Shou Sugi Ban Siding in Seattle — Installed Cost, Options & How We Build It
Shou sugi ban — charred-wood siding — runs $38–60 per square foot installed in the Seattle area, including the ventilated rainscreen the material requires. We install factory-charred boards from Pioneer Millworks, milled in Oregon, on real projects across Seattle and the Eastside.
WA License #GPGENGC830KD 
Hardie Certified Installer 
5-Star Rated 
ColorPlus SpecialistGP General Corp installs shou sugi ban on real Seattle and Eastside homes — factory-charred boards over the ventilated rainscreen assemblies we build every week. WA license GPGENGC830KD, MBAKS member, James Hardie Select Contractor, rated 5.0 on Google. Charred-wood projects from Mercer Island to Greenwood in our portfolio.
By Paul Gubenya, Owner — GP General Corp
What Homeowners Say
Real reviews from our Google profile — unedited, from real projects.
“We recently had Paul with GP General repair a damaged corner protector and sidings. His estimate was reasonable, his availability was timely, and his job was excellent. Our home hadn’t been re-painted in a while and the paint had considerably faded, yet he was able to match the color perfectly. Now we know who to turn to when in need of another repair work.”
“GP General replaced LP siding on our garage. Paul was very thorough when he came out to do the estimate; he listened to my concerns and was able to work out solutions on the spot. His crew did a great job and were very courteous. They also were careful about cleaning up (I didn’t find any nails!). Really happy with the job and can recommend GP General.”
“I highly recommend GP General Corp for siding replacement. We recently had our wood siding replaced with James Hardie lap siding, and Paul and his team did an excellent job.”
What Shou Sugi Ban Actually Is (and Isn’t)
Shou sugi ban (yakisugi) is the Japanese technique of charring the face of wood siding. The carbonized layer changes how the surface handles UV and moisture, and it produces the deep-black, crocodile-textured or silky-charcoal walls you’ve seen on the best modern builds in Seattle. Done properly today, it is not a blowtorch experiment — it’s a factory product: boards charred, brushed, and finished under controlled conditions, then installed like premium rainscreen siding.
We install factory-charred material from Pioneer Millworks, who mill it in McMinnville, Oregon — charred wood that rode a truck up I-5, not a container ship. Their line covers three species — larch (PEFC-certified), Douglas fir (FSC-certified), and Accoya (FSC-certified, acetylated for rot resistance we consider the best-in-class base for charred siding) — in char levels from full alligator-texture Deep Char through brushed finishes like Carbon, Smoke, Charcoal, Cinder, Toasted, and Tiger’s Eye, plus lighter and colored options. Between species and char level, the look ranges from jet black to silvered charcoal to warm browns.
How Expensive Is Shou Sugi Ban, Really?
Installed in the Seattle area, shou sugi ban runs $38–60 per square foot — our full range across species, char level, and detail complexity. That’s the whole assembly: the charred boards, the ventilated rainscreen behind them, stainless or coated fasteners that won’t streak the char, and the slower, cleaner handling this material demands (charred faces mark if crews treat them like lap siding).
Cost guides quoting “$8–15 per square foot” are talking about material only, delivered to a driveway. The installed number is what a wall costs. Three honest levers move it: species (Doug fir at the accessible end, Accoya at the top), char level (deep char = more delicate handling), and how much of the house gets it. Which leads to the move most of our clients make:
The accent strategy
Full-house shou sugi ban is a statement (and a budget). Most of our best results use it on 200–600 sq ft — an entry volume, a gable, a courtyard wall — against Hardie or cedar fields. Maximum architecture, contained cost: an accent package typically lands in the $10K–$30K range instead of six figures.
Charred Wood Requires a Rainscreen — Good Thing That’s Our Specialty
Pioneer Millworks is blunt about it: all their shou sugi ban products require a ventilated rainscreen. The charred face is the show; the drying assembly behind it is why the show lasts in a climate with 37 inches of sideways rain. That means furring battens over a drainable weather barrier, open airflow top and bottom, insect screening, and flashing details that respect the air gap — the system we build constantly, charred wood or not.
You can see the exact assembly on real jobs in our portfolio: the Mercer Island reside pairs shou sugi ban accents with Hardie over continuous exterior insulation, and our Greenwood and Magnolia rainscreen projects show the same bones under other premium claddings. This is the part of the job where an installer who “can order the boards” and an installer who builds ventilated walls every week produce very different ten-year outcomes.
Maintenance, Aging & the DIY Question
Maintenance: it depends on the finish you choose, and the honest version is exactly what the manufacturer says — some finishes are designed to age and silver naturally (handsome, hands-off), while others are meant to be re-oiled on a cycle to hold their color, with exposure driving the timeline. Deep-char faces shed UV well; brushed and colored finishes behave more like fine furniture outdoors. We’ll tell you which maintenance personality each sample has when you’re holding it — it’s a bigger deal than the color.
The DIY torch videos: charring your own cedar works for a planter box. On a house, field-charring produces uneven carbon depth, a mess of loose char, a fire-nervous insurance conversation, and no finish warranty — and it still needs the rainscreen. Factory-charred board with consistent char depth and finish, installed over a proper assembly, is what makes this material a 40-year wall instead of a five-year regret.
Shou Sugi Ban — FAQ
See Charred Wood on Your House Before You Commit
Free assessment with samples in hand — and a free photorealistic rendering of your home with the option you’re considering, so you can see the char before you buy it. Call or text (425) 344-9635.
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