Blaine Siding Cedar siding has a following, and it's earned. Real wood grain, warm color, a look that vinyl and even good fiber cement can only imitate. We understand why homeowners in Blaine ask about it, especially on older homes in neighborhoods where cedar shingle and clapboard siding is part of the original character. But we don't install it, and we think you deserve a straight answer about why before you spend real money on a siding decision that will follow your house for decades.
This isn't a takedown of cedar as a material. It's an honest look at what owning cedar siding actually involves once it's on the wall, especially here on the Whatcom County coastline where salt air, driving rain off the Strait, and a moss season that can run half the year all work against it.
What Cedar Gets Right
Western red cedar is a genuinely good building material. It's naturally resistant to decay and insects compared to most softwoods, thanks to oils in the wood itself. It's lightweight, easy to mill into clapboard, shingle, or shake profiles, and it takes stain or paint in a way that looks handsome for the first several years. It's also a renewable, regional material — for a lot of Pacific Northwest homeowners, there's a real appeal to putting a Northwest wood on a Northwest house.
If cedar siding is installed correctly, with proper rainscreen ventilation behind it, back-primed boards, and stainless fasteners, and if the homeowner keeps up with maintenance on a strict schedule, it can last a long time. That "if" is doing a lot of work, and it's the whole reason we're writing this page.
The Maintenance Cycle Nobody Mentions at the Sales Stage
Cedar is wood. Wood moves, absorbs water, and breaks down under UV exposure. Every manufacturer and every honest builder will tell you cedar siding needs to be refinished on a schedule, not "someday when it looks bad." By the time it looks bad, the damage is usually already inside the board.
Typical Cedar Upkeep Schedule
| Task | How Often | Why It Matters in Blaine |
|---|---|---|
| Re-stain or re-seal (semi-transparent) | Every 2-4 years | Driving rain and salt-laden air off Semiahmoo Bay strip finish faster than inland exposures |
| Repaint (solid color) | Every 5-8 years | Coastal UV and moisture cycling breaks paint adhesion sooner than manufacturer averages assume |
| Moss and mildew treatment | Annually, sometimes twice | Blaine's damp, shaded north and west walls hold moisture long into spring |
| Caulk and sealant inspection | Annually | Gaps let wind-driven rain behind boards, which cedar can't dry out quickly once trapped |
| Board replacement (splits, rot pockets) | As needed, ongoing | Individual board failure is normal wear, not a defect — but it's a recurring cost |
None of this is exotic information — it's in most cedar manufacturers' own care guides. The issue is that homeowners rarely get told about it clearly before installation, and the cumulative cost over 15-20 years is significant, both in money and in the homeowner's own time and attention.
Why Whatcom County's Coastal Climate Is Especially Hard on Cedar
Blaine sits right on the water, and that location cuts both ways for cedar. The good news is the marine climate keeps temperature swings gentle, which is easier on most siding materials than a freeze-thaw climate. The bad news is what that same marine exposure brings with it.
Salt Air
Airborne salt from the Strait of Georgia and Semiahmoo Bay accelerates finish breakdown on wood siding, particularly on street-facing and water-facing elevations. It doesn't rot cedar directly the way it corrodes metal, but it does degrade stain and paint film faster than the same products would wear in a drier, inland town.
Driving Rain
Blaine gets a lot of rain, and a meaningful share of it comes in sideways during winter storms off the water. Driving rain finds every gap in caulking, every hairline check in a cedar board, and every spot where end grain is exposed. Once water gets behind a board or into a split, cedar's natural rot resistance only slows decay — it doesn't stop it, especially with our long, cool, low-evaporation winters.
Moss Season
Whatcom County's moss season is long — realistically fall through spring, and on shaded or north-facing walls, sometimes closer to year-round. Moss and algae hold moisture directly against the wood surface, which is the opposite of what cedar needs to perform well. Homeowners end up power-washing or treating siding just to keep growth in check, and aggressive washing itself can damage finish and raise the wood grain, shortening the next finish cycle.
The Real Cost Comparison
Cedar siding's sticker price on installation day isn't the whole story. What matters is the cost over the life of the siding — refinishing labor, materials, board replacement, and the risk of moisture damage if maintenance slips even one cycle.
- Initial installation: Cedar and quality fiber cement are often in a similar range depending on profile and grade, though premium clear-grade cedar can run higher.
- Ongoing finish maintenance: Cedar requires recurring refinishing every few years for the life of the siding. Fiber cement with a factory-applied finish does not.
- Repair frequency: Cedar boards split, cup, and develop localized rot at fastener points and end cuts over time, requiring spot replacement. Fiber cement is far more dimensionally stable and doesn't split or cup.
- Risk if maintenance is deferred: A missed cedar refinish cycle can let moisture in that isn't visible until rot has already started underneath. Fiber cement is not moisture-sensitive in the same way.
Homeowners who go into cedar with eyes open, budget for the maintenance, and stay disciplined about the schedule can be happy with it for a long time. The trouble is how often that discipline slips — busy years happen, houses get sold to owners who weren't told about the schedule, and by the time deferred maintenance shows up as a problem, it's usually a repair job, not just a paint job.
Why We Standardized on James Hardie Instead
We made a decision as a company to install only James Hardie fiber cement siding, and cedar's maintenance demands are a big part of that reasoning. Hardie boards are engineered cement, sand, and cellulose fiber — not wood — so they don't absorb water the way cedar does, don't split or cup, and aren't a food source for moss or fungus the way organic wood siding can be.
James Hardie's HZ5 product line is specifically engineered for climates like ours — cold, wet, marine-influenced weather where moisture management matters. Combined with the ColorPlus factory finish, which is baked on under controlled conditions rather than field-applied, you get a finish that's substantially more resistant to fading and doesn't need repainting on the 2-4 year cycle cedar does. Hardie is also non-combustible, which matters more each year as wildfire smoke and fire risk become a bigger part of Pacific Northwest summers, even up here near the Canadian border.
None of this means cedar is a bad product — it means it's a product that asks a lot of its owner, indefinitely, in a climate that doesn't do it any favors. We'd rather put a material on your house that holds up to a Blaine winter with less of your time and money going into upkeep every few years.
Questions to Ask Before Choosing Cedar Siding
- Am I prepared to budget for refinishing every 2-4 years, not just "eventually"?
- Will I actually stay ahead of moss and mildew treatment on shaded and water-facing walls?
- What happens to the finish schedule if I sell the house to an owner who isn't told about it?
- Is the contractor installing a proper rainscreen gap and back-primed boards, or just face-nailing over the old sheathing?
- Have I priced the 20-year cost of cedar ownership, not just the installed price?
What Correct Cedar Installation Requires, If You Still Choose It
If a homeowner in Blaine decides cedar is right for them despite the maintenance load, the installation details matter enormously. A rainscreen gap behind the siding lets moisture that does get in dry out instead of sitting against the sheathing. Boards should be back-primed on all six sides, including cut ends, before installation — not just face-primed. Fasteners should be stainless steel to avoid streaking and corrosion in a salt-air environment. None of this is optional if you want cedar to reach anything close to its potential lifespan here.
Where This Leaves Blaine Homeowners
Cedar siding isn't a mistake — it's a commitment. In a coastal Whatcom County climate with salt air, driving rain, and a long moss season, that commitment is heavier than it would be somewhere drier and calmer. We'd rather tell you that plainly now than have you find out the hard way at year eight, staring at a peeling finish and a few boards that need replacing.
If you're weighing cedar against other options for your home, we're glad to walk through what we see in this climate and explain why James Hardie fiber cement is what we put on homes instead. Reach out for a free, no-pressure estimate — we'll look at your house, your exposure, and your budget honestly before you commit to anything.