Cedar Siding Installation:

A few years back I moved from the Bay Area up to the Pacific Northwest, to Portland Oregon. The house I was going to buy had bad siding, a product called LP siding. The Lousiana Pacific siding was a faulty product at the time and many homes were forced to remove the damaged siding and replace it with something new. There was a huge lawsuit against LP and they paid for much of the new siding. Unfortunately I was too late and the replacement of the LP siding on the house I bought was shared between the seller and I. Our options were to have the owners pay for all of a HardiePlank siding or we could pitch in an get an upgrade to cedar siding which does way better in the wet, rainy conditions that harass Portland for the majority of the year. HardiePlank LAP siding would have been about $10,000 to side the 3350 square foot house. For an extra $6000 we could get the much improved cedar siding and have the house painted as well. We decided, after several home siding estimates from contractors, to go with the tight knot cedar siding.

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As we prepared to close on the house sale, the next thing to consider was the timeline for the cedar siding installation. The first step was to have the LP siding removed and proceed with the install of the new cedar siding materials. The whole process took about 8 days and that included the painting as well. Cedar has lots of natural oils that will protect it from moisture and other elements, but the key to keeping maintenance to a minimum is the paint or oil-based sealant . If you use superior products then the cedar wood will be shielded from water damage and rot. We read a great online article posted by George Guttmann who is a Washington state building inspector and has many years in the industry with seeing problems related to siding. He too mentions that the installation process is very important when doing clear cedar siding, but he also goes on to say that it "can be repaired and partially replaced" if need be. I watched the workers while they tore down the old house siding and replaced it with the cedar siding. I had to wait the extra week or so to move in because the noise from the banging and pounding on the walls would have driven our family crazy. My big concern was quality since I knew that the siding would be pounded by the elements for years to come. The siding has held up very well so far with no noticeable damage or rot that I can see. I have had a few inspectors out to check on it every few years. The only thing left to do is get the house repainted at some point to protect the siding. I have noticed that the south facing portion of the house does get damaged the most in terms of storms with rain and wind. There are sections where the paint is starting to peel back and so that will need to be taken care of. Otherwise, the cedar siding was a good decision and I am happy I put out the extra money to get it installed properly versus going with cheaper vinyl siding or Hardie Board.

Cedar Siding Prices:

I had no idea how much it would cost to put cedar siding on my house when I first put a bid on the home. After my real estate agent mentioned that the house would probably need siding replacement before I moved in, I thought maybe $5000. After the home inspector confirmed the damaged siding, we received a few estimates from siding contractors which left us with a few options. The cheapest was the $2 to $3 square foot that vinyl siding costs. The next in line was the HardiePlank siding which was roughly $3-$4 per square feet, and lastly was the most expensive option with wood siding (cedar) which was about $5 to $6.50 per square foot. Our house is a 2 story home with roughly 3300 square feet of interior room. The exterior square footage was roughly 1980 sq. ft multiplied by $5.50 for the siding. The cedar siding price was about $11000 and then there was an additional $5000 to paint the house once the siding was installed. I tried to recoup some of the cost associated with the new wood siding but the lawsuit for the previous LP siding had run out and we were never reimbursed for the 40% of the cost like I had originally been told. If you need estimates on cedar siding or another other type, you can get licensed contractors to come out to your home and give you one. Some neighbors have used Service Magic, although I prefer word of mouth versus using an agency like that. Craigslist is another option in finding certified home siding contractors.

Home Siding Options:

Depending on your budget and home design, there are a variety of home siding options available to you. The cheapest tends to be vinyl siding ($2-$3 sq ft). Another cheap option is fiber cement siding (Hardi Board) at $3 to $4 per sq. ft and aluminum siding is $3 to $5 sq. ft. Stucco is another siding solution that is priced between $4 and $9 per square foot. Brick is rather expensive and costs between $6-$12 per sq. foot. The problem is replacing brick can be costly. Stone siding is the highest priced option at $12-$30 per square foot. Natural stone is more expensive than the man made variety. Get home siding estimates from a professional and make your decision based on weather and climate issues in your local area as well as based on budget.

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