Fairfax Wood Siding

Nothing looks more at home in the Fairfax hills than real wood. Cedar and redwood clapboard, hand-split shingle and shake, board-and-batten — this is the material the town's cabins and cottages were actually built with, and for a certain kind of owner nothing else will do. Wood is beautiful, renewable, and endlessly repairable, and on the right parcel it's a legitimate choice. But in Fairfax, wood carries two serious caveats that we'd be doing you a disservice to soft-pedal: it's the highest-maintenance siding under this canopy, and it's combustible in a town where much of the land is fire-hazard zone. Bay Area Siding Company installs wood siding — and we'll tell you honestly whether your address is a good candidate for it.

Weighing real wood? Call (415) 619-5167 or request an estimate.

Start with the fire-zone question — it may decide this for you

We lead with this because on a lot of Fairfax parcels it settles the matter. Much of the town — the wooded hillsides and single-road canyons like the Cascades — sits inside a Fire Hazard Severity Zone or the wildland-urban interface, and Fairfax has adopted the California WUI Code (municipal code § 8.06.011). Where those rules and the state's Chapter 7A exterior-wall standards apply, cladding generally has to be noncombustible or ignition-resistant, and untreated solid wood does not meet that standard. On a designated hazard-zone parcel, that typically rules out natural wood siding in favor of noncombustible fiber cement or James Hardie.

This is genuinely parcel- and scope-dependent, not a blanket ban — some Fairfax lots fall outside the hazard-zone rules, and repair-vs-alteration classification can matter — so we confirm your parcel's designation with the Town of Fairfax before speccing. But the honest guidance is: if you're on a high-hazard parcel and you love the wood look, the smart move is usually engineered wood or fiber cement that mimics it, not the real thing. LP SmartSide is the closest wood-look substitute; fiber cement shingle and lap profiles get you a similar line without the combustibility.

Where real wood still makes sense

On parcels clear of the fire rules, wood earns its keep:

• The look is unmatched — depth, grain, and a way of aging that no manufactured product fully copies. On a period cottage or a design-review-sensitive street, it can be the only material that reads as authentic.
• It's repairable board by board. A damaged clapboard or a rotten shingle course can be swapped without redoing a wall — a real advantage on a home you plan to keep and maintain.
• It's renewable and refinishable — restain or repaint and the wall is renewed, and you can change the color completely down the road.
• Species matter. Cedar and redwood are naturally more decay- and insect-resistant than commodity softwoods, which is why they're the traditional choice here.

The upkeep — be realistic about the canopy

Fairfax's shade is exactly what makes wood high-maintenance. Slow-drying north faces and damp canyon walls keep moisture against the wood longer, and moisture plus wood plus shade is how rot, cupping, and finish failure start. Real wood needs its finish maintained on a regular cycle — more often on the shaded elevations than the sunny ones — plus attention to caulk, end grain, and ground clearance. Keep after it and wood lasts generations; let the finish lapse on a wet wall and it deteriorates faster here than almost anywhere. If a low-maintenance wall is your priority, wood is the wrong material and we'll say so — vinyl or fiber cement will serve you better.

Installed to drain — because that's the whole game here

Whatever we hang, the value on a shaded Fairfax lot is in the assembly. We walk the house, measure, and scope the full wall. Fairfax requires a construction permit for work that touches the wall, and many single-family exterior projects go through the Design Review Board — where a wood profile is often exactly what the board wants to see on a period home, so it's worth raising early. Tear-off exposes the sheathing so we can find the concealed rot and missing flashing that damp lots hide, install a water-resistive barrier and flashing, and back-prime and detail the wood to shed water and dry between wettings. Cost turns on the species and profile, stories and access, how much rot surfaces, the finish, and Design Review. See our project gallery and Marin service area.

Frequently asked questions

Can I put real wood siding on my Fairfax home? It depends on your parcel. On lots inside a Fire Hazard Severity Zone or WUI area where Chapter 7A and Fairfax's WUI Code apply, untreated solid wood generally isn't permitted, and you'd use a noncombustible material instead. On parcels outside those rules, wood is a legitimate choice. We confirm your parcel's status with the Town before recommending it.

How much maintenance does wood siding really need here? More than any other material, because of the shade. Plan on a regular refinishing cycle — sooner on damp, north-facing, and canyon-facing walls — plus upkeep of caulk and end grain. Maintained, it lasts a very long time; neglected on a wet Fairfax wall, it fails quickly.

I want the wood look but I'm in the fire zone — what are my options? Engineered wood like LP SmartSide (on parcels that allow it) or fiber cement shingle and lap profiles both give a wood-like appearance while meeting or better handling the fire and moisture demands. We'll show you samples so you can judge the look.

Is redwood or cedar better than other wood? Both are naturally more decay- and insect-resistant than commodity softwoods, which is why they're the traditional Fairfax choice. Species, grade, and how well the finish is maintained matter more than almost anything else to how long a wood wall lasts.

Get started

Call (415) 619-5167 or request an estimate. We'll check your parcel against the fire rules, talk through species and upkeep honestly, and help you land on a wall that suits both the house and its setting.