Why the homeowner called us
The covered deck off the back of this North Vancouver home had been slowly failing for years — water tracking in behind old siding, soft spots in the floor, and finishes that no longer matched the rest of the house. They wanted a warm, west-coast cedar feel inside and out, a fully watertight floor, and new sliding doors that actually sealed. The space sits on a steep hillside lot with the North Shore mountains right behind it, so the new finish needed to do the view justice.
Step one: strip back to the framing and find the rot
We pulled the interior finishes, ceiling, old siding and floor down to bare framing. That's where you actually find out what you're working with. Old batt insulation came out, the wall and ceiling cavities were opened up, and the framing was inspected end to end so we could replace anything that had gone soft before re-wrapping.
New insulation, Tyvek and a proper weather seal
With the framing sound, we re-insulated walls and the sloped ceiling, ran a continuous DuPont Tyvek HomeWrap weather-resistive barrier, and detailed all the transitions — top plate to roof, around the door openings, and at the floor line. This is the layer behind the cedar that actually keeps the rain out. Cedar looks great but it's not waterproof on its own — the wrap and flashing detailing is what makes the cladding last.
Vertical cedar tongue-and-groove inside and out
We then clad the space in clear vertical western red cedar T&G — same profile inside and out, so when the sliding door is open the eye reads it as one continuous material. The vertical run lengthens the wall visually and helps shed water on the exterior face. Boards were back-primed, blind-nailed through the tongue, and finished with a clear UV protectant to let the natural colour come through.
Cedar soffit with continuous vent strip
The underside of the roof overhang got the same cedar T&G treatment, with a hidden continuous soffit vent strip recessed into the joint line. That keeps the attic cavity properly vented — important on a low-slope west coast roof — without breaking up the clean cedar plane with grilles.
Vinyl deck membrane floor and new sliding doors
The floor was finished with a fully bonded walkable vinyl deck membrane — the speckled grey surface you see in the finished photos. It's a true waterproof surface that protects the structure underneath while standing up to wet boots, patio furniture and our coastal weather. New white vinyl-framed sliding patio doors went in to tie the space back to the interior and to make sure the openings actually seal against wind-driven rain.
