A Beach Cottage in Deep Ocean

About This Project

A block from the water at Birch Bay, this little cottage had the usual beach-house resume: aging lap siding, wood-panel gables, and one eave corner where the fascia had visibly given up. Before anything else, we ran a lead test on the old siding — it came back negative, and as a lead-certified firm we documented it before the first board came off.

The owners' first big decision wasn't color. It was primed versus pre-finished. We quoted the project both ways and walked through the honest math: pre-finished ColorPlus costs more in materials and siding labor, but it eliminates the exterior paint service entirely — so the total comes out lower, and the baked-on factory finish outlasts field paint. They chose pre-finished, and as Jeannie put it in her review: "I recommend going with already painted."

Six to Eight Weeks for the Right Blue

The base quote carried a Statement Collection color, but the owners wanted something deeper — Deep Ocean, from the James Hardie Dream Collection. Dream colors are special-ordered: instead of two days, the material takes six to eight weeks to arrive. They decided the wait was worth it, and the finished walls make the case — a true navy with Cedarmill grain, set against Arctic White HardieTrim. Collections shift over time, so ask us for the current lineup if a color here catches your eye.

Being steps from the bay shaped the details, too. With moisture pressing from both sides of the property, the priority was keeping fiber cement off the damp ground — we set a six-inch clearance goal above grade and held it, so the new siding never wicks what the beach air brings.

New Soffits, New Fascia, New Bones

This wasn't siding alone. Every soffit on the house came down and was replaced with solid HardieSoffit panels, and the roof fascia was rebuilt in HardieTrim — all pre-finished in Arctic White, so nothing up there needs a paint crew, ever. The old K-style gutters came off and were disposed of to make way for the gutter replacement the owners had planned separately.

Under the color: fresh Tyvek HomeWrap with taped and flashed openings, planks fastened into marked studs, a Bearskin flashing behind every seam, z-flashing over windows and doors, and custom Hardie blocks behind the light fixtures and utilities. No caulk at the plank seams — James Hardie's instructions call for flashed joints that drain, not sealed ones that trap. And before the crew left, a magnetic sweeper combed the gravel for every pulled nail — this is a yard people cross barefoot with beach chairs.

The Finished Look

Deep navy against gravel, cedar rails, and a flag on the deck — the cottage went from fading into the row to being the house you notice from the street. The soffits and fascia disappear into clean white lines, and the whole envelope is now fiber cement with a factory finish, which is about as little maintenance as a beach house can ask for.

Jeannie's review ends simpler than we could: "It's just stunning."