Ferndale Siding An Honest Answer to a Question We Get a Lot
Homeowners in Ferndale ask us this constantly: "Why don't you carry vinyl?" It's a fair question. Vinyl siding is the most common siding material installed in America, it's inexpensive, and plenty of companies will happily put it on your house. We're not one of them, and we think you deserve a straight explanation of why, not a sales pitch dressed up as one.
This isn't about trashing vinyl as a product. It has legitimate strengths. It's about what happens to vinyl siding specifically in a marine climate like ours, and why, after years of doing exterior work in Whatcom County, we made a deliberate decision to install only James Hardie fiber cement siding.
What Vinyl Siding Actually Gets Right
Credit where it's due. Vinyl siding is:
- Lower in upfront material cost than fiber cement in most markets
- Lightweight and quick to install on straightforward wall sections
- Available in a wide range of colors and profiles
- Resistant to insect damage since there's no wood or organic fiber in the panel itself
- A reasonable option in dry, moderate climates with less wind-driven moisture
If you live somewhere with mild weather and a tight budget, vinyl isn't a bad choice on paper. The problem is that "somewhere mild" doesn't describe Ferndale.
Ferndale's Climate Is Genuinely Hard on Vinyl
Whatcom County sits right up against the Salish Sea, and Ferndale gets the full package: salt-laden air rolling in off Bellingham Bay and the Strait of Georgia, long stretches of driving rain off the water, and a moss season that can run eight or nine months out of the year in shaded, north-facing exposures. None of that is a problem unique to us as a company describing it — it's just what the marine Pacific Northwest does to the outside of a house, year after year.
Vinyl siding is a rigid PVC panel that's designed to expand and contract with temperature swings and hang loosely on the wall to accommodate that movement. In a dry inland climate, that's manageable. In a wet coastal climate, that same loose-hanging design becomes an entry point. Wind-driven rain gets pushed sideways and upward under panel laps and around corner posts far more aggressively here than it would in a calmer, drier region. Vinyl wasn't engineered as a water barrier — it was engineered to shed bulk water while relying heavily on whatever house wrap and flashing sit behind it to do the real work.
Why "Driving Rain" Matters More Than "Total Rainfall"
People sometimes point out that other parts of the country get more annual rainfall than Whatcom County. That's true, but total inches isn't the whole story. What matters for siding performance is wind-driven rain — rain pushed horizontally and even upward against a wall by sustained coastal wind. Ferndale gets that combination regularly, especially during fall and winter storm systems moving in off the water. Vinyl's lapped, non-sealed panel system is more vulnerable to that specific pattern of moisture intrusion than a rain-screen-capable, factory-sealed fiber cement system.
Installation Sensitivity: The Part Nobody Talks About
Vinyl siding has a reputation for being easy to install, and mechanically, it is. But "easy to install" and "easy to install correctly for a coastal climate" are two different things. Vinyl panels have to be nailed loosely — not snug — so they can slide with thermal movement. Nail it too tight and panels buckle or crack in a temperature swing. Nail it too loose in a high-wind zone and panels rattle, work loose, or blow off entirely in a real windstorm.
Corner posts, J-channels, and starter strips all rely on precise, consistent gapping to manage both water and movement. When that installation is rushed — and a lot of vinyl jobs are priced and scheduled to move fast — the margin for error is thin, and the failures don't usually show up until a year or two later, after the crew is long gone.
Fading, Chalking, and the "Never Paint It" Myth
Vinyl is marketed as maintenance-free, and in the narrow sense that you'll never need to paint it, that's true. What that pitch leaves out is that vinyl color is baked into the plastic itself, and UV exposure over years causes that color to fade and chalk unevenly, especially on south and west-facing walls that catch the most direct sun. Once vinyl fades, you can't touch it up or refinish it — the only fix is replacing the panels. Darker colors fade faster and can also warp in direct sun exposure, which limits your realistic color choices more than most homeowners expect going in.
What's Actually Happening Behind the Panel
This is the part that concerns us most as installers. Vinyl siding is not a sealed water barrier — it's a rain-screen cladding that depends entirely on the house wrap, flashing, and drainage plane behind it to manage any moisture that gets past the panels. That's a reasonable system when installation is meticulous and the climate isn't constantly testing it. In Ferndale's rain and salt air, moisture that works its way behind vinyl has more opportunities to get in and fewer dry stretches to get out. Because vinyl panels overlap loosely and aren't sealed at the seams, trapped moisture behind them can sit against sheathing and framing for extended periods, especially in shaded or poorly ventilated wall sections where moss and mildew also tend to establish themselves.
How Vinyl and Fiber Cement Compare in Our Market
| Factor | Vinyl Siding | James Hardie Fiber Cement |
|---|---|---|
| Material composition | PVC plastic panel | Cement, sand, and cellulose fiber |
| Wind-driven rain resistance | Depends heavily on WRB behind it | Engineered HZ product line rated for regional climate exposure |
| Fire behavior | Combustible plastic | Non-combustible core material |
| Color stability | Fades and chalks over time, cannot be touched up | Factory ColorPlus finish backed by a separate finish warranty |
| Installation tolerance | Narrow — requires precise gapping and nailing | More forgiving, fastened solid to the wall |
| Impact resistance | Can crack in cold weather or from impact | Denser, more impact-resistant panel |
| Typical lifespan when properly installed | 20-30 years | 30-50+ years |
The Warranty Fine Print Most Homeowners Never Read
Vinyl siding warranties often look impressive at first glance — some are labeled "lifetime." But read the actual terms and you'll usually find prorated coverage that shrinks significantly after the first decade or two, exclusions for fading and chalking, and coverage that frequently doesn't transfer to a new owner if you sell the home, or that transfers with reduced terms. That matters in a place like Ferndale where a lot of houses do change hands, and a strong transferable warranty can be a real selling point down the road.
Why We Standardized on James Hardie Instead
After years of tear-offs, repairs, and honest conversations with homeowners about what was actually failing behind their old siding, we made the call to install James Hardie fiber cement exclusively. It's non-combustible, which matters given the wildfire-driven smoke and ember exposure the region has seen in recent summers. It's engineered in climate-specific HZ product lines, so the version installed here is built for the wet, coastal Pacific Northwest specifically rather than a generic national spec. The ColorPlus factory finish holds color far longer than field-applied paint or vinyl's baked-in pigment, and it comes with its own finish warranty separate from the product warranty. And because it's fastened solid to the wall rather than hung loose to accommodate expansion, it holds up better to the wind loads Ferndale sees off the water.
We're not going to pretend fiber cement has zero tradeoffs — it costs more upfront, it's heavier to install, and it requires a crew that knows how to handle and cut it correctly. But for a home that has to stand up to salt air, driving rain, and a real moss season, we think it's the more honest long-term investment.
Questions to Ask Before You Choose a Siding Material
- What is the manufacturer's wind rating for this product, and is it rated for a coastal exposure zone?
- Does the color warranty match the product warranty, or is it separate and shorter?
- Is the warranty transferable to a new owner if I sell the house, and under what terms?
- What house wrap or drainage plane will be installed behind the siding, and how is it detailed at seams and penetrations?
- How does this material perform specifically in wind-driven rain, not just total annual rainfall?
- Is the material combustible, and does that affect my homeowner's insurance rate?
If you're weighing siding options for a home in Ferndale or elsewhere in Whatcom County, we're glad to walk your house with you, point out what's actually happening with your current siding, and give you a straight answer — even if that answer is that your existing siding has some life left in it. Reach out for a free, no-pressure estimate.