Set Up for Its Next Hundred Years
Before & After
About This Project
This bungalow has stood in Bellingham since 1912, and its owner began this project as a skeptic — his words, not ours. He worried that re-siding with Hardie would cost the house its architectural integrity, and he was right to take that seriously: a century-old home's proportions and details are exactly what make it worth preserving.
What changed his mind wasn't a sales pitch. He walked one of our projects, saw the product on a real house, and learned how the pieces fit together — the plank, the trim, the flashing, the fastening — as a system rather than a stack of materials. As his review later put it: "Hardie is part of a system so the fact that Siding Vault is a Hardie Elite contractor, knows and builds that way was important."
Preserving 1912 in Evening Blue
The house's best feature is its entry — a deep arched portico on round columns — and it stayed exactly where it's been for a century, re-wrapped rather than replaced. The walls went from tired cream lap to Evening Blue HardiePlank at a 7-inch reveal, with Arctic White HardieTrim at every window, door, and corner, and paneled sections above the arch and in the gables to keep the original layered look. Every soffit on the house, porch included, was replaced with fresh Arctic White HardieSoffit panels.
Underneath: a new weather barrier with taped and flashed openings, a joint flashing behind every plank seam, custom Hardie blocks behind the fixtures, and no caulk at the plank seams — the drainage-first detailing James Hardie's own instructions call for. Modern envelope, original face.
A Deck to Match the House — and the Other Deck
The old front deck and its stairs were past saving, so both came out. The rebuild went down in Trex Select Pebble Grey — decking, fascia, and a brand-new staircase wrapped to match — on hidden fasteners, so the surface reads clean with no screw heads. We framed the field with a picture-frame border, deliberately matching the design of the property's other deck so the two read as a set. Below it, Hardie panel skirting color-matched to the new siding closes out the base.
His review ends with the line we'd have chosen ourselves: "The house looks great and is setup for its next hundred years."
★★★★★Google review · Bellingham, WA"Michael and the team at Siding Vault did an outstanding job. At first I was concerned about preserving the architectural integrity of the house so wanted to avoid re-siding with Hardie. I decided to move forward after walking the project, learning about the product and the way that Siding Vault would modernize the home while preserving it. I was so pleased with the quality, the communication, the whole job. Hardie is part of a system so the fact that Siding Vault is a Hardie Elite contractor, knows and builds that way was important. The house looks great and is setup for its next hundred years. I highly recommend Siding Vault."
