Materials
Fibre cement vs wood siding in Burnaby: what the coastal rain does to each
Fibre cement and natural wood siding both look great on day one. In Burnaby's wind-driven rain, they age on very different schedules. Here is how we choose, and why the wall behind matters more than the panel.
Every siding conversation in Burnaby arrives with a photo. Warm vertical cedar with dark accents, or a clean painted fibre cement in a deep charcoal. Both are good-looking, defensible choices. Neither one survives on the BC coast unless the wall behind it is built to drain and dry.
That is the part owners do not expect us to lead with. They want to talk about the panel. We want to talk about the assembly, because the failures homeowners hit five or eight years in are almost always about the wall, not the siding on it.
So this post compares fibre cement and natural wood the way the coast actually tests them: how each handles rain and rot, how much maintenance each wants, how they hold up to fire, and how they look over time. But first, the thing both depend on.
The wall behind the siding decides everything
On the BC south coast, wind-driven rain pushes water sideways and even upward against the west and north walls of a house from October through March. Outdoor humidity stays high for months. Any water that gets behind the siding and cannot dry out just sits, and water that sits in a wall at cool temperatures turns into rot instead of drying away.
So the siding's real job is not to keep every drop off the wall. It is to manage the water that gets past it. That job belongs to the rainscreen, a continuous drainage and ventilation gap between the siding and the weather barrier, so any water that gets behind the panel can drain down and dry before it reaches the structure.
The BC Building Code treats wind-driven rain as a known coastal load and calls for this second drainage plane on Part 9 houses in our high-rainfall zone, which covers Burnaby comfortably. Burnaby's permit review flags a wall assembly without a proper rainscreen. We go deeper on the assembly itself in our rainscreen and building envelope piece and our broader exterior cladding guide.
Here is why this comes first: the rainscreen matters for both fibre cement and wood, but it matters more for wood. Wood wants to dry from both sides. Fibre cement is more forgiving. Keep that in mind as we compare them.
The panel is the part the owner sees. The wall behind it is the part that decides whether the panel is still doing its job in twenty years.
Icon Projects Team
Rain and rot: how each material handles moisture
Fibre cement. Fibre cement is a cement-based panel or lap board. It does not rot, it does not swell, and it does not feed mould. It takes on almost no water and stays dimensionally stable through our wet-to-dry seasons, so its joints stay closed year after year. Over a proper rainscreen, it is close to worry-free on the moisture front. This is the main reason it has become the most-specified siding on Burnaby custom homes.
Natural wood. Wood is a natural material that takes on and gives off moisture. That is not a flaw, it is how wood works, but it means wood has to be able to dry. Over a real rainscreen cavity, with sealed cut ends and the right fasteners, wood dries from both faces and lasts for decades on the coast. Installed flat against the wall with no drying path, the same wood traps moisture and slowly rots from behind, where the owner never sees it until it is bad.
So the honest line is: wood does not rot because it is wood. It rots because the assembly did not let it dry. Get the cavity and the details right and wood is a durable coastal material. Get them wrong and it fails.
Maintenance: the schedule you are signing up for
This is the biggest practical difference between the two, and the one owners underrate.
Fibre cement holds its finish for a long time. Factory pre-finished or field-painted, it goes many years before it wants repainting, and it does not need sealing or oiling in between. On the exposed coastal walls that take the worst weather, this low-fuss behaviour is a real advantage.
Natural wood wants regular care, and more of it on the walls that face the weather. Site-finished wood on an exposed elevation wants refinishing on a recurring cycle to stay looking right and to stay protected. Skip it and coastal wood greys, checks, and ages fast.
There is a middle option. Factory pre-finished wood is real wood finished in a controlled shop process, which stretches the maintenance interval well beyond site-finished material. It costs more up front and buys you a longer gap between refinishes. When the alternative is a refinishing job every few years, that trade is often worth it.
The honest question we ask every client leaning toward wood: will you actually keep up the refinish schedule? If the answer is no, factory-finished wood or fibre cement is the better call. Unmaintained wood on the coast looks tired quickly, and a tired wood wall is not a small fix.
Fire resistance
Fibre cement is non-combustible. Its cement substrate does not burn. On lots near mature tree canopy, where ember exposure in dry wildfire-influenced summers is now something we consider, that is a genuine advantage. Burnaby has plenty of tree-lined neighbourhoods where this matters, and it connects to how we think about siting near protected trees under the tree bylaw.
Natural wood is combustible. That does not rule it out, and plenty of beautiful coastal homes wear wood, but it is a real factor to weigh on an exposed lot near heavy tree cover. Where fire exposure is a concern, we often keep wood as a smaller accent and use non-combustible fibre cement or metal across the exposed field of the wall.
Look: warmth versus consistency
This is where wood earns its fans.
Natural wood reads in a way no manufactured panel matches. Real cedar or other coastal wood has depth, grain, and a warmth that changes with the light. On the right house, a wood entry volume or a wood-clad upper storey is the detail people remember. It is the heart material of the BC coast.
Fibre cement is consistent and clean but flatter up close. The lap profiles can read a bit suburban if they are not detailed with restraint. Large-format fibre cement panels read better on modern architecture but need careful joint planning and a tighter installer. It is a handsome material used well, but it does not have wood's warmth when you are standing next to it.
This is exactly why we so often use both on the same house.
Why we usually combine them
The strongest facades we build in Burnaby are rarely a single material. A common and durable approach: fibre cement across the large exposed walls that take the weather, with natural wood as a warm accent at the entry, under a protected soffit, or on a sheltered volume where the maintenance burden is lower and the eye lingers.
That way each material sits where it performs best. Fibre cement carries the exposure and the fire concern on the tough walls. Wood delivers the warmth right where you touch and see the house most, without asking you to refinish an entire exposed elevation every few years. The wall behind each one is detailed as a rainscreen either way.
A short selection checklist
Worth answering before siding gets picked for a Burnaby custom home:
- What is each wall's exposure? West and north walls take the worst wind-driven rain and are the least friendly to high-maintenance wood.
- Who is drawing the rainscreen, and how is it detailed at windows, corners, and the base of the wall? This decides durability more than the panel.
- What maintenance will the owner really keep up? Answer honestly, then match the material to it.
- Is fire exposure a factor on this lot given nearby tree canopy?
- How does the continuous exterior insulation change the detail? High-performance walls push the siding plane further off the structure, which changes strapping, window depth, and corners.
The panel can be picked from a catalogue. The wall has to be designed for the coast. Choose the look you love, then make sure someone is drawing the assembly that keeps it standing.
Frequently asked questions
Is fibre cement or wood siding better for coastal Burnaby? Both work if the wall behind is built as a rainscreen. Fibre cement is the lower-maintenance, non-combustible workhorse and stays dimensionally stable through our wet-to-dry seasons. Natural wood gives a warmth no synthetic panel matches, but it wants more care: a real drying cavity, sealed cut ends, and regular refinishing. We often use both on one house, fibre cement on the exposed walls and wood as a warm accent at the entry, so each material sits where it performs best.
Does wood siding rot in Burnaby's climate? It can, but rot is almost always an assembly failure, not a wood failure. Wood siding installed flat against the wall with no drying path traps moisture and slowly rots. The same wood over a proper rainscreen cavity, with sealed cut ends and the right fasteners, dries from both sides and lasts for decades. We treat the drainage cavity and the details at cuts and openings as the real job, because that is what decides whether wood survives here.
How often does wood siding need maintenance compared to fibre cement? Natural wood on exposed coastal walls wants refinishing on a regular cycle, more often on the walls that face the weather. Fibre cement holds its factory or field finish much longer before it needs repainting. Factory pre-finished wood sits in between. We are honest with clients about this up front: if you will not keep up a wood refinish schedule, factory-finished wood or fibre cement is the better call, because unmaintained wood on the coast ages badly and fast.
Is fibre cement fire resistant? Yes. Fibre cement is non-combustible because its substrate is cement-based, so it does not burn. That matters on lots near mature tree canopy where ember exposure in dry summers is a real concern. Natural wood is combustible, so on an exposed lot near heavy tree cover we often keep wood as a smaller accent and use fibre cement or metal across the exposed field of the wall. We weigh fire exposure lot by lot rather than applying one rule everywhere.
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