Novato LP Smartside Siding

There's a specific homeowner LP SmartSide is made for: someone who wants their Novato house to read as real wood — warm grain, deep shadow lines, a genuinely handsome lap or panel — but has no interest in the rot, the insects, and the constant upkeep that solid cedar or redwood demands. SmartSide is engineered wood: wood strands bonded with resins and treated through LP's SmartGuard process for moisture and termite resistance. It keeps the look and the workability of wood while shedding most of the reasons wood siding fails. Bay Area Siding Company installs LP SmartSide throughout northern Marin.

Curious what it runs for your home? Call (415) 619-5167 or request a bid.

Why it fits a lot of Novato homes

Novato's housing skews toward postwar and mid-century tract construction — the ranch subdivisions in San Marin and Pleasant Valley, the older bungalows and cottages downtown. Many of those homes were originally clad in wood or in wood-based panels like T1-11, and owners who liked that texture often want to keep it. SmartSide is the natural upgrade path: it lands the same warm, real-wood appearance without repeating the failure that's probably driving the re-side in the first place.

It also handles Novato's climate sensibly. Inland summers here are dry and UV-heavy from roughly June into September, then most of the year's rain arrives December through February — a bake-then-soak cycle that punishes materials that swell and shrink. The SmartGuard treatment is built to resist exactly that moisture cycling, which is where untreated wood and old hardboard give up. SmartSide does need to be painted and repainted on a periodic cycle — that's the honest trade-off for the wood look — but it holds paint well, and factory-primed product gives a good starting point.

A practical bonus on Novato's ranch homes: SmartSide is lighter and more impact-resistant than fiber cement, and it's easier to cut and handle on site. That doesn't change the finished wall much for you, but it makes for a cleaner install and it's forgiving of the odd knock — a stray ladder, a thrown ball — that would chip a cement board.

The one place to think twice

Engineered wood is still a wood-based product, and it is combustible. That matters on Novato's fire-exposed edges. The town wraps around wooded hills and open space at Indian Valley, Black Point and Green Point, and Bahia, and parcels in those higher-hazard Wildland-Urban Interface areas can fall under California Building Code Chapter 7A, which generally steers exterior walls toward noncombustible or ignition-resistant assemblies. On those parcels, fiber cement or James Hardie is the more appropriate direction, and we'll say so. Whether 7A applies depends on the parcel's designation and the scope of work — we confirm with the Novato Fire Protection District and the City. For the flatland core, which is most of Novato's tract housing, this simply isn't a constraint, and SmartSide is squarely in play.

How it compares

Against fiber cement: SmartSide is lighter, easier to install, more impact-resistant, and gives a warmer wood grain, but it's combustible and needs periodic paint where fiber cement is noncombustible and lower-maintenance. Against vinyl: SmartSide looks and feels substantially more like real wood and takes dark colors freely, but costs more and isn't maintenance-free. Against true wood siding: SmartSide gives most of the look for less money and far less upkeep and rot risk. LP backs the product with a well-regarded, long limited warranty, which we'll walk through for your specifics rather than cite a figure. The siding replacement hub lays out the full comparison.

Install and permits

We tear off rather than side over the old material — the only way to inspect the sheathing and water-resistive barrier, correct dry rot where the tear-off finds it (often around windows or at the base of the wall), and re-establish flashing and the drainage plane. SmartSide then goes up per LP's published instructions: the right fastening, the required clearances to grade and roofing, and proper treatment of joints and end cuts, which is what keeps both the wall dry and the warranty intact. In Novato, a like-for-like siding replacement can run through the City's Residential Express Permit; changing materials or wall configuration can move the job into standard review, and we confirm the current path with the Building Division.

Cost drivers

No honest price posts online. The drivers on a SmartSide job are the home's size and story count, the profile you choose (lap, panel, or shake), whether you go factory-finished or field-painted, how much substrate repair the tear-off uncovers, integrating trim and windows, and access on larger or sloped lots. We price after we measure.

FAQ

Is LP SmartSide okay for a Novato home near open space? It's combustible engineered wood, so on parcels in the Wildland-Urban Interface or higher fire-hazard zones we point you toward noncombustible fiber cement under Chapter 7A instead. On the flatland core it's a strong option. We confirm your parcel's fire designation with the Fire District and City before recommending.

How much maintenance does it really need? Periodic repainting — think a multi-year cycle rather than annual work. It holds paint well and starts factory-primed, so it's far less demanding than solid wood, but it's not the zero-paint story that vinyl or fiber cement offers.

Will it match the wood look my house already has? Yes — that's its whole point. SmartSide comes in lap, vertical panel, and shake profiles with a genuine wood grain, so a ranch, a bungalow, or a home replacing failed T1-11 can keep the texture.

Is it more durable than the T1-11 I have now? Considerably. The SmartGuard treatment resists the moisture cycling and insect damage that make old T1-11 swell and delaminate, and it's more impact-resistant. Replacing failing T1-11 with SmartSide is one of the more common jobs we do.

Get started

Let's see whether LP SmartSide is the right call for your Novato home. Request a bid or call Bay Area Siding Company at (415) 619-5167. See finished work in our project gallery or the wider Marin service area.