Sebastopol Wood Siding

Some houses should be clad in wood. A turn-of-the-century farmhouse at the edge of apple country, a Craftsman bungalow a few blocks from downtown, or a Victorian with shingled gables looks right in real cedar or redwood, and a substitute rarely matches it. Wood siding is also the most demanding material we install. It is the easiest to repair board by board and the easiest to refinish in a new color. It is also the least forgiving if water gets behind it or the paint is neglected.

Bay Area Siding Company is a siding and window contractor based in Larkspur. We install wood siding when it truly fits the house and the owner's willingness to maintain it. When it doesn't fit, we'll tell you plainly.

Considering wood for your home? Request a bid or call (415) 619-5167. We'll look at the house, the lot, and how much sun your walls actually get.

The wood siding styles we install

Wood covers several distinct looks, and on an older Sebastopol home the right choice usually depends on what was there originally.

• Clapboard / bevel siding (cedar or redwood). These are horizontal boards that taper so each course laps the one below. It's the classic farmhouse and Victorian wall, and the right answer when you're matching or restoring original lap siding.
• Shingles and shakes. Sawn shingles give a tidy, even texture on Craftsman gables and whole-house shingle styles. Split shakes are rougher and more rustic. Both weather and read very differently from lap siding.
• Board-and-batten. Wide vertical boards with narrow battens over the seams. It suits barns, outbuildings, and the farm-vernacular look found on rural parcels around town.
• Tongue-and-groove and channel profiles. These are used on some mid-century and modern designs where a flatter, continuous wood face is wanted.

We can also blend wood with other materials. Real wood can go on the street-facing elevation or a signature gable while a lower-maintenance product covers the shaded walls. Our wood siding overview covers species and profiles in more depth.

Why wood appeals, and what it costs you in upkeep

The case for wood:

• It has an authentic grain and depth that engineered products imitate but don't reproduce, which matters most on period homes.
• It's repairable. A damaged board or a patch of rotted shingles can be cut out and replaced without re-siding a whole wall.
• It's refinishable. You can repaint or restain in any color, and change your mind later.
• It's a renewable material.

The trade-offs, especially here: Sebastopol is wetter and cooler than the valley towns to the east. It gets around 36 inches of rain a year, concentrated in winter, and coastal fog regularly drifts in. Many homes sit under redwoods or orchard canopy, where some walls barely see direct sun. That kind of wall is exactly where wood struggles. It stays damp longer, paint fails sooner, and mildew and rot get a head start at the bottom courses, behind downspouts, and under eaves.

Wood siding here is realistic, but it needs:

• a disciplined repaint or restain cycle;
• attention to caulk joints and end grain; and
• a wall assembly built to dry out.

Wood is also combustible, which matters on some parcels. That is covered in the fire-zone section below.

If that maintenance commitment doesn't suit you, there are good alternatives:

• LP SmartSide engineered wood gives a real-wood texture with a treated, moisture-resistant substrate.
• Fiber cement (including James Hardie) is noncombustible and holds paint well in damp conditions.

Many homeowners who start out asking about cedar end up choosing one of these for the shaded walls.

How we detail wood for a damp climate

With wood, the finish carpentry you see matters less than the layers behind it. On a typical replacement, we remove the old cladding down to the sheathing and substrate. That lets us inspect the water-resistive barrier (WRB) and the flashing at windows, doors, and penetrations, and check the sheathing for water damage. Framing is exposed only if the sheathing itself has rotted badly enough to come off. That's a larger scope, and we'd discuss it with you before going further.

Then we rebuild the wall so wood can survive the weather:

• A continuous, properly lapped WRB and corrected flashing so water that gets past the boards is directed back out.
• A drainage or ventilation gap behind the siding where appropriate. It lets the back of the boards dry instead of staying wet against the barrier, which is valuable on shaded walls.
• Sealing all faces of the boards before installation, including cut ends, so moisture doesn't wick into raw wood. We follow the siding and finish manufacturers' guidance for this.
• Correct fasteners and clearances. We use corrosion-resistant fasteners suited to the species and keep the bottom of the wall clear of soil, hardscape, and roof surfaces.
• A finish plan. Primer and paint, or a penetrating stain, chosen for the species and the exposure. We'll give you a realistic idea of how often each wall will need attention.

Permits in Sebastopol, and the fire-zone question

Which office issues your permit depends on your address.

• Inside city limits, re-siding is permitted through the City of Sebastopol Building & Safety Division, which handles applications through its online permit portal.
• On unincorporated rural parcels, including many properties out toward the western hills, the permitting authority is Sonoma County (Permit Sonoma).

We confirm which one applies before we schedule work.

Fire exposure is where wood needs the most careful thought. The town itself sits low, roughly 65 to 250 feet in elevation, in open orchard country. Much of it isn't in a designated fire-hazard zone. Some wooded and hillside parcels toward the coast do carry designations under the 2025 Cal Fire Fire Hazard Severity Zone maps, which Sonoma County adopted for its unincorporated areas.

Where a parcel is designated, California Building Code Chapter 7A can govern the exterior wall covering. It generally favors noncombustible or ignition-resistant materials. Ordinary untreated wood siding may not qualify on those assemblies, although certain fire-retardant-treated or tested wood products may. Whether and how the rule applies depends on:

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

We verify this with the AHJ (the local building authority) rather than assume. If your home is up in the trees, tell us early. It can change the material list, and fiber cement may be the smarter choice on some or all elevations.

What drives the cost of a wood siding job

We don't publish prices. Wood jobs vary more than most, and these are the main factors:

• Species, grade, and profile. Clear cedar or redwood costs differently than knotty grades, and shingles install differently than lap boards.
• Hidden damage. How much rotted sheathing or trim turns up once the old siding is off.
• Pre-finishing and paint or stain. Sealing and coating all faces adds labor that pays for itself in service life.
• The house itself. Size, number of stories, and access on wooded or sloped lots.
• Period detailing. Matching original trim and profiles on a Victorian or farmhouse.
• Fire-zone requirements on a designated rural parcel.

If you're also planning window work, doing both at once lets the flashing be integrated properly. See our Sebastopol window replacement page.

FAQ

Is wood siding a bad idea in Sebastopol's wet climate? No, but it's the material that punishes shortcuts most. With a good WRB, correct flashing, boards sealed on all faces, a drainage gap on shaded walls, and a maintained finish, wood can perform well here. If you'd rather not keep up a finish schedule, engineered wood or fiber cement is the more practical choice.

Can you repair my old redwood siding instead of replacing all of it? Often, yes. Being repairable is one of wood's real advantages. If the damage is limited to certain boards or one elevation, we can replace those sections and match the profile. If the problems point to moisture behind the siding across the house, a full siding replacement is usually the honest fix.

My property is on a wooded parcel outside town. Can I still use wood? It depends on your parcel's fire-hazard designation and what Permit Sonoma requires for your scope of work. On a designated parcel, Chapter 7A may limit the wall covering to noncombustible or ignition-resistant products. We check your designation and confirm the requirements with the county before recommending a material.

Cedar or redwood? Both are traditional on West Coast homes and have natural decay resistance in their heartwood. The choice usually comes down to matching existing siding, availability of the grade you want, the look, and budget. We'll compare samples with you at the house.

Want wood that's built to last in west county? Browse our projects, explore homes we serve across Wine Country, and request a bid or call (415) 619-5167 to schedule a consultation at your Sebastopol home.