Kentfield LP Smartside Siding

If you want the look and warmth of real wood siding but you've watched what Kentfield's damp winters do to it, LP SmartSide is the material that tries to give you both. It's engineered wood — wood strands bonded with resins and treated through LP's SmartGuard process to resist moisture, fungal decay, and termites — finished with a genuine wood-grain texture. It reads as wood on the wall, works like wood for a carpenter, and holds up in wet conditions far better than a solid board.

Bay Area Siding Company installs LP SmartSide throughout Marin from our Larkspur shop, a few minutes from Kentfield. Here's where it fits in this valley, how it compares to the alternatives, and what to weigh before choosing it. For the full material comparison, see the Kentfield siding replacement overview.

Want to see if it's right for your home? Call (415) 619-5167 or request an estimate.

Why homeowners here choose it

The pitch is a wood look without solid wood's fragility. On the wood-detailed cottages and custom homes that fill Kentfield — from the flats near College of Marin up toward Kent Woodlands — SmartSide sits comfortably with the architecture in a way vinyl often can't. Compared with fiber cement, it's lighter, easier and faster to work, and more forgiving of impact, so a stray branch off the tree canopy dents rather than cracks it. LP backs the product with a well-regarded long limited warranty; we'll go over the current terms for your project rather than quoting a figure here.

The SmartGuard treatment is the point in a place like this. Kentfield holds moisture — shaded, creek-valley air, one of the highest rainfall totals in the Bay Area, north walls that stay damp for days. Untreated wood in those conditions rots and gets eaten; SmartSide is built to resist both, which is why it's a serious option here rather than a compromise.

The honest trade-offs

SmartSide is a wood-based product, so two things follow. It needs paint maintenance — it ships primed or pre-finished, but the finish has to be kept up on a periodic cycle to protect it, and in Kentfield's climate that cycle comes a little sooner than in a dry town. It's less maintenance than solid wood, more than fiber cement.

And it is combustible. That matters on the wooded slopes. The Kent Woodlands parcels climbing Mount Tamalpais carry real wildfire exposure, and Cal Fire's updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps are moving through local review and adoption across Marin. Where a parcel falls under a fire-hazard designation, California Building Code Chapter 7A can favor noncombustible cladding — which points toward fiber cement rather than an engineered-wood product. Whether Chapter 7A applies depends on your specific parcel and scope, and we confirm that with Marin County before recommending SmartSide for a hillside lot. On the lower-exposure valley floor, that constraint usually eases and SmartSide's wood look and workability come to the front.

Installation in a wet valley

SmartSide installs to LP's published instructions, with attention to the cut ends, fastening, and gapping that keep an engineered-wood wall sound. As always, the moisture control is behind the cladding. On a re-side we remove the old material to the sheathing and substrate, inspect and repair concealed rot, install a proper water-resistive barrier, and detail the flashing at every opening, penetration, and transition for the valley's rainfall. Framing is only involved if the sheathing itself has failed. Then the SmartSide goes on and gets its finish coats.

Kentfield is unincorporated, so the permit runs through the Marin County Community Development Agency, Building and Safety Division at the San Rafael Civic Center. If you're inside Kent Woodlands, the property owners association's design review can also apply — tell us early.

What affects the cost

We price after measuring, not online. Drivers include the size and height of the home, hillside access on the wooded lots, factory-finished vs. field-painted SmartSide, how much hidden rot appears once the wall is open, whether trim and windows are integrated, and any County or association review.

Frequently asked questions

How is LP SmartSide different from fiber cement? SmartSide is engineered wood — lighter, easier to work, more impact-resistant, and warmer in texture — but it's combustible and needs periodic repainting. Fiber cement is noncombustible and lower-maintenance but heavier and more brittle. On a fire-exposed Kent Woodlands parcel we'd usually favor fiber cement; on the valley floor, SmartSide's wood look often wins.

Will SmartSide hold up to Kentfield's rain? It's built for it. The SmartGuard treatment resists moisture, decay, and termites, which is why engineered wood is viable in this damp valley. The bigger protection is still the water-resistive barrier and flashing we install behind it.

Does SmartSide need repainting? Yes, on a periodic cycle — less often than solid wood, more often than fiber cement. In Kentfield's damp, shaded climate, plan on staying ahead of the finish to protect the boards.

Is SmartSide allowed on a Kent Woodlands hillside home? It depends on the parcel. Where a fire-hazard designation applies, Chapter 7A may steer you to noncombustible cladding, since SmartSide is combustible. We confirm your parcel's designation and scope with Marin County — and check Kent Woodlands design review — before recommending it.

Get an LP SmartSide estimate for your Kentfield home

Call (415) 619-5167 or request an estimate. We'll weigh SmartSide against fiber cement and the other options for your exposure and architecture, and confirm any fire or association review. See our project gallery and the Marin service area.