Piedmont Wood Siding

Nothing quite matches real wood on a period home — the depth of a cedar shingle wall, the shadow line of redwood clapboard, the texture of board-and-batten. On Piedmont's Tudor, Mediterranean, and revival houses, authentic wood siding is often what the architecture was designed around, and it's a material we install and restore. It's also the highest-maintenance and, on the wrong parcel, the least fire-safe cladding you can choose. Bay Area Siding Company will do right by real wood where it belongs — and tell you plainly where a fiber-cement look-alike serves the home better. This page covers both.

Considering wood siding? Request an estimate or call (415) 619-5167.

The case for real wood

• Authenticity. Cedar and redwood clapboard, shingle and shake, and board-and-batten deliver a look and texture no manufactured product fully reproduces — which matters on a home whose value is tied to its period character.
• Repairability. A wood exterior can be patched, spliced, and refinished board by board; you're rarely replacing a whole wall to fix a section.
• Renewable and workable. It cuts and details cleanly, which suits the trim-rich exteriors common on Piedmont's older homes.
• Design-review friendly on the right home. When the goal is to preserve a home's original character, real wood is the material reviewers most readily recognize.

The honest trade-offs

Wood asks more of you than any other cladding, in two ways that matter especially here:

• Maintenance. Wood must be painted or stained and kept sealed, and it's vulnerable to rot and insects — pressures that Piedmont's wet winters intensify. Expect a real, recurring finish cycle, not a set-and-forget wall.
• Combustibility. Untreated wood is the most fire-prone siding, which is a genuine concern on the city's fire-zone parcels — enough that on those homes we usually steer toward fiber cement.

Where fiber cement earns a look instead

We're not trying to talk you out of wood — we're trying to put the right material on your house. On a fire-zone parcel, or for a homeowner who doesn't want the finish cycle, fiber cement and James Hardie reproduce clapboard and shingle profiles convincingly while being noncombustible and far lower-maintenance. If you want the warmth of real wood grain with better moisture performance, LP SmartSide engineered wood splits the difference. CertainTeed's Cedar Impressions polymer shakes are another shingle-look alternative. The full comparison lives on the Piedmont siding replacement page. Where the home, the setting, and the owner all point to real wood — and the parcel isn't in the fire zone — we'll do it properly.

The fire zone, specifically

In 2020 Piedmont adopted Ordinance 755 N.S., designating its southeastern section — the area around Park Boulevard, St. James Drive, and Tyson Lake, roughly 20% of the city — a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, with citywide defensible-space rules including a defensible perimeter around structures in the zone. Where a fire-hazard designation applies, California Building Code Chapter 7A governs the exterior wall covering and generally calls for noncombustible or tested ignition-resistant assemblies. Standard cedar or redwood generally isn't compliant on a designated parcel. Whether 7A applies to your home depends on its designation and the scope of work, so we confirm that with the City before recommending wood. If you're in or near the southeastern zone, that's the first thing to establish.

Design review and period character

Piedmont examines exterior appearance closely, and this is one area where wood often helps rather than hinders. Restoring or replacing a home's original wood siding in kind — same material, design, and size — is generally treated as routine maintenance and exempt. Changing the material or appearance can put a project into design review through the Planning & Building Department (120 Vista Avenue) before the building permit issues. We map which path your project falls into, and where preservation of character is the goal, wood is usually the reviewers' expectation.

Installation and finishing

We take the old cladding off rather than covering it, so the sheathing, water-resistive barrier, and flashing can be inspected and rebuilt before new wood goes up — critical on an older home where concealed rot often hides around openings and at the base of walls. New wood is installed with correct clearances and back-priming where appropriate, then finished with a paint or stain system chosen for Piedmont's damp season, because the finish is what buys the wall its years.

What drives the cost

The variables: the species and profile (shingle and shake run higher than plain clapboard), the home's size and stories, concealed repair found at tear-off, the trim and detailing a period home carries, the finish system, whether an appearance change triggers design review, and — on southeastern parcels — whether the fire zone points you to fiber cement instead. Wood also carries a higher long-run maintenance cost than manufactured siding, which is fair to factor in. A walkthrough is the only honest way to price it.

Frequently asked questions

Can I install wood siding on a home in Piedmont's fire zone? Usually not, if it's untreated cedar or redwood. The southeastern Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone is subject to Chapter 7A provisions that favor noncombustible or ignition-resistant wall coverings, and standard wood generally isn't compliant. Whether 7A applies to your parcel depends on its designation and scope — we confirm with the City, and often recommend fiber cement there.

How much maintenance does wood siding really need? More than any other cladding. It needs periodic repainting or restaining and sealing, and it's vulnerable to rot and insects, especially through wet winters. If that upkeep isn't for you, engineered wood or fiber cement gives a similar look with far less.

Will restoring my home's original wood siding trigger design review? Generally not, if you're replacing in kind — same material, design, and size counts as routine maintenance. Changing the material or appearance can trigger review through the Planning & Building Department. We confirm the path before starting.

Can fiber cement really pass for wood on a period home? On the street, convincingly. Fiber cement clapboard and shingle profiles hold fine detailing, which is why they come up so often on Piedmont's Tudor and revival homes — especially where fire or maintenance rules real wood out.

Get started

We'll walk your home, weigh real wood against the look-alikes honestly, and map any permit or fire-zone requirements. Request an estimate or call Bay Area Siding Company at (415) 619-5167. See finished work in our project gallery or across the East Bay.