Siding Installation in Vancouver
Cladding is not what keeps water out of a house. The weather barrier behind it is, and the cladding is a rain screen protecting that barrier. Understanding which is doing which job explains why installation sequence matters more than material choice.
Weather barrier and flashing sequence
Everything laps downward, like shingles. The house wrap goes on so upper sheets overlap lower ones, and every flashing — window heads, door heads, deck ledgers, transitions — tucks behind the wrap above and over the wrap below. Water then always has a path down and out.
Reverse-lapping a single flashing sends water inward instead, and it will run behind the barrier for years before anything appears indoors. This is the most consequential detail on the whole job and it is invisible once the cladding is on, which is why it is worth watching while the wall is open.
Fibre cement, vinyl, cedar and metal
Fibre cement is the regional workhorse: dimensionally stable, holds paint well in our damp, resists rot. It is heavy and cutting it produces silica dust that needs proper control. Vinyl is cheapest and quickest and expands and contracts noticeably, so it must be hung loose rather than fixed tight.
Cedar is the traditional look, ages beautifully and wants ongoing maintenance in this climate. Metal is durable and increasingly used on contemporary builds, and it shows dents and installation errors more readily than anything else. Any of them performs well over a correct barrier; none of them rescues a bad one.
Permits for full re-cladding
A full re-clad frequently requires a permit, and the threshold varies between municipalities here. Where insulation or the wall assembly changes it is more likely to, and if the building has any heritage status the exterior appearance may be controlled separately.
We confirm the requirement for your address before starting rather than assuming it matches the last job. Re-cladding is highly visible work, so it is not something that passes unnoticed, and unpermitted exterior work reliably surfaces at sale.
Project duration and weather delays
A full re-clad on a typical house runs several weeks, and the wall is opened in sections rather than all at once so the house is never left exposed. Full re-clads run $45,000–$120,000 depending on size, material, height and access.
Rain is worked around rather than worked through. The barrier itself tolerates weather, which is the point of it, but opening a new section in heavy rain is avoidable risk. We would rather add a day than open a wall into a downpour, and any honest schedule for this region includes weather contingency.
What this costs
Repairs $1,200–$4,500 · full re-clad $45,000–$120,000
Spot repair is only honest pricing when the water ingress is genuinely local. We open it up and show you before quoting either way.
Materials are always separate from labour and passed on at cost. Quotes are free and written, and the full rate card is published rather than given out on request.
Common questions
Does re-siding need a permit in Vancouver?
Frequently yes, and the threshold differs between municipalities here — it is more likely where insulation or the wall assembly changes, and separate controls may apply if the building has heritage status. We confirm for your specific address. Unpermitted exterior work is highly visible and reliably surfaces at sale.
How long does a full re-clad take?
Several weeks for a typical house, with the wall opened in sections rather than all at once so the building is never left exposed. Weather contingency is part of any honest schedule here — we would rather add a day than open a wall section into heavy rain.
What happens if it rains mid-project?
The weather barrier is designed to handle it, which is exactly why the sequence matters. We do not open new sections into heavy rain, and anything opened is closed or protected before the day ends. Rain delays the schedule; it does not expose the house.