Lynden Custer sits close enough to the water that homes here deal with a different mix of weather stress than siding a few miles inland in Lynden proper. The salt-tinged air rolling off the Strait of Georgia and Birch Bay, combined with Whatcom County's driving winter rains and a moss season that seems to stretch longer every year, puts real, measurable wear on exterior siding. If you've owned a home in this area for more than a few winters, you've probably already seen what that combination does to paint, trim, and lower siding courses.
What Custer's Climate Does to Siding
Salt-laden moisture is corrosive in ways that inland homeowners don't have to think about as much. It accelerates the breakdown of paint films, works into fastener heads, and speeds up corrosion on anything metal that isn't properly rated for coastal exposure. Add in wind-driven rain that hits siding at an angle rather than just running straight down, and you get moisture intrusion at laps, seams, and butt joints that a calmer climate wouldn't produce.
Then there's moss and algae. Whatcom County's damp, mild winters and long shoulder seasons are close to ideal growing conditions for both, especially on north-facing walls, under eaves, and anywhere siding stays shaded and damp for days at a time. On wood-based or wood-look siding products, that persistent moisture doesn't just sit on the surface — it can work into the material itself, leading to swelling, soft spots, and eventual rot if it isn't caught early.
Why We Only Install James Hardie Fiber Cement
We made a deliberate decision to stop installing vinyl, LP SmartSide, primed spruce, cedar, and other wood-based siding products, and to standardize on James Hardie fiber cement across every job we take on — including here in Custer. That's not a marketing position, it's a practical one based on what actually holds up in this climate.
Fiber cement doesn't absorb moisture the way wood-based products can, so it isn't prone to the swelling, warping, and rot that show up on wood siding after repeated wet-dry cycles. It's also non-combustible, which matters more every year as wildfire smoke and dry summer stretches become a bigger part of the Pacific Northwest's weather pattern. James Hardie's ColorPlus factory finish is baked on under controlled conditions rather than applied on-site, which gives it better adhesion and fade resistance than field-applied paint — a real advantage against the sun exposure and salt air combination Custer homes deal with. And Hardie's HZ5 product line is specifically engineered for climate zones that see the kind of moisture cycling common here.
None of this means other products are junk — vinyl is inexpensive and low-maintenance in the right setting, and cedar has real appeal for homeowners who want a natural look and are willing to keep up with maintenance. But we've seen enough of how those products age in coastal Whatcom County conditions that we don't feel right installing them and standing behind the result. Fiber cement is what we'd want on our own homes out here, and it's what we install on every job.
Our Full Exterior Services
Siding is our specialty, but most homes in Custer need more than one exterior system addressed at the same time, and we handle the full envelope:
- Siding — James Hardie fiber cement installation and full or partial siding replacement
- Roofing — roof replacement and repair, working alongside siding to protect against wind-driven rain
- Windows — replacement windows installed with proper flashing to keep water out of the wall assembly
- Decks — outdoor living spaces built to hold up to Northwest wet-dry cycles
Handling all four means fewer contractors coming and going, and fewer chances for water to find a gap between systems that were installed by different crews at different times — which matters a lot when you're dealing with wind-driven coastal rain.
Why a Local Crew Matters
A crew that works Whatcom County day in and day out understands things that don't show up in a spec sheet: which wall orientations in Custer tend to hold moss longest, how much flashing detail actually matters at laps and penetrations in this kind of weather, and what installation mistakes turn into callbacks two winters later. James Hardie siding performs the way it's designed to when it's installed to spec — correct clearances, proper fastening, and flashing done right the first time. That's a matter of installation discipline as much as product choice, and it's where local experience actually shows up in the finished result.
We also know that Custer isn't a big commercial strip — it's a residential community where people plan to stay in their homes for decades, not flip them. That changes how we think about a siding job: we're not just matching a color, we're putting on a system meant to outlast a couple of Northwest winters without drawing a callback.
Get a Free Estimate
If your Custer home's siding is showing moss staining, paint failure, or soft spots after another wet Whatcom County season, it's worth having a local crew take a look. We offer free, no-pressure estimates on siding, roofing, windows, and decks — come find out what your home actually needs before you decide on anything.