Cedar Siding Repair
Rot at window sills, split boards, woodpecker damage, finish failure — cedar is beautiful siding, but the PNW tests it harder than anywhere. Rainwood Construction finds the moisture source, repairs the structure, and restores the wall.
We respond within 24 hours
Why Cedar Fails Faster Here Than Anywhere Else
Cedar has natural rot resistance — thujaplicins in the heartwood repel fungi and insects. But “resistant” isn’t “immune.” Eight months of PNW rain overwhelms what thujaplicins can handle if the wall behind doesn’t drain and dry.
Most common cedar siding repair we do: window sills and bottom courses. Missing pan flashing lets water pool behind trim. No kick-out diverter sends runoff down the face. Bottom boards under 6″ from grade wick ground splash into end grain. Within 3–5 years the cedar softens. Within 7–8 it’s punky.
Then finish failure. Cedar tannins bleed through paint — especially without back-prime or when galvanized nails react with wood acids. Stain fades on south elevations in 2–3 years instead of 5. Once finish fails, UV breaks down lignin and moisture gets in faster. Rot accelerates from maintenance issue to structural.
What Cedar Siding Repair Costs
Spot repair — a few rotted lap boards with sound sheathing — runs $500–1,500. Pull bad boards, check WRB, re-flash if needed, install CVG cedar, stainless nails, prime, stain. A day’s work.
Cedar shake siding repair costs more — each shake is individual, you can’t slide in a replacement like lap. Shake repair runs $800–2,500 for a localized area depending on coursing and accessibility.
Structural rot jumps to $2,000–6,000 per area. Full elevation strip and re-side: $6,000–18,000 depending on profile and condition. Rainwood Construction scopes after opening the wall. Cedar repair quoted from outside misses what the wood is hiding.
OUR SIDING SERVICES
What Rainwood Construction covers for cedar siding repair projects.
Cedar Lap Board Replacement
Remove rotted or split bevel boards, inspect sheathing and WRB, install CVG cedar matched to profile and reveal. Every board back-primed on all six sides with oil-based primer. Stainless ring-shank nails only — galvanized reacts with tannins and leaves black streaks within one season. A detail a lot of crews skip. Shows fast.
Cedar Shake Siding Repair
Hand-split shakes fail differently — they curl, crack along grain, lose pieces rather than softening evenly. We remove damaged shakes, check felt interlayer and sheathing, weave in replacements matched by thickness and exposure. Double-coursed walls need both under-course and face shake replaced. Repair cedar shake siding right and the patch disappears.
Cedar Shingle Siding Repair
Sawn faces, tighter courses, more uniform look. Cedar shingle siding repair means pulling shingles without disturbing neighbors, slipping in replacements, blind-nailing. On double-coursed walls we match the offset. Tedious. Worth it — bad shingle patches show from across the street.
Structural Rot Repair Behind Cedar
When rot passes through into sheathing or framing. Cut back to dry wood, sister studs, new sheathing, WRB, proper flashing — then cedar goes on. We trace water entry and fix it. Cedar over the same bad flashing is a guaranteed callback.
Woodpecker Damage Repair
Woodpeckers target cedar because insects bore into untreated boards. Repair woodpecker holes in cedar siding means replacing affected boards — filler doesn't hold in cedar. New boards back-primed and finished immediately. If woodpecker activity is widespread, the insect problem needs addressing first.
ds from improper nailing, failed caulk joints. We source matching profiles and factory colors — most manufacturers offer 30+ options in their standard collections.
Rainwood also offers interior renovations. Contact us to discuss your project.
See Our Work in Action
Watch how we transform homes with quality siding installation.
COMMON PROBLEMS WE FIX
Cedar siding repair issues we see most across Greater Seattle.
Why Choose Rainwood?
Repair cedar siding wrong and the new boards rot the same way. Stainless nails, back-prime on six sides, flashing at every transition — not upgrades. Baseline for cedar in this climate. Rainwood Construction opens the wall, fixes the moisture path, and closes it with detailing that lasts.
- Stainless ring-shank nails on every cedar repair — no galvanized, no tannin bleed
- CVG cedar matched to existing profile, back-primed all sides before install
- Flashing correction at every structural repair — the water entry gets fixed, not just the rot
- Written scope with photos after damage assessment — you see what we found
10+
Years Experience
Our Recent Projects
Browse through some of our recent siding installations and repairs across the Greater Seattle area.
We had an excellent experience with them on our sunroom project. The quality of the work was outstanding, they were easy to work with, and they clearly explained each step, the schedule, and key decisions (with various options to help us understand cost) along the way. Communication was solid from start to finish, and the final result looks great. Highly recommend, they are my new go to recommendation when friends ask.
Rainwood construction completed 2 projects in my home recently. The first, which was to add a bar in my family room, which when completed fit so well that it looked like it always belonged there. It came out exactly how we wanted it and we love it. The second project was to completely remodel and modernize my 1955 original kitchen. The kitchen turned out fantastic! It’s light and bright with clean lines exactly how we had envisioned it. The team was polite, competent, hard working and always cleaned up after themselves at the end of the day. They always made sure to ask how I wanted things done when there were options, making suggestions where needed and made sure I was happy with the completion of items along the way. I was very pleased with the quality of the work, plan to use them again in the future and have already recommended them!
Excellent work done ✅ I’m really impressed and looking forward working further. Recommend 👍
Anatoliy and his company, is great person to have a business with!!!
We just remodelled the entire main floor of our house; the scope included changing floors, installing new cabinets including a drop ceiling, added a custom entertainment wall, and fully upgraded the powder room, among other work such as electrical upgrades including an EV plug. We are overall very happy with the work that the team has done, satisfied with the cost, and definitely recommend them to others.
Toli did great work renovating our home and upstairs bathroom. It was a great change.
Our Simple Process
From first contact to final walkthrough, we make siding projects straightforward and stress-free.
Request a Quote
Call or use the form. Tell us what you see — soft spots, peeling stain, woodpecker holes, black streaks. Photos help us plan.
Damage Assessment
Pull boards at the affected area. Moisture meter on sheathing, probe framing if readings are high. Written report with photos.
Clear Scope & Schedule
Board replacement, structural repair if needed, flashing correction, finish plan. Spot repairs: 1–3 days. Structural or elevation re-side: 5–12 days.
Repair & Closeout
Structure and flashing first, then WRB, siding, finish. Every replacement board primed and stained or painted on site. Walkthrough before we leave.
Ready to Get Started?
Contact us today for a free on-site assessment. We’re here to help protect your home.
Call us now
425-750-1025
Email us
Anatoliy@rainwoodconstruction.com
Visit us
12310 Hwy 99, Everett, WA 98204
Hours
Mon-Fri 9:00 am–6:00 pm, Sat 11:00 am–5:00 pm, Sun Closed
FAQ
Push on suspect areas — spongy means rot has penetrated. Limited damage at windows or bottom courses: spot repair. When rot covers 40%+ of an elevation with compromised sheathing, stripping and re-siding is cleaner. We assess and give you both options with costs.
Because the water entry was never fixed. Most common: missing or failed flashing at windows, doors, roof-to-wall. Replacing rotted boards without correcting flashing gives water the same path back in. We fix the source before closing the wall.
Yes, but labor-intensive. Each piece is hand-placed, removing one without damage requires cutting hidden nails with a slate ripper. We weave in replacements matched by thickness and exposure. Stained walls: color difference fades within one weather cycle. Painted: match is immediate.
South and west elevations: every 3–4 years. North and east: 5–6. These are semi-transparent stain timelines — solid stain and paint last longer but peel instead of fading. Bare wood grain showing through = past due. UV on exposed cedar accelerates rot.