Birch Bay Siding Custer sits inland from Birch Bay but close enough to Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia that homes here deal with the same coastal weather pattern the rest of Whatcom County lives with: salty, moisture-laden air moving in off the water, long stretches of driving rain through fall and winter, and a moss and mildew season that can run most of the year in shaded spots. Add in the temperature swings between damp winters and warmer, drier summers, and exterior materials in this area take a steady beating whether a house sits right on the water or a few miles back from it.
We work on homes throughout Custer and the surrounding Birch Bay area, and we see the same failure patterns over and over on older siding: paint that won't hold a finish past a few years, seams and butt joints that swell and separate, moss and algae staining that keeps coming back no matter how often it's cleaned, and soft or delaminating panels on the north and west-facing walls that stay shaded and damp longest. None of that is a surprise once you understand what this climate does to wood-based and vinyl products over time. It's also exactly why we standardized on James Hardie fiber cement siding and don't install anything else.
Why the Custer climate matters for siding choice
Salt air accelerates corrosion on fasteners and metal trim, and it breaks down cheaper paint films faster than inland conditions would. Driving rain finds every gap, seam, and poorly flashed penetration, and it doesn't take much of a path for water to get behind siding and start doing damage you can't see from the ground. And moss doesn't just grow on roofs — given a shaded, damp wall surface, it will colonize siding too, holding moisture against the surface and feeding the kind of ongoing maintenance cycle that wears homeowners down.
James Hardie fiber cement is engineered specifically for this kind of exposure. It's non-combustible, dimensionally stable, and doesn't absorb and swell the way wood-based products do. The ColorPlus factory finish is baked on under controlled conditions rather than field-applied, which means better adhesion and a finish that holds its color and resists the fading and chalking that salt air and UV speed up. Hardie's HZ5 product line, in particular, is built for exactly this kind of moisture-heavy, marine-influenced climate zone.
What we do for Custer homes
We're a full exterior contractor, not just a siding crew, which matters in this area because siding problems are rarely isolated. A house with failing siding often has related issues at the roofline, window flashing, or deck structure — all points where water gets in if they're not detailed correctly.
- Siding replacement and repair — full James Hardie lap, panel, and shingle-style siding systems installed to manufacturer spec, with correct flashing, house wrap, and fastening for this climate.
- Roofing — roof replacement and repair, since a compromised roofline is one of the most common sources of hidden water intrusion behind siding.
- Windows — replacement windows installed with proper flashing integration, which is often where older homes in wet climates leak first.
- Decks — built and repaired to handle year-round exposure to rain and the moisture that collects underneath if drainage isn't planned for.
Why we only install James Hardie
We used to install a wider range of siding products, and we've seen firsthand how they hold up in Whatcom County conditions specifically — not in a lab, not in a drier climate, but on real homes exposed to real Pacific Northwest weather year after year. Vinyl siding can warp and become brittle with temperature swings, and its seams give water an easy path in driving rain. Wood-based composite products depend heavily on maintaining an intact paint film to keep moisture out; once that film is compromised, the substrate underneath is vulnerable to swelling and rot, and repainting on a coastal home is a recurring cost, not a one-time fix.
James Hardie isn't the cheapest option up front, and we're upfront about that. But installed correctly, it holds its finish longer, resists moisture damage that drives most of the repair calls we get, and comes with a strong transferable warranty that reflects the manufacturer's confidence in the product. For homes that are going to sit through decades of Whatcom County winters, we think that's the right trade-off, and it's the only siding system we're willing to stand behind.
Why work with a local crew
A contractor who works this specific stretch of Whatcom County — Custer, Birch Bay, and the surrounding area — knows how differently a wall performs depending on which direction it faces, how close it sits to the water, and how much shade it gets through the winter. That local knowledge shapes decisions on flashing details, ventilation, and where extra attention needs to go during installation. It's the difference between siding that's technically up to code and siding that's actually built for the conditions it has to survive here.
If your home in Custer is showing signs of wear — moss buildup, peeling paint, soft spots, or siding that just looks tired no matter how well it's been maintained — we're happy to take a look. Reach out for a free, no-pressure estimate and we'll walk you through what we're seeing and what your options are.