Anacortes Siding Old Town Anacortes: An Older Neighborhood Facing a Tough Climate
Old Town Anacortes is one of the older residential pockets of the city, and homes here carry that history in their bones — original framing, additions from different decades, and siding that's often been patched, painted, and repainted more times than anyone can remember. That history is worth preserving, but it also means these houses have had more chances to accumulate hidden moisture damage than a newer subdivision home would.
Layer on the climate and the picture gets clearer. This part of Skagit County sits close enough to the water that salt-laden air is a constant, low-grade stressor on exterior materials. Add Pacific Northwest driving rain that comes in sideways during winter storms, and a moss season that can stretch from fall through spring in shaded, north-facing spots, and you've got three separate forces working against whatever's on the walls at once. Siding here isn't decorative — it's the only thing standing between that environment and the framing underneath.
What Salt Air, Rain, and Moss Actually Do to Siding
Each of these factors attacks siding in a different way, and understanding the mechanism matters when you're choosing a replacement material.
- Salt air accelerates corrosion of fasteners, trim flashing, and any exposed metal, and it can degrade lower-grade paint finishes faster than inland exposure would.
- Driving rain finds every gap, seam, and poorly lapped joint. Wind-driven water doesn't just run down a wall — it gets pushed sideways and even upward under trim and at butt joints, which is why flashing detail matters more here than in calmer climates.
- Moss and prolonged dampness hold moisture against the siding surface for extended periods, especially on north- and west-facing walls shaded by mature trees, which is common throughout Old Town's older, well-established lots. Sustained dampness is what turns a minor gap into rot.
None of these are dramatic, sudden failures. They're slow, cumulative processes — which is exactly why the material and the installation detail matter more than the color or style choices most homeowners focus on first.
Why We Install Only James Hardie Fiber Cement
We made a deliberate decision as a company to install James Hardie fiber cement siding exclusively — not vinyl, not LP SmartSide, not Cemplank, not Allura, not primed spruce or cedar. That's not a marketing position; it's a standard we hold because of what we've seen happen to other materials in exactly this kind of climate.
Vinyl siding can warp and gap over time, and those gaps are precisely where wind-driven rain gets in. Engineered wood products like LP SmartSide use a wood-strand substrate that, if the factory coating is ever compromised at a cut edge or fastener point, is vulnerable to moisture intrusion — a real risk in a climate where damp conditions can persist for weeks. Cedar and primed wood siding require diligent, ongoing maintenance — recoating, caulking, moisture monitoring — to hold up against salt air and sustained dampness, and that maintenance burden falls entirely on the homeowner for the life of the siding.
James Hardie fiber cement is non-combustible, dimensionally stable (it doesn't expand and contract with moisture the way wood-based products do), and finished at the factory with ColorPlus Technology — a baked-on finish engineered to resist fading and moisture penetration far better than field-applied paint. It's the product we've found holds up to marine air, sustained rain, and moss-prone shade with the least long-term maintenance burden. That's the whole reason we standardized on it.
James Hardie's Climate-Engineered Product Lines
James Hardie doesn't make one generic siding product — it engineers different formulations for different climate zones, sold under its HZ5 designation for regions like ours that see significant moisture and temperature swings. That engineering shows up in a few practical ways: the substrate composition, the recommended installation clearances, and the finish system are all calibrated for wet-climate performance rather than a one-size-fits-all national spec.
| Factor | James Hardie (HZ5) | Vinyl | Wood / Engineered Wood |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moisture resistance | Engineered fiber cement, factory-sealed edges available | Resists water itself but gaps at seams allow intrusion | Vulnerable at cut edges, fastener points, and coating failures |
| Salt air durability | Non-combustible substrate, factory finish resists fading/chalking | Can become brittle and discolor over time | Coatings degrade faster near salt air, need more frequent recoating |
| Moss / shaded dampness | Stable substrate doesn't swell or rot from surface moisture | Doesn't rot, but trapped moisture behind panels goes unnoticed | Sustained dampness is the primary cause of wood rot |
| Maintenance burden | Occasional wash; repaint only if ever desired, not required | Low, but damage/warping is often unrepairable in sections | Regular recoating, caulking, and inspection required |
| Fire resistance | Non-combustible | Melts/deforms under heat exposure | Combustible |
What Correct Installation Actually Involves
James Hardie siding performs the way it's engineered to only when it's installed to the manufacturer's specification — and in a climate like this, the details that get skipped on a rushed job are exactly the details that cause problems five or ten years later.
The details that matter most here
- Weather-resistive barrier and flashing: A correctly lapped house wrap and properly integrated window, door, and penetration flashing come before a single piece of siding goes up. This is the layer that actually stops wind-driven rain if it gets past the cladding.
- Clearances and gaps: Hardie specifies minimum clearances from grade, roofing, decks, and horizontal surfaces, plus gap requirements at butt joints and trim. Skipping these is one of the most common causes of moisture problems in fiber cement installs.
- Fastener selection: Corrosion-resistant fasteners, correctly set (not overdriven, not underdriven), matter even more in salt air than they do inland.
- Caulking and sealant at joints: Used correctly — not as a substitute for proper flashing, but as a secondary defense at trim and penetrations.
- Field-cut edge sealing: Any cut edge of Hardie board should be primed or sealed per spec before installation, since factory-sealed protection doesn't extend to a fresh cut made on site.
Every one of these is invisible once the siding is up. That's precisely why it matters who's doing the work — a homeowner can't inspect flashing detail after the fact.
Our Process on an Old Town Job
Because Old Town's homes tend to be older and often sit on tighter, more established lots than newer construction elsewhere in Anacortes, we approach each project with a process built around what that actually requires:
- On-site assessment: We inspect existing siding, sheathing, and trim for hidden moisture or rot damage before quoting anything — common on older homes that have gone through prior siding layers.
- Substrate repair plan: Any compromised sheathing or framing gets addressed before new siding goes on; covering damage instead of fixing it is how small problems become expensive ones.
- Weather barrier and flashing install: Done to spec, with particular attention to window and door openings, which are the most common failure points in wind-driven rain.
- James Hardie installation: Panels, planks, or trim installed per manufacturer clearance and fastening requirements, matched to the HZ5 climate specification.
- Final detail and walkthrough: Caulking, touch-up, and a walkthrough so you understand what was done and why.
We work with the realities of an older neighborhood — tighter access, mature landscaping, established fences and structures nearby — rather than treating every job like a blank-lot new build.
Maintenance and Longevity in a Marine Climate
One of the practical advantages of James Hardie in this environment is how little ongoing maintenance it demands compared to wood-based alternatives. A periodic rinse to keep moss and grime from building up in shaded areas, an occasional visual check of caulking at trim joints, and that's largely it. There's no recoating cycle to schedule, no annual inspection for coating failure the way there is with painted wood siding. In a climate where moss season alone can put real wear on lesser materials year after year, that lower maintenance burden compounds into real savings over the life of the siding.
Why Hiring a Local Crew Matters Here
Anacortes' microclimate and Old Town's mix of older housing stock aren't things you learn from a spec sheet — they're things you learn from working on houses in this specific area over time. A crew that already works Old Town Anacortes knows what to expect when they open up an older wall: what kind of sheathing is likely underneath, where moisture tends to collect on shaded lots, and how tight or awkward site access can be on some of these older parcels. That local familiarity shows up in fewer surprises mid-project and a more accurate initial assessment, rather than a generic estimate written for a house nobody's actually inspected closely.
Questions Worth Asking Before You Hire
- Is the crew James Hardie-trained or certified, and can they explain HZ5 clearance and flashing requirements specifically?
- Will they inspect and repair sheathing before installing new siding, not just cover what's there?
- Do they carry current licensing and insurance appropriate for exterior work in Washington?
- Can they walk you through their flashing and moisture-barrier approach in plain language?
- Do they have experience with older homes specifically, not just new construction?
- What does the written warranty actually cover — material, labor, or both?
If your Old Town Anacortes home is due for new siding, we're happy to take a look and give you a straightforward, no-pressure estimate — no obligation, just an honest read on what your home needs. The form below is the easiest way to get started.