Anacortes Old Town is one of the oldest platted parts of Anacortes, and it shows in the housing stock — a mix of older homes, some dating back generations, sitting close to the water on lots that were laid out long before anyone was thinking about modern weather barriers or fiber cement siding. That age and proximity to Fidalgo Bay make siding decisions here a little different than they are on a newer build farther inland. We work on homes throughout Skagit County, and Old Town Anacortes is a neighborhood where the combination of an older building envelope and a tough marine climate means the siding job has to be done right, not just done fast.
What Old Town Homes Are Up Against
Being close to the water means Old Town properties take a steady dose of salt-laden air, and that air is hard on almost everything on the outside of a house — fasteners corrode faster, paint chalks and fades sooner, and any siding material that isn't built to resist salt exposure shows its age quickly. Add in Skagit County's pattern of driving rain off the Sound and a moss season that can run most of the year on shaded or north-facing walls, and you've got a climate that punishes shortcuts. None of that is unique to Old Town, but it's more pronounced here than it is a few miles inland, simply because of how close the neighborhood sits to open water.
The age of the housing stock adds another layer. A lot of Old Town homes have been re-sided at least once already, sometimes with materials or details that made sense decades ago but don't hold up to today's understanding of how water moves through a wall assembly. When we start a siding project in this neighborhood, we're not just looking at what's visible on the surface — we're paying close attention to what's happening underneath, because older homes here often have surprises waiting once the old siding comes off.
Common Issues We Find on Older Anacortes Homes
- Original or long-ago-added siding with no functional weather-resistive barrier behind it
- Moss and algae buildup on shaded, north-facing, or heavily treed walls that never fully dry out
- Corroded fasteners and flashing, especially on additions or repairs done without coastal-grade materials
- Soft or rotted sheathing found only after old siding is removed, usually near windows, doors, or grade-level trim
- Paint failure and chalking on wood or older composite siding that's been fighting UV and salt for years
Why the Age of These Homes Changes the Job
On a newer home, a siding replacement is often a fairly contained job: strip the old cladding, confirm the barrier and flashing are sound, install the new siding. On an older Old Town home, we go into every project assuming there will be at least a few things behind the old siding that need attention before new material goes up. That might mean replacing sections of sheathing that have taken on moisture over the years, correcting flashing details that were never right to begin with, or dealing with older trim profiles that don't quite match modern siding dimensions.
This is where experience with this specific kind of housing stock matters. A crew that's only ever worked on newer construction can be caught off guard by what an older Anacortes home reveals once the siding comes off, and that can turn into change orders and delays that a homeowner didn't budget for. We'd rather set expectations up front — walk through what we expect to find based on the home's age and condition, and build a little flexibility into the plan for what we can't see until demolition starts.
What We Check Before Siding Ever Goes Up
Once the old siding is off, we go over the wall assembly in detail before installing anything new. That includes the condition of the sheathing, whether a proper water-resistive barrier is present and continuous, how window and door openings are flashed, and whether there's any evidence of past moisture intrusion that needs to be addressed rather than covered over. Skipping this step is how a beautiful new siding job ends up hiding the same problems it was supposed to fix.
Why We Install Only James Hardie Fiber Cement
We install one siding product: James Hardie fiber cement. We don't do vinyl, LP SmartSide, Cemplank, Allura, primed spruce, or cedar, and that's a deliberate standard, not a limitation on what we're capable of installing. Vinyl depends entirely on the assembly behind it to keep water out and can become brittle with age and salt exposure — a real concern on a waterfront-adjacent lot. Wood and primed wood products need consistent repainting to hold up, and in a climate with this much moisture and shade, that maintenance cycle gets demanding fast. Other fiber cement brands exist, but we've standardized on Hardie because of its factory-applied ColorPlus finish, its non-combustible composition, and the region-specific engineering behind its product lines.
For a neighborhood like Old Town, where salt air and prolonged dampness are a fact of life, that engineering isn't a marketing detail — it's the difference between siding that looks good for a few years and siding that holds its color and integrity through decades of Pacific Northwest weather.
Hardie Product Lines for This Neighborhood
| Product Line | Best For | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| HardiePlank Lap Siding | Most Old Town homes, including period-style exteriors | Smooth or cedar-textured finishes, wide color range |
| HardiePanel Vertical Siding | Gable accents, additions, mixed-material designs | Pairs with lap siding for a layered look on older home styles |
| HardieTrim Boards | Window and door surrounds, corners, water table trim | Holds paint and profile far longer than the original wood trim it replaces |
| HZ10 Climate Engineered | Homes with direct water exposure or heavy shade | Formulated for wetter, harsher climate zones like coastal Skagit County |
What a Correct Installation Involves
James Hardie's performance depends on installing it to the manufacturer's specification, not just nailing boards to a wall. That matters everywhere, but it matters more on an older Old Town home where the underlying structure may already have quirks from decades of prior work. A correct install accounts for proper clearance from grade, decks, and roof lines so water has somewhere to go instead of wicking into the bottom edge of the siding. It accounts for correct fastener spacing and type, since the wrong fasteners can void warranty coverage and lead to premature corrosion in a salt-air environment. And it accounts for flashing integration at every window, door, and penetration, so the siding is working with the water-resistive barrier underneath it rather than just sitting on top of it.
Installation Checklist We Follow on Every Job
- Confirm sheathing is sound and any moisture-damaged sections are replaced before new siding goes up
- Install or verify a continuous, correctly lapped water-resistive barrier
- Flash all windows, doors, and penetrations so water sheds outward, not behind the siding
- Maintain manufacturer-specified clearances from grade, roofing, and decks
- Use fasteners rated for the exposure and follow Hardie's spacing and fastening pattern exactly
- Caulk and seal per manufacturer spec at trim and panel joints, not as an afterthought
Matching the Character of an Older Home
A lot of homeowners in Old Town care about keeping their home's look consistent with the neighborhood's older character, and that's a reasonable priority. Hardie's lap profiles come in widths and textures that can echo a traditional wood-lap look, and the ColorPlus palette includes a range of historically appropriate, muted tones alongside more modern colors. Trim boards can be sized to match existing window and door surrounds rather than forcing a different proportion on the house. We talk through these choices during the estimate, since matching the character of the home is as much a part of the job as the technical performance of the siding.
Our Process, Start to Finish
We start with a walk-around inspection of the current siding and trim, looking for visible signs of what's underneath — soft spots, staining, gaps at trim joints — and we ask about the home's history, including when it was last re-sided and whether there have been any known moisture issues. From there we put together a scope and estimate that accounts for what we expect to find, with a clear conversation about what could change once demolition starts. During the project itself, we remove old siding in manageable sections rather than stripping the whole house at once, which limits how long the structure is exposed to weather. Every wall gets inspected and corrected before new Hardie siding goes on, and we finish with a walk-through so the homeowner can see the completed work and ask questions before we consider the job done.
What Drives the Cost of a Project Like This
Every Old Town home is different, but a few factors consistently move the price of a siding project up or down. Knowing them ahead of time helps set realistic expectations before an estimate.
| Factor | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| Condition behind existing siding | Rotted sheathing or missing barrier means added repair work before new siding goes up |
| Home age and trim complexity | Older homes often have more detailed trim and window surrounds to match or replace |
| Access and lot layout | Narrow older lots can limit staging space and equipment access, affecting labor time |
| Amount of existing material to remove | Multiple layers of old siding add demolition and disposal time |
| Product line and finish selected | Standard HardiePlank versus HZ10 or custom trim details shift material cost |
Why a Local Crew Matters in This Neighborhood
Old Town Anacortes isn't a large area, but it has its own personality — older lots, close proximity to the water, and homes that have usually been touched by more than one contractor over the years. Working here repeatedly means we've seen the kinds of surprises these homes tend to hide, we know how salt air and shade play out differently from one block to the next, and we're familiar with the permitting realities of working on older structures in Skagit County. That familiarity shortens the guesswork on both sides — ours, in scoping the job accurately, and yours, in knowing what to expect once work begins.
It also means practical things go smoother: navigating tighter older lots, working around mature trees that shade a property year-round, and staging materials on streets that weren't designed with modern construction equipment in mind. Those are small details, but they add up to a smoother project.
If you're considering new siding for a home in Old Town Anacortes, we're glad to walk the property, talk through what your home's age and exposure mean for the job, and give you a straightforward, no-pressure estimate.