Exteriors
Siding and building envelope
We strip old cladding, repair the rot behind it and put new siding on a rainscreen where the wall needs one. Our crew and trusted trade partners build it, under one contract.
Greater Victoria · up-Island · Metro Vancouver
Free written quotes
After a site visit, with what is fixed and what is an allowance.
One contract
One point of contact, from quote to final walkthrough.
Licensed trade partners
Electrical, plumbing and gas, under our management.
Victoria to the Lower Mainland
Greater Victoria, up-Island and Metro Vancouver.
Siding & building envelope
What we do
The building envelope is everything between inside and outside: cladding, membrane, sheathing, windows, doors and the flashings that tie them together.
Option 01
Rot and leak repair
Rot or a leak in one part of a wall. We open it up, replace damaged sheathing and framing, and close it back in with new membrane, flashing and cladding.
Option 02
Full re-clad
Old siding off, every wall. Once it is off we see the sheathing and framing for the first time, so the quote spells out how rot repair is priced: per sheet or per hour.
Option 03
Rainscreen upgrade
New cladding on a vented, drained gap that lets water out and the wall dry. A re-clad is the time to add one, because the wall will never be this open again.
Our process
How the job runs
01
Site visit, written quote
Dezmond looks at the cladding, the age of the house and where you have seen rot or leaks. The written quote sets out how rot repair is priced and who decides how far it goes.
02
Testing, permits, schedule
In a pre-1990 house the old cladding gets tested for asbestos before removal. We check what your municipality requires behind the new cladding, handle any permit and book the crew.
03
Strip, repair, re-clad
Our crew and trusted trade partners strip the old cladding, repair rot, then install membrane, flashing at every window and door, and the new siding. Big or long-leaking walls may need an envelope consultant.
04
Final walkthrough
We walk the walls with you, flashings and finish included, and settle any rot repair against the pricing method agreed in the quote.
Built for the coast
Built for the coast
Anyone who lived through BC’s leaky-condo years in the 1980s and 1990s knows what happens when walls get wet and can’t dry. CMHC’s guide to wood-frame envelopes in coastal BC covers the moisture control and wall assemblies this climate needs. University of Waterloo field research found that rainscreen walls in Vancouver kept moisture in the wood and gypsum below safe thresholds.
Plenty of Island and Lower Mainland houses were clad before rainscreen requirements reached them: postwar stucco, 1970s cedar, early vinyl. If yours is one, the re-clad is the time to add a rainscreen, because the wall will never be this open again.
Rainscreen and asbestos rules
Codes can require a capillary break: a vented, drained gap behind the cladding that lets water get out and the wall dry. Vancouver’s Building By-law requires one on exterior walls where degree-days are under 3,400 and the moisture index is above 0.90. In one BC Building Code Appeal Board case, a building official required a capillary break behind new siding. We check what your municipality requires for your wall.
Old cladding in a pre-1990 house may contain asbestos. It gets tested before removal, and WorkSafeBC requires licensed people for abatement.
- We confirm whether new cladding must go on a rainscreen.
- Pre-1990 house: old cladding tested before removal.
- Asbestos abatement by licensed people, as WorkSafeBC requires.
- Large or long-running leaks: a building envelope consultant may be brought in.
- Rot-repair pricing method in writing, in the quote.
Questions to ask any contractor
Ask us these too.
- Will the new cladding go on a rainscreen, and what does the municipality require?
- How do you flash windows, doors and other penetrations?
- How do you price rot found behind the old siding?
- Will a building envelope consultant be involved, and who pays for them?
- Will the old cladding be tested for asbestos before removal?
Siding & building envelope: common questions
Sources
Vancouver Building By-law 2019 · BC Building Code Appeal Board decision #1674 · WorkSafeBC: Asbestos in your home · CMHC: Wood-Frame Envelopes in the Coastal Climate of British Columbia · University of Waterloo (UWSpace): field study of rainscreen walls in Vancouver · Travelers Canada: BC new home consumer brochure (2022). Checked 2026-10-30.
Related work
Often quoted together
We take on siding & building envelope across Greater Victoria, Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver. How we run a job.
Roofing & gutters
Roof replacement and repair in asphalt, metal or cedar, plus gutters and downspouts.
Windows & doors
Replacement windows, exterior doors and patio doors, flashed properly into the wall.
Free quotes
Tell us about the walls
Describe the cladding you have, where you’ve seen rot or leaks and the age of the house. We’ll email you to confirm your free quote visit.