THE EICHLER SIDING STORY
Welcome. We have been providing Eichler Siding for over twenty three years. We are family owned and operated and we consider it a privilege to serve the Eichler community. As an Eichler homeowner you enjoy a unique residence. In addition to the distinct interior design of your home the exterior siding is also one of a kind. If you have not already discovered, your siding is not available in local lumber yards. In the past homeowners didn’t have much choice when needing to replace their siding, sometimes using shingles or some other exterior wall treatment that doesn’t match the original design of the home.
If you are a builder, architect, or own a home other than an Eichler or you are looking for a grooved plywood siding pattern that is not shown here, please go to our additional web-site Grooved Plywood Siding We offer custom set ups for a variety of plywood siding patterns.
Joseph Eichler had the two most common patterns (Thinline & Wideline, see Samples page) milled solely for his developments. As far as we know, rarely were these two patterns used by other builders. This created a very modern look. It also created a unique problem in that local lumber yards are unable to stock Eichler siding since it is not manufactured by plywood mills. We also make a very unique looking pattern called “Plank-Tex” or Planktex. This was used on homes in addition to Eichlers.
Over eighteen years ago while working on an Eichler home on Nova Albion in San Rafael, Jeff Nichols was asked by the homeowner if he could replace some of the siding which had deteriorated. He took the measurements and went down to the local lumber yard. It was then that he discovered what many Eichler homeowners and contractors had already learned. The siding was unavailable!
Undaunted, he decided to hand mill it himself in order to provide the material needed to satisfy the homeowner. Needless to say, it took considerable time to mill the seven sheets required. However, the proverbial wheels started to turn. Within a few weeks, he realized that many, many Eichler owners needed siding. As a result “Eichler Siding” was born!
Over the years we have made a number of improvements on our products. Our desire remains the same today as in the beginning. To provide the best possible product at costs that are reasonable to the Eichler owner.
Since we are now focusing on manufacturing, we no longer install the siding. You will need to find a reputable contractor to do the job. Get several quotes, and talk to other Eichler owners who are satisfied with the work done on their home. If you would like a referral from us, please feel free to call or email us (see contact page).
Lastly, we encourage you to seriously consider using our siding to replace any siding that has deteriorated past the point that a new paint job would solve. Real Estate agents tell us that not using siding that matches the Eichler pattern results in a loss of resale value. Sadly we have seen all kinds of temporary fixes from siding that does not match. In the long run we have found that you will be much happier spending the time and effort required to use our siding that matches rather than taking a short cut you might regret later.