Charcoal Over the Berry Fields
About This Project
This one sits out among Lynden's berry fields, where a long rambler and its guest house share a gravel drive with a view of the Cascades. Two buildings, two different problems: the main house needed its roof replaced, and the guest house wore siding that — as the owner put it in her review — was probably a DIY project from the previous owners.
The part that shaped how we worked: the owners were out of town for much of the project. That means the communication most clients get face-to-face happened by phone and photo, and the crew ran long days until both buildings were done. Her review afterward singled that out — which, for work done while nobody's home, is the only endorsement that matters.
A Roof Built as a System
A roof is only as good as the layers under it, so this one went on as a complete GAF system: TigerPaw underlayment across every deck, Pro-Start starter strips at the edges, Timberline HDZ shingles in Charcoal across the field, and TimberCrest ridge caps along every peak.
The metal is the detail the drone sees best — black valley flashing in every valley, black drip edge along every eave, and black step flashing where roof meets wall, all of it disappearing into the Charcoal instead of flashing silver at the sun. Every vent and pipe boot was replaced new, so no twenty-year-old plastic sits in the middle of a brand-new roof. The spongy decking sheets Michael flagged at the estimate came out during tear-off — photographed as they went, proof available on request — and the water's path got finished properly too: new 6-inch K-style gutters with black metal-mesh gutter guards, chosen to disappear against the Charcoal above them on a property ringed by trees.
The Guest House Got Its Turn
While the roof went on, the guest house shed its inherited vinyl — the two walls wearing it came down to bare sheathing, while the building's metal-clad sides stayed exactly as built. In their place: primed 8¼-inch HardiePlank with HardieTrim Rustic Grain surrounds and HardiePanel where the design called for sheet goods, plus new HardieSoffit overhead in place of the warped panels it replaced. It's photographed here fresh in its factory primer coat — James Hardie's primed boards can wait months for paint without harm, so the owners get to pick their color on their own schedule. Even in primer, it sits against the black metal gable and cedar porch posts looking like it always belonged to the farmstead.
The Finished Look
Charcoal shingles under a big Whatcom sky, black lines in every valley, and a guest house that finally belongs to the same property. The owner left us reviews on three platforms — Google, BBB, and GuildQuality — each one written separately, all of them five stars. The one below is the one that tells the story best.
★★★★★Google review · Lynden, WA"We had a great experience with The Siding Vault! Had a roof installed on our main house and siding on our guest house - all work was professionally done, on time and they arrived to do the job when they said they would. They worked long hours everyday until the work was completed. Not only was the work well done, the communication was excellent, which was especially important since we were out of town. I highly recommend The Siding Vault!"
