Lummi Island is a six-minute ferry ride and a full climate zone away from the mainland. The Whatcom Chief shuttles across Hale Passage from Gooseberry Point, and on the other side you find a community of beach cabins, farmhouses, and view homes that take their weather straight off the water — southwesterly storms sweeping in over Rosario Strait, salt spray on the Legoe Bay side where the reefnet boats anchor, and winter wind that finds every unsealed lap joint on an exposed wall.
What Salt and Wind Do to Island Siding
The failure pattern on Lummi Island is consistent: the water-facing elevation goes first, and it goes at the metal. Rust-streaked nail heads, corroded flashings, and staples bleeding through paint are the early warnings; cupped boards and soft trim follow. Ordinary galvanized fasteners that last decades inland can start streaking within a few years in direct salt exposure. Every wall we build on the island gets stainless steel or marine-grade fasteners and flashings as a baseline — it is a small line item that determines whether a re-side lasts fifteen years or forty.
Material-wise, the island's classic looks still work best: cedar shingle and lap siding suit the beach cabins and older homesteads, while fiber cement has earned its place on newer construction for how long it holds paint against salt air and UV bouncing off the water. Whatever the cladding, we install it over a ventilated rainscreen so wind-driven rain that gets past the surface can drain and dry instead of soaking the sheathing.