Lynden Exterior Cedar Has Real Appeal — Here's the Honest Picture
Cedar siding has a following for good reason. It's a genuine wood product with a warm, natural grain that no engineered material fully replicates, and it has deep roots in Pacific Northwest building tradition. Western red cedar in particular has natural oils that give it some built-in resistance to decay and insects compared to other softwoods. If you've ever admired an older Lynden home with cedar shingles or channel siding, that appeal is real.
What's also real is what it takes to keep cedar looking and performing the way it did on day one. This page is about that maintenance truth — not to talk down a product with genuine merit, but to lay out why our company made the call not to install it.
Why Whatcom County Is a Tough Climate for Cedar
Cedar's biggest vulnerability is moisture, and Lynden sits in a part of Whatcom County that gives it plenty of that. We get long stretches of driving rain off the Pacific, humid air pulled in from the Salish Sea, and a moss season that can stretch from fall through spring. Add in occasional salt-laden air moving inland from the coast, and you have a combination that steadily works against unprotected or under-maintained wood.
Wood siding needs a functioning finish — paint, stain, or sealant — to keep water out of the fibers. Once that finish starts to break down, cedar doesn't just look weathered. It starts absorbing moisture, and that's when the real problems begin: swelling, cupping, checking (splitting along the grain), and eventually rot at butt joints, corners, and anywhere water can sit against the wood.
What Ongoing Cedar Maintenance Actually Looks Like
- Refinishing cycle: Solid stains and paints on cedar in a wet Northwest climate typically need to be redone every 3 to 7 years, depending on sun exposure, wind-driven rain exposure, and the quality of the original application. South- and west-facing walls that take the brunt of storms usually fail first.
- Moss and mildew control: Whatcom County's damp, shaded conditions are close to ideal for moss and mildew growth on wood surfaces. Left unchecked, organic growth holds moisture against the siding and accelerates decay underneath. Keeping cedar clean means periodic washing — done carefully, since pressure washing can drive water behind boards or strip the finish.
- Caulking and joint upkeep: Every seam, corner, and trim joint is a potential water entry point. These need regular inspection and re-caulking as the wood expands and contracts with the seasons.
- Insect and rot monitoring: Even with cedar's natural resistance, prolonged moisture exposure invites carpenter ants, other wood-boring insects, and fungal decay. Catching this early means routine, hands-on inspection — not a one-time treatment.
The Cost That's Easy to Underestimate
The sticker price of cedar siding isn't the real number homeowners should budget for — it's the lifetime cost. Refinishing a full exterior every several years, budgeting for spot repairs and board replacement where rot takes hold, and factoring in the labor cost of proper prep work (scraping, sanding, priming bare wood) adds up over a 20- or 30-year ownership period. Skimp on any of those maintenance cycles and the deterioration compounds — a missed refinish doesn't just delay the cost, it usually increases it, because more of the wood has to be repaired or replaced by the time you get to it.
There's also a fire consideration worth being direct about. Wood siding is combustible, and in a region where wildfire smoke and dry-season risk have become a more regular part of summer, that's a factor more homeowners are weighing when they replace siding.
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 why. Hardie's HZ5 product line is engineered specifically for climates like ours — wet, moss-prone, and subject to real temperature swings — and it holds up to that moisture exposure without the refinishing cycle cedar requires.
Fiber cement is non-combustible, which matters both for safety and, in many cases, for insurance. It comes with a factory-applied ColorPlus finish, so the color coat is baked on under controlled conditions rather than brushed on in the field — and it's backed by a strong, transferable warranty that doesn't depend on you keeping up a repainting schedule to stay valid. You still get a clean, dimensional look with a range of siding profiles and colors, but without the recurring wood-maintenance obligations that come with cedar in a climate like Whatcom County's.
We're not going to tell you cedar is a bad product — used and maintained properly, it can perform for decades. But "maintained properly" in this climate is a real, ongoing commitment, and it's one we don't think most homeowners want to sign up for once they see the full picture. That's the honest trade-off, and it's why Hardie is what we put on homes here in Lynden.
If you're weighing cedar against fiber cement for your own home, we're happy to walk through the specifics with you. Reach out for a free, no-pressure estimate — we'll look at your home's exposure, your priorities, and help you figure out what actually makes sense before you commit to anything.