Wood Siding Cost Calculator

Around $31,450 for cedar or redwood on an 1,800 sq ft single story house with one old layer stripped — about $14.56 per square foot of wall — with most jobs that size falling between $25,775 and $38,975. Over bare sheathing it is closer to $28,575, and a second story adds about 12%. It is the most expensive siding on this site to buy and the most expensive to keep.

For painted siding, close enough that most people should buy it: $18,350 against $31,450 on the same house, a factory finish, long lengths with fewer joints, and a repaint interval of 8 to 12 years rather than 5 to 8. What it cannot do is take a stain convincingly — the grain is not real grain. So if the house is going to be painted, engineered wood is usually the right answer and it saves $13,100. If it is going to be stained, it has to be real wood.

Three cases. A historic house, where matching the original is what keeps the house what it is and may be the only permitted option in a district. A house that will be stained rather than painted, because no engineered or cement product shows grain and color convincingly. And cedar shingle sidewall, especially left to weather silver, which has no imitation that holds up at close range. Durability is not a good reason — well-kept cedar lasts 30 to 50 years, less than fiber cement at a higher price.

Every five to eight years, roughly twice as often as anything else on this site, and the interval matters more than it does for paint. Painted wood can be stretched a year or two; stained wood cannot — once the finish thins, water gets into the grain, and once water is in the grain you are sanding rather than recoating. A refinish on an 1,800 sq ft house is a few thousand dollars, so budget it as a recurring cost rather than a surprise.

Because a board finished on the front only takes up moisture through its back, swells unevenly and cups — and then the finish on the front fails, because the wood underneath it is moving. Priming or sealing both faces and both edges before the board goes on the wall prevents it. It is also the first corner a cheap quote cuts, because it happens in a stack in the driveway where nobody is watching, so it is worth asking about explicitly.

A vented gap behind the siding, usually created with furring strips, that lets both faces of the board dry and gives water that gets in a way back out. On cedar it is roughly the difference between thirty years and fifty, for a modest addition to the cost. Not every installer offers it as standard, so ask for it by name — it is the single best thing you can do for the life of a wood-sided wall.

Stainless steel, or hot-dipped galvanized at a minimum. Cedar and redwood contain tannins that corrode ordinary steel, and a corroding fastener leaves a black streak running down the board from every nail — which shows up within about two years and cannot be cleaned off. Electro-galvanized and plain bright nails are not acceptable on these woods, and using them is a mistake that is invisible on the day and permanent afterwards.

In order: a finish left too long, which is the root of most of it. Ground contact, where siding reaching into soil or mulch wicks water continuously — keep six inches of clearance. Lawn sprinklers hitting the wall, which rots one bay and nothing else and is a confusingly localized failure. And no drying gap behind the boards, so they cannot dry from both faces and cup and split instead.

Clear cedar has no knots, takes finish evenly and costs considerably more. Knotty cedar is attractive stained and problematic painted, because knots bleed through a light paint and keep coming back no matter how many coats go on. So: knotty if it is being stained and the rustic look is wanted, clear if it is being painted or if an even finish matters. Vertical grain is more stable than flat grain either way and worth paying for on wide boards.

Thirty to fifty years if it is kept finished, and considerably less if it is not — which is the whole story with wood. Cedar left to go five years past a refinish does not simply look tired; water gets into the grain and the boards start to go. That is why the honest comparison against fiber cement is unfavorable on durability alone: more money for a shorter life and more maintenance. The reasons to choose it are aesthetic, and they are real reasons.

Yes, and it is the main argument for choosing it. A clear or semi-transparent finish shows the grain and the natural color of cedar in a way no engineered or cement product imitates. The trade-off is interval: stain is a thinner film than paint, so it needs renewing every three to five years on exposed walls rather than five to eight, and it cannot be allowed to lapse. Solid-color stain lasts longer and hides the grain, which somewhat defeats the point.

About 113 crew hours on an 1,800 sq ft house, which is nearly twice vinyl and the slowest of the four materials. Every board is hand-nailed, the corners are mitered or woven, and all of it is back-primed on both faces and both edges before it goes anywhere near the wall. Weather matters more here than with any other siding, because the boards must not get wet before they are finished.