Siding near the university.
Sehome climbs the hill next to Western Washington University, so it's a real mix: owner-occupied older homes alongside a lot of student rentals. The cladding tells the same story everywhere, though. The hardboard siding that went on a lot of these houses in the postwar decades is now chalking, swelling at the edges, and failing, and the aging vinyl from later updates is brittle and faded. On rentals especially, owners want a re-side that's durable and affordable, not a premium showpiece.
That's where engineered wood and insulated vinyl earn their keep. We tear off the failing hardboard or old vinyl, fix the rot we find behind it (and on student rentals with deferred maintenance, there's usually some), flash the windows right, and re-clad with LP SmartSide or insulated vinyl at a price that works for an investment property. We also do plenty of straight rot repair here when a full re-side isn't in the budget yet. The goal is to stop the water and protect the house without over-spending on a rental.
What we see on Sehome homes.
Common home styles
1910s to 1960s bungalows and cottages mixed with student rentals near WWU, much of it in aging hardboard and brittle vinyl siding.
Popular projects
Budget engineered wood and insulated vinyl re-sides, rot repair on rentals with deferred maintenance, and re-clads of failing hardboard and faded vinyl.
Climate & siding considerations
Sehome's older hardboard and vinyl have taken decades of our wet weather and are failing. We re-clad with moisture-tolerant engineered wood or vinyl and fix the rot behind it, flashed to keep water out.