San Anselmo CertainTeed Siding

CertainTeed is one of the larger siding manufacturers in the country. For a San Anselmo homeowner, its appeal is range. One brand covers traditional lap vinyl, cedar-look shakes and shingles, foam-backed insulated panels, and polymer shakes. That makes it possible to choose a profile that suits a Ross Valley cottage without switching manufacturers halfway through the decision.

Bay Area Siding Company is a siding and window contractor based in Larkspur, a few minutes down the valley. We install CertainTeed siding across Marin. We will also tell you plainly when a different material makes more sense for your parcel. In San Anselmo, that sometimes happens.

Pricing out a CertainTeed project? Request a bid or call (415) 619-5167. We'll walk the house and talk through the lines that fit.

The CertainTeed lineup, and who each line suits

CertainTeed isn't one product. The choice between its lines usually matters more than the choice of brand, so here is how the family breaks down:

• Monogram. CertainTeed's heavier-gauge traditional vinyl lap siding. It suits homeowners who want a crisp, straight lap line and a wide choice of colors.
• Mainstreet. A more economical vinyl line. It's a practical fit for rentals, secondary structures, or tight budgets where durability matters more than profile detail.
• Cedar Impressions. Vinyl shakes and shingles molded to read like cedar, including straight-edge, staggered, and half-round styles. It is especially relevant in a town with a lot of shingle-style and cottage architecture.
• CedarBoards insulated siding. Vinyl with a contoured foam backing. The foam stiffens the panel, so walls look flatter, and it adds a modest layer of insulation outside the sheathing. CertainTeed's insulated vinyl offering is now organized around this line, where the former Craneboard insulated line sits.
• Polymer shakes. Thicker, more deeply textured shake products for accents or full elevations where a heavier shadow line is wanted.
• Fiber cement. CertainTeed has marketed fiber cement under the WeatherBoards name. Product availability changes over time, so we confirm current offerings before building a spec around it.

Warranties differ by line and by who owns the home. CertainTeed backs its siding with limited warranties that we'll review with you in writing for the specific product. We don't quote coverage from memory.

For a side-by-side view of the brand, see our CertainTeed siding hub. For vinyl as a category across manufacturers, including Alside, see vinyl siding.

Where CertainTeed fits a San Anselmo house, and where it doesn't

Period streets and the shingle look

A lot of San Anselmo's housing predates 1940. That includes Craftsman bungalows, Tudor cottages, and shingle-style houses in neighborhoods like the Yolanda District, Winship Park, and the blocks around downtown. Flat, glossy vinyl can look out of place on those homes.

Two CertainTeed options handle period character better than most people expect:

• Cedar Impressions can carry a shingled gable or a full shingle elevation without the repainting and re-staining cycle of real cedar.
• Monogram with appropriately sized trim reads cleanly on a simpler cottage.

If authentic wood grain and hand-finished detail matter most to you, we'll also discuss wood siding and LP SmartSide. Neither is a wrong answer. They carry different maintenance commitments.

Wooded hillsides and fire-zone parcels

This is the honest caveat. Vinyl and polymer siding are combustible materials. Homes on the wooded slopes, such as Seminary Hill, the Bald Hill side of town, and nearby Sleepy Hollow in unincorporated Marin, sit in terrain with real wildfire exposure. Cal Fire has also been updating Fire Hazard Severity Zones for local-responsibility areas across the Ross Valley.

Where California's wildland-urban interface provisions (CBC Chapter 7A) apply to an exterior wall covering, they call for ignition-resistant or noncombustible assemblies. Standard vinyl may not qualify. Whether those provisions apply depends on:

• your parcel's designation
• the scope of work
• the specific product and assembly

Ross Valley Fire and the Town of San Anselmo make that determination. We check it during scoping rather than after you've picked a color.

If your hillside lot is affected, we'll usually steer you toward fiber cement or James Hardie for the main walls. CertainTeed may still be an option elsewhere on the property where the rules allow it.

The creek flats and shaded walls

Down on the flats near San Anselmo Creek, and on any heavily shaded elevation, moisture management is the priority. Vinyl itself doesn't rot. However, it isn't a watertight skin. Water gets behind any lap siding, and what protects the house is the water-resistive barrier (WRB) and flashing underneath.

On the low, damp side of town, we pay attention to:

• bottom-course clearance above grade and hard surfaces
• drainage at the base of the wall
• flashing at windows and doors

Shaded vinyl can also collect mildew on the surface. It washes off, but it's worth expecting in the valley.

Parcels in a FEMA special flood hazard area may carry floodplain rules for work below the flood elevation. We confirm that with the Town for your address.

Installation is where vinyl succeeds or fails

Most vinyl siding problems come from the install, not the product. Poor installation causes rippled walls, buckled panels, and water staining behind the cladding. On a CertainTeed job, we follow these practices:

• Tear off the old siding. We remove it down to the sheathing so the substrate, WRB, and flashing can be inspected. On a century-old San Anselmo house, that often reveals missing or deteriorated weather barrier, or soft sheathing near grade and around openings. Sheathing that has failed gets replaced. Framing is only exposed if the sheathing itself has to come off.
• Renew the WRB and flash properly. This includes windows, doors, penetrations, and transitions, lapped so water drains down and out.
• Hang the panels loose, not tight. Vinyl expands and contracts with temperature. Panels are fastened per CertainTeed's installation instructions so they can move, with proper gaps at trim and corners.
• Finish the trim and accessories. We work with the trim, soffit, and accessories that go with the line, so the corners and window surrounds look intentional.

A re-side is generally permitted work through the Town of San Anselmo's Building Division. We confirm the submittal for your scope and pull the permit.

If you're also weighing new windows, it's often efficient to coordinate them with the siding so openings get flashed once, correctly. See window replacement in San Anselmo.

What drives the cost of a CertainTeed project

We don't post prices, because two San Anselmo houses of the same size can price very differently. The main factors are:

• Line choice. Mainstreet, Monogram, CedarBoards insulated, and Cedar Impressions or polymer shakes sit at different price points.
• Wall area and complexity. Gables, bays, and multiple stories add labor.
• Demolition and disposal of the existing cladding.
• Sheathing repair found after tear-off, which is common on older homes.
• Trim, soffit, and accessory packages.
• Site access on steep or tightly spaced lots.

A mixed design, such as lap siding on the main walls with shingles in the gables, adds some cost but is often what makes vinyl look right on a period house.

For the broader material decision, our San Anselmo siding replacement page compares all the systems we install.

CertainTeed siding FAQs

Can I use CertainTeed vinyl on a hillside home in San Anselmo? It depends on your parcel. If fire-zone ignition-resistant requirements apply to your exterior walls, standard vinyl may not be allowed for those surfaces. Ross Valley Fire and the Town confirm the designation and what applies to your scope. We check this before recommending a product.

Is insulated vinyl worth it over standard vinyl? Insulated lines like CedarBoards cost more. In return, the panels are stiffer, which gives flatter-looking walls and better impact resistance, and they add some insulation outside the sheathing. Whether that premium makes sense depends on your wall construction and goals. We'll talk it through with the actual house in front of us.

Will vinyl look wrong on my Craftsman or shingle-style house? It can if the profile and trim are chosen carelessly. Cedar Impressions shingles and properly scaled trim go a long way on San Anselmo's older homes. If the house has distinctive detailing you want to keep exactly, wood or engineered wood may be a better match, and we'll say so.

Do you install over my existing siding? We recommend a full tear-off to the sheathing. On older Ross Valley homes, the condition of the substrate and weather barrier is the thing most worth checking, and covering over hides it.

Get a CertainTeed estimate in San Anselmo

Bay Area Siding Company installs CertainTeed siding for homeowners throughout the Marin area, from the Ross Valley flats to the hillside streets above town. Browse finished exteriors in our project gallery. When you're ready, request a bid or call (415) 619-5167 to schedule a walk-through.