Siding in this region isn't decoration — it's the part of the house holding back eight months of rain. If yours is swelling at the seams, growing moss, or soft at the bottom course, we'll match you with a siding contractor Portland metro homeowners have used for repairs and full re-sides alike.
Water gets past every cladding eventually; the weather-resistive barrier, the flashing at windows and decks, and the drainage gap behind the boards are what get it back out. Re-siding is the one chance to fix a bad barrier and add a rainscreen gap, and skipping that to save a few thousand is how houses end up re-sided twice. Ask every bidder what goes behind the boards and whether they're installing over furring.
Fiber cement is the metro default for good reason — it handles constant damp, takes paint well, and resists the woodpeckers and rot that punish cedar. Engineered wood products are lighter and cheaper to install but demand disciplined detailing at cut ends. Vinyl is inexpensive and low-maintenance but shows its seams and can trap moisture if the barrier behind it is poor. Cedar still looks best on the right house and costs the most to maintain.
If the damage is one elevation, usually the south or west face that takes the weather, a partial re-side is legitimate and matching can be done well. If bottom courses are soft on multiple sides or the barrier behind is 1980s felt, patching is throwing money at the symptom. Have someone open a small test area before you decide.
Describe the project once and we match it with vetted local pros who actually do this work — you choose who to hire, or nobody at all.
Houses built across the metro's suburbs in the 1970s through the early 1990s were widely clad in hardboard and cedar products that are now at the end of their lives. The classic signs are swollen, delaminating bottom edges and paint that won't hold no matter how often it's redone. Re-siding these homes is one of the most common exterior projects in Washington and Clackamas counties right now.
North-facing walls under established firs stay damp for months and grow the same moss and algae that colonize metro roofs. Overhanging limbs, sprinkler spray, and grade built up against the siding are the three habits that shorten cladding life fastest here. Keeping six inches between siding and soil is a rule worth enforcing during any re-side.
Re-siding permit requirements vary between Portland, the Washington County cities, Gresham, and Clackamas County, and historic overlays in some close-in neighborhoods add design review on materials and profiles. On top of that, many suburban HOAs approve colour and material before work can start. Sort both out before your contractor orders forty squares of siding.
Full fiber-cement re-sides on a typical metro house commonly land between $20,000 and $45,000, driven by wall area, stories, trim complexity, and how much rot is found once the old cladding is off. Vinyl generally comes in lower and cedar considerably higher. Adding a rainscreen gap and a modern weather barrier is usually a modest percentage on top and is worth every dollar in this climate. Rot repair is the wildcard — insist on a written per-sheet or per-hour rate for sheathing replacement so a discovery mid-job doesn't become an open cheque.
Our 1984 house had hardboard falling apart at the bottom on three sides. The contractor opened a test section first so we knew what we were buying before we committed.
They added furring strips behind the new siding and explained why it mattered in our rain. Two winters later, no bubbling anywhere.
Only the north wall was really failing. They repaired that side and matched the profile instead of talking us into a full re-side we did not need yet.
Paint that peels in patches on sun-exposed walls is usually a prep or moisture issue. Paint that will not hold on the bottom courses, combined with swollen or crumbling edges, means the board itself has absorbed water and is done. Press a screwdriver into a suspect edge — if it sinks, painting won't save it.
It's a drainage and ventilation gap, usually created with furring strips, between the weather barrier and the siding. In a climate with our rainfall it lets walls dry rather than hold moisture. It's not required everywhere in the metro, but it's the single best upgrade you can make during a re-side.
Repairs, yes. A full re-side is better scheduled for the drier months because the wall is opened up section by section and the finish coat needs decent weather. Good crews book the summer window early, so get bids in late winter.
Somewhat, mostly through better air sealing and any insulation added while the walls are open. It's a real benefit but a secondary one — re-side for the water management and treat energy savings as a bonus.
Not immediately. Factory-finished products come pre-coated with long warranties, while primed-only board is painted on site. Site-painted siding usually needs recoating sooner in this climate, so weigh the higher up-front cost of factory finish against repainting a decade earlier.
Tell us your siding type, the trouble you're seeing, and your city. We'll line up licensed metro siding contractors to look at it — free, with no obligation.
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