Anacortes Cedar Has Real Appeal — and Real Costs
Cedar siding has a following for good reason. It looks warm and natural, it's a renewable material, and a freshly finished cedar home has a character that manufactured products spend a lot of marketing budget trying to imitate. We're not going to pretend otherwise. But we made a decision a while back to stop installing it, and homeowners in Anacortes and around Skagit County deserve the honest reasons why, not a sales pitch against a competitor's product.
The Maintenance Commitment Is the Real Story
Cedar is wood. That's the whole issue in one sentence. Wood siding needs a maintained finish — stain or paint — to keep moisture out, and that finish doesn't last forever. Depending on exposure, most cedar siding needs to be re-coated every 3 to 7 years to stay protected. Skip that cycle, or fall behind on it, and the wood starts absorbing water it shouldn't.
That's a bigger deal here than in a dry climate. Anacortes sits right on the water, which means salt air is a constant presence on exterior surfaces, and the marine layer keeps humidity elevated even on days without rain. Add in a long stretch of the year where moss and algae growth is basically guaranteed on north-facing or shaded walls, and you've got a material that needs more attention here than it would inland.
What Happens When Maintenance Slips
- Moisture intrusion: Failed finish lets water into the wood fiber, which can lead to cupping, splitting, and eventually rot at seams, corners, and butt joints.
- Moss and mildew: Cedar's texture gives organic growth something to hold onto, especially on shaded elevations that don't get much direct sun or wind to dry out.
- Insect and woodpecker activity: Softened or rotting wood is more attractive to carpenter ants, and woodpeckers will go after siding that's harboring insects underneath.
- Uneven weathering: Sun-exposed walls fade differently than shaded ones, so a home can end up with visibly mismatched siding within a few years if refinishing isn't done uniformly.
Fire Rating Is Part of the Conversation Too
Cedar is a combustible material. That matters more in some parts of Washington than others, but it's a legitimate factor in any honest siding comparison, especially as wildfire risk and insurance underwriting standards have both been shifting statewide. It's one more reason we point clients toward a non-combustible option rather than a wood product, even a good one.
Installation Sensitivity
Cedar siding isn't especially forgiving of installation shortcuts. Back-priming, proper fastening, flashing at every penetration, and adequate ventilation behind the siding all matter more with wood than with a manufactured material, because any gap in the moisture management plan shows up as a maintenance problem a few years down the road — often after the original installer is long gone. We'd rather not put our name on a product where a small installation miss compounds into a callback years later.
Warranty Structure
Most cedar siding is sold unfinished or field-finished, which means the wood itself typically carries limited or no manufacturer warranty against defects, and none at all against normal weathering, moisture damage, or finish failure — those risks sit with the homeowner and whoever applies the stain or paint. That's a very different structure than a factory-finished product backed by the manufacturer.
What We Install Instead
We install James Hardie fiber cement siding exclusively, and the reasons track directly against the cedar trade-offs above:
| Concern | Cedar | James Hardie Fiber Cement |
|---|---|---|
| Combustibility | Combustible | Non-combustible |
| Finish | Field-applied, needs recoating | Factory-baked ColorPlus finish |
| Moisture behavior | Absorbs water if finish fails | Engineered to resist moisture damage |
| Climate fit | General-purpose wood | HZ5 line engineered for Pacific Northwest conditions |
| Warranty | Limited or none on the wood/finish | Strong, transferable manufacturer warranty |
Hardie's HZ5 product line is specifically engineered for regions like ours, with freeze-thaw cycling, sustained moisture, and coastal exposure in mind. The ColorPlus finish is baked on at the factory under controlled conditions, not applied on a ladder in variable weather, and it's backed by its own finish warranty separate from the material warranty. For a home dealing with salt air, driving rain, and months of damp, mossy shade, that combination holds up with a lot less homeowner effort than a wood product ever will.
Our Bottom Line
Cedar isn't a bad material — it's a high-maintenance one, and in a marine climate like Anacortes and the rest of Skagit County, that maintenance burden is real and ongoing, not occasional. We'd rather be straightforward about that up front than sell a homeowner a product we know will demand more upkeep than most people are prepared to give it. If you're weighing cedar against other options for your home, we're happy to walk through what we've seen work well in this specific climate. Reach out for a free, no-pressure estimate and we'll give you our honest read on your project.