Taupe Lap, Cobblestone Gables

About This Project

This Anacortes rambler wore a patchwork: several types of siding from different eras, each aging on its own schedule, which meant a future of piecemeal repairs arriving one failure at a time. The owner wanted off that treadmill — one envelope, one warranty, one look.

The paperwork came first, as it should in Anacortes: the city requires a permit for siding and window replacement, and we pulled it and paid the fee ourselves, which puts a city inspector's sign-off on the finished work. And when she asked whether any savings were available, the answer was honest and specific: a $750 website promotion, plus $3,000 off for flexible off-season scheduling — which she took, and the crew still wrapped the project by late October, ahead of the window the discount reserves.

The Small Upgrades That Made It

Her review says it best: "I followed their recommendations for small upgrades and the result is stunning." Here's what those upgrades actually were. The base design was Monterey Taupe HardiePlank with Arctic White HardieTrim — clean, but flat. Michael suggested breaking the roofline with Cobblestone straight-edge HardieShingle on the three gable ends, each set off by a white band board, and wrapping the front porch's upper beam in thick HardieTrim instead of the flat panel in the base bid — the detail every guest sees first at the door.

None of these were big-ticket items. Together they turned a single-color re-side into a two-tone design with depth, texture, and a finished entry. That's the value of options priced honestly: the owner picked every one.

One Window, Done Right

The re-side included one window replacement — a PlyGem Pro Series 200 vinyl unit in white — and because the walls were already open to the weather barrier, it got the full sequence: flex-wrapped sill, taped nailing fins, z-flashed HardieTrim surround with a water weep. Underneath everything else: fresh Tyvek HomeWrap, a joint flashing behind every plank seam, custom Hardie blocks behind the light fixtures, and no caulk at the plank seams, per James Hardie's own instructions.

The finishing pass caught the details the pre-finished material couldn't cover — the eaves and entry soffit were sprayed in a Monterey Taupe match, the roof fascia in Arctic White, and the inner garage door trim got a free coat of Arctic White, since that piece is dimensional lumber HardieTrim doesn't replace. When the crew left, she kept a ColorPlus touch-up kit — and if the siding ever needs paint decades from now, the color's on file at any Sherwin-Williams counter.

The Finished Look

Sage green out, warm taupe in — with shingled gables that give the little rambler more architecture than it ever had, and a deck that suddenly looks like it was designed for the house behind it. On time, with minimal disruption, one window smarter. Her closing line is the one we'd frame: "My house has been transformed thanks to Siding Vault."