San Carlos earned its "City of Good Living" name honestly, and a lot of that living happens in homes that have been standing for the better part of a century. Bay Area Siding Company is a Larkspur-based siding and window contractor working across the Peninsula, and we take on full siding replacement from the sheathing out — pulling the old cladding, checking what's behind it, correcting the weather barrier and flashing, and installing your new wall to the manufacturer's specifications.

Ready to move forward? Request an estimate or call (415) 619-5167 to talk through your home.

When re-siding beats one more repair

The housing here spans a wide range of eras, and the failure signs differ with it — a 1920s Craftsman bungalow in Howard Park ages differently than a post-war home in Clearfield Park or a stucco Spanish Revival above town. Across all of them, a few things point toward replacement rather than another patch:

• Boards that cup, split, or feel spongy, and trim you can sink a screwdriver into
• Fresh paint that blisters or peels within a season or two
• Stucco that's cracked in long runs, drummy when tapped, or stained below windows
• Musty smells or dark patches on interior walls that back up to the exterior
• Original T1-11, hardboard, or aluminum that has simply run out its service life

Why a tear-off usually wins over cladding over the top

Nailing new siding over tired material is tempting because it looks cheaper on paper, but it buries the questions that actually decide how long the wall lasts. On San Carlos homes — especially the older stucco and wood-sided stock — pulling the cladding is the only way to see the sheathing, catch dry rot around window openings, and confirm whether a working water-resistive barrier is even present. Layering also piles weight onto the wall and can seal moisture in. Tear-off asks more up front and hands back a wall that's sound underneath.

Picking a material

We install several systems and would rather walk the trade-offs with you at the house than push one product. A starting map:

• James Hardie fiber cement — noncombustible fiber cement; see the local San Carlos James Hardie page for the fire-side detail
• Fiber cement — the wider category across manufacturers
• LP SmartSide — engineered wood with a real wood look
• Vinyl siding — lower-upkeep where the home and budget suit it

We also work in CertainTeed, wood, and aluminum. For homes on the west, hillside side of San Carlos, material choice carries a fire dimension too — more on that below.

What to expect

1. Consultation — we look at the existing walls and talk through goals and budget.
2. Measure and spec — exact field measurements and a written scope.
3. Permit — the City of San Carlos requires a building permit for siding work; we handle the paperwork.
4. Tear-off and substrate inspection — old cladding off, sheathing and framing checked before anything new goes up.
5. Weather barrier and flashing — water-resistive barrier and flashing detailed at openings, penetrations, and transitions.
6. Install to spec — siding hung per the manufacturer's instructions.
7. Finish and walkthrough — trim, caulking, cleanup, and a final review together.

San Carlos-specific things to know

Permits and inspection. The City of San Carlos Building Division (600 Elm Street) runs on the current California Building Code and treats most exterior work as permitted work. For stucco homes there's a practical wrinkle worth planning for: when stucco is cut away for a re-side or for window work, the city calls for a lath inspection before the scratch coat goes back on, so the new lath, flashing, and laps can be verified before they're sealed up. We build that hold point into the schedule rather than working around it.

Fire risk on the west side. San Carlos does not carry a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone the way some hillside cities do — the 2025 state maps put the local terrain in moderate and high categories. That said, the city itself considers every property west of Alameda de las Pulgas to be high risk, and it adopted fire-code provisions calling for fire-resistive materials in its high fire danger area. Whether that shapes your cladding choice depends on where your parcel sits and how the work is classed, so it's something we confirm with the City and the San Carlos and Redwood City Fire Department rather than assume. If your home is up the hill toward Crestview, Devonshire, or the Alder Manor slopes, flag it early — it belongs in the material conversation from the start.

A mixed housing stock. From the Craftsman bungalows of White Oaks (El Sereno) and Howard Park to the Mediterranean stucco of the 1920s and 30s and the cinder-block-era homes down in Clearfield Park, San Carlos rewards a re-side that respects the original profile and detailing. We match the approach to the house.

Doing windows in the same push? See San Carlos window replacement. You can also browse finished work in our project gallery and read about our wider Peninsula service area.

What affects the cost

There's no honest online price, because the drivers live in the walls. The big ones: how much substrate repair turns up at tear-off, the number of stories and how tight the access is on a hillside lot, the material and finish you choose, whether stucco removal triggers a lath inspection, how window and trim integration is handled, and any fire-resistive detailing on a west-side home. A walkthrough is what turns those into a real number.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a permit to replace siding in San Carlos? Yes. The City of San Carlos requires a building permit for siding work under the California Building Code, and stucco jobs typically add a lath inspection before the scratch coat. We pull the permit and schedule the inspections.

My home is on the west, hillside side of town. Does that change my material choices? It can. San Carlos treats properties west of Alameda de las Pulgas as high fire risk and has fire-resistive-material provisions for its high fire danger area. Whether they apply to your re-side depends on your parcel and scope, which we confirm with the City before speccing.

Should I re-side over the old material or tear it off? For San Carlos's older homes we generally recommend a full tear-off, because that's the only way to inspect and correct the sheathing, weather barrier, and flashing. Cladding over the top hides the problems that matter most.

How long will the project take? It depends on the home's size, the material, any substrate repair found at tear-off, and permit timing. We give you a realistic window once we've measured.

Get started

Let's get your San Carlos re-side moving the right way. Call (415) 619-5167 or request an estimate, and we'll look at your walls, weigh materials, and lay out the process.