Calabasas Hillside Home: Failing Wood Siding to Fiber Cement, Start to Finish
A three-level house on a canyon slope in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. The wood siding had reached the end of its life and the walls behind it had rot. Here is what the job involved, photo by photo.
Project: full siding replacement on a three-level hillside home in Calabasas. Scope: tear-off of the original wood siding, dry-rot and framing repair, new insulation in the opened bays, new weather-resistive barrier with flashing at every window, deck ledger and corner, James Hardie fiber cement lap siding, paint, plus roof, gutter, window and deck work found along the way. Crew: Right Image Builders' own. Time on site: six weeks. Permit: City of Calabasas. The house sits in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, where a noncombustible exterior such as fiber cement is the straightforward way to meet the state's wildland-urban interface rules.
Pricing for this project is not published; 2026 planning ranges for fiber cement siding in Los Angeles run $13–$22 per sq ft of wall, compiled from published local pricing. Licensed general contractor, CSLB #1021284, own siding crew, 10-year written workmanship warranty, 5.0★ Google (45 reviews).
Before, During
and After
Six Weeks
on a Slope
Scaffold the slope
Three levels of cantilevered balconies on a canyon lot: every elevation needed scaffolding before a board could come off, and the scaffold stayed for the duration.
Tear-off and inspection
The original wood siding and felt paper came off to the sheathing and studs. The garage wall and the base of several walls showed rot and failed paper, which is what the siding had been hiding.
Dry rot and framing repair
Rotted framing and sheathing were cut back to sound wood and replaced or sistered, priced in writing before the crew continued, under the same contract.
Insulation and house wrap
New insulation went into the opened bays, then a new weather-resistive barrier across every elevation, lapped and taped, with flashing at the windows, the arched entry window, the deck ledgers and the corners.
Fiber cement lap siding
James Hardie fiber cement lap siding installed to the manufacturer's instructions over the new barrier, trimmed at corners and openings, then primed and painted; the stucco base of the house stayed.
The rest of the exterior
Roof and gutter work, and window and deck repairs uncovered during the job, were handled by the same crew so the house was finished once, not in pieces.
Why fiber cement on this house
Calabasas is inside a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, and from January 1, 2026 the California Wildland-Urban Interface Code (which replaced Chapter 7A) applies to exterior alterations there. Fiber cement is a noncombustible wall covering, so it meets that rule without a special assembly, and it does not feed termites or dry out in the canyon sun the way the old wood had. For a hillside house with wood trim, decks and a mountain view, a lap profile kept the look the owners wanted.
What the siding had been hiding
The street view before the job showed tired boards; the tear-off showed why they were tired. Failed felt paper, rot at the base of the walls and around the garage, and deck ledgers that had been sided over without flashing. None of that could be fixed by new boards over old paper, which is the reason we strip every re-side to the sheathing and repair before we wrap.
What a hillside adds
Scaffolding on all elevations, material carried up by hand, and a schedule that follows the sun and the weather on a slope. The job ran six weeks against the 2–4 weeks a flat single-story house takes. The owners stayed in the house throughout; the work is outside the living space.
Planning a similar project
Fiber cement lap siding in Los Angeles runs $13–$22 per sq ft of wall in 2026 planning ranges compiled from published local pricing, about $23.5K–$39.5K for a typical 1,800 sq ft of wall, with two-story and hillside scaffolding, rot repairs and paint on top. The free on-site assessment measures the house and probes the walls so the fixed price includes what the siding is hiding. See fiber cement siding, siding replacement across Los Angeles and the fire-zone siding guide.
Siding Replacement
Every material, 2026 cost ranges →
MaterialFiber Cement Siding
Hardie lap and panel →
ServiceSiding and Stucco Repair
When rot is local, not everywhere →
GuideSiding in a Fire Zone
The WUI code, material by material →
GuideStucco vs. Fiber Cement vs. Wood
Which material for which house →
RelatedRoofing
Done with the siding on this house →
GuideRe-Stucco or Re-Side?
The 1950s Valley house decision →
Planning a Re-Side?
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