladding. Expect repainting or restaining on a regular cycle and prompt attention to any finish failure, since Berkeley's wet winters will find unprotected wood. On the right home, many owners consider that upkeep worthwhile for the authentic look.

I have a brown-shingle home — do I have to use real wood to keep the look? No. Real cedar shingle is the original, but fiber cement and engineered-wood shingle profiles can hold the character with far less maintenance — and on a fire-zone parcel, a noncombustible option is the safer route. We'll show you side by side.

Do I need a permit for wood siding in Berkeley? Yes, siding work requires a City of Berkeley permit, and design review may apply on character homes depending on the scope. Hill/fire-area parcels carry added exterior-wall requirements.

Talk through wood — and the alternatives

Call (415) 619-5167 or request an estimate. We'll be straight with you about whether wood is right for your Berkeley home and parcel, and show you the look-alike options where it isn't. See finished work in the project gallery or our East Bay service area.