A Duplex in Mountain Sage
Before & After
About This Project
This is a duplex on Bellingham's east side, which makes it a different kind of project: two households, two entries, one envelope — and a budget that had to make sense for a multi-family property. The owners' review names exactly what they hired us for: a scope "that addressed our problems while still staying within our budget."
The paperwork ran the way it should: we pulled the siding permit through the City of Bellingham, paid the fee, and the finished work passed the city's inspection. Then came the interesting part — because the biggest budget decision on this project was hiding under the old siding.
The T1-11 Problem, Solved Sideways
The duplex wore T1-11 — a plywood panel siding that, on homes of this era, was often installed with little or no sheathing behind it. Tear it all off and the standard answer is a full re-sheeting service: every wall, new panels, real money. We proposed something smarter: test the T1-11, fix what's failed, and use the sound panels as the sheathing layer under the new Hardie.
Every panel got a scratch-awl puncture test, and Michael scanned the walls with a thermal gun to find moisture hiding behind them. Punctured or wet panels came out. Where rot had reached past the panel into a stud, the crew ground the mildewed wood clean and sistered a new stud alongside it; where mildew was only on the surface, it was scraped and treated. All of it inside the quoted price — no per-surprise charges. That single decision saved the owners the cost of re-sheeting two households' worth of walls, and it's the kind of engineering a budget conversation should produce.
Mountain Sage, and a Clever Pair of Gables
Over fresh Tyvek HomeWrap went Mountain Sage HardiePlank — a deep Pacific Northwest green — with Cobble Stone HardieTrim at the windows, doors, and corners, a joint flashing behind every plank seam, and no caulk at the seams, per James Hardie's own instructions.
The front gables got the project's best value move. We offered both street-facing gables in straight HardieShingle over new band boards — and priced it low, because the shingle came from our own pre-finished surplus from previous re-sides, painted Mountain Sage after installation. HardieShingle is normally a costly accent; surplus stock made it an easy yes, and the two textured gables are what make the duplex read as designed rather than just re-clad. Mid-project the owners added roof fascia painting to the scope, and the inner garage door trim got a coat in their color preference at no charge.
The Finished Look
Two units, one calm green envelope, shingled gables catching the light over both garage doors — a duplex that now looks like a single, considered building instead of a maintenance problem splitting rent. The crew, in the owners' words: "efficient, thorough, and considerate. Highly recommend!"
★★★★★Google review · Bellingham, WA"Michael and the whole Siding Vault team did a fantastic job installing new siding on our home. Michael was a great communicator throughout, and worked with us to create a scope of project that addressed our problems while still staying within our budget. The workers at our home were efficient, thorough, and considerate. Highly recommend!"
