Tiburon Wood Siding

Some Tiburon houses were meant to be clad in wood. Examples include the shingled cottages near downtown and Ark Row, and the board-and-batten and clapboard homes tucked along the hillside lanes above Paradise Drive. On those houses, fiber cement or vinyl can look like a substitute. Bay Area Siding Company installs, repairs, and replaces natural wood siding across the peninsula. That includes cedar and redwood clapboard, shingles and shakes, and board-and-batten. We are a Marin-based contractor working out of Larkspur, just across the bay.

We are also direct about the trade-offs. Wood needs more upkeep than any other cladding we install. On some Tiburon parcels, fire-zone rules may limit where and how it can be used. This page is meant to help you decide whether wood is right for your home before you commit.

Considering wood for your house? Request a bid or call (415) 619-5167. We'll look at your walls, your exposure, and your parcel's fire-zone status with you.

Why homeowners still choose real wood

The look is authentic. Wood grain, the shadow lines of a shingle course, and the way cedar weathers or takes stain are hard to reproduce. On a house whose character comes from its cladding, many owners decide that authenticity is worth the maintenance.

It's repairable board by board. A split clapboard or a few damaged shingles can usually be removed and replaced individually, then blended with paint or stain. For older Tiburon homes that already have wood siding, spot repair is often the first conversation, before full replacement.

It suits Design Review. Tiburon requires a building permit for siding work. The Town's guidance also notes that separate Design Review approval is required for many exterior items. A re-side that changes material or exterior color is the kind of change that tends to be reviewed. Replacing wood with matching wood can make that conversation simpler than switching to a different material. Your submittal track still depends on your scope, so we confirm it with the Town's Community Development Department.

It's renewable. Wood is a natural, renewable material, which matters to some homeowners when they choose cladding.

The honest trade-offs

Maintenance, especially near the water

Tiburon sits on a peninsula exposed to wind-driven bay moisture and salt air from several directions. Wood can handle that, but its protective finish won't last as long as it would on a sheltered inland house.

Plan on:

• Regular repainting or restaining.
• Checking caulk joints at corners and trim.
• Watching for soft spots at sills and the lower courses.

On the installation side, we focus on the details that affect how long wood siding lasts:

• Finishing all faces of the boards before they go up, where the product allows it.
• Using corrosion-resistant fasteners suited to the species and the coastal setting.
• Keeping clearance from grade and roof surfaces.
• Detailing the water-resistive barrier and flashing so the wall behind the wood stays dry.

Combustibility on the hillside

This is the biggest question for many Tiburon homeowners. Parts of Tiburon are mapped in Fire Hazard Severity Zones, including Very High in places. There are also Wildland-Urban Interface areas along the vegetated slopes and open space. Chapter 7A of the California Building Code can govern exterior wall coverings on affected parcels.

Standard untreated wood siding is combustible. Chapter 7A generally points toward:

• Noncombustible materials
• Ignition-resistant materials
• Certain fire-retardant-treated wood products labeled for exterior use
• Tested wall assemblies

Whether Chapter 7A applies to your home, and which wood products or assemblies would qualify, depends on your parcel's mapped designation, the specific product, and the scope of work. We confirm this with the Town and the Tiburon Fire Protection District rather than assume.

If your home backs up to open space, tell us at the start. It may change the recommendation to one of these:

• An approved treated-wood option
• Fiber cement or James Hardie milled with a wood-grain texture
• A mix of materials on different elevations, where the rules allow it

Cost posture

Wood is usually not the budget choice. Cost depends on:

• Species and grade. Clear, vertical-grain cedar or redwood costs more than knotty grades.
• Profile. Hand-laid shingles take much more labor than wide clapboard.
• Factory finishing. Pre-finished stock costs more than boards finished on site.
• Wall condition. Some damage only shows up once the old siding is off.
• Height and access. Steep lots and multi-story walls add time.
• Fire-code upgrades. Required treated products or assemblies can raise the price.

We price each of these in a written scope. We don't quote a per-foot rate before we've seen the house.

Profiles we install

• Clapboard / bevel siding. Horizontal lap boards with a classic shadow line. Cedar and redwood are the usual species.
• Shingles and shakes. Common on Bay Region cottages and shingle-style homes. Shingles are sawn for a cleaner course line. Shakes are split or textured for a more rustic surface.
• Board-and-batten. Vertical boards with narrow battens over the joints. It suits the more rustic and mid-century hillside houses.
• Tongue-and-groove and channel profiles. Used on some modern and mid-century designs where a flush or shadow-gap look is wanted.

Matching an existing profile for a partial replacement is often possible, but not always. Older homes sometimes used board widths or patterns that are no longer stocked. When we can't source a match, we'll tell you and discuss options such as milling, re-siding a full elevation, or salvaging boards from a less visible wall.

How a wood re-side goes

For a full replacement, the old cladding comes off down to the sheathing. That lets us inspect the water-resistive barrier and flashing and check for moisture damage the old siding was hiding. Framing is only exposed if the sheathing itself has failed and has to be replaced, which is a larger scope we'd discuss with you before doing it.

Once the wall is sound, we:

1. Install a new WRB and flash the windows, doors, and transitions.
2. Add a drainage gap behind the siding where the design and product call for it, which helps wood dry between storms.
3. Hang the siding to the manufacturer's or industry guidance for that species and profile.
4. Finish with trim, sealant, and paint or stain as specified.

Permitting and any Design Review happen before work starts, and we build that time into the schedule. You can see examples of our exterior work on our projects page.

Not sure wood is the right call?

Compare it against the other options:

• LP SmartSide is engineered wood with a real-wood texture and less upkeep than solid wood.
• Fiber cement is noncombustible and often the default on fire-zone parcels.
• Vinyl and CertainTeed cost less, where Design Review allows them.

If you're still deciding whether to replace at all, the Tiburon siding replacement page covers when replacement makes more sense than repair. The Tiburon James Hardie page covers the fiber-cement alternative in depth. If new windows are also on your list, doing them alongside the siding lets both be flashed together; see window replacement in Tiburon. We serve all of Marin County.

FAQ

Can I use wood siding if my Tiburon home is in a fire hazard zone? Possibly, but it depends on your parcel. Where Chapter 7A applies, standard untreated wood generally won't meet the exterior wall requirements. Certain fire-retardant-treated wood products or tested assemblies may qualify. We confirm your parcel's designation and the acceptable options with the Town of Tiburon and the Tiburon Fire Protection District before recommending a product.

Does replacing wood siding need Town approval in Tiburon? A building permit is required for siding. Separate Design Review may also be needed, especially if you change the material or the exterior color. We plan for both and confirm the exact path for your scope with the Community Development Department.

How often will wood siding need refinishing here? It depends on species, finish, and how exposed each wall is to sun, wind, and salt air. Elevations facing the bay typically need attention sooner than sheltered walls. We'll give you a realistic maintenance outlook for your house rather than a single number.

Should I repair my existing wood siding or replace it? If the damage is limited to a few boards and the wall behind is dry, targeted repair often makes sense. Widespread rot, repeated paint failure, or signs of moisture inside usually point toward removing the siding to the sheathing and starting over. We'll show you what we find.

Ready to talk about wood for your Tiburon home? Request a bid or call (415) 619-5167.