Wood shingle siding?
 

Wood shake siding?

Should I be wary? Maintenance? Dry rot? What should I look at? It appears to be red wood. Home is cool but that siding I know nothing about.


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I have cedar shakes on the siding of my home. Other than the random woodpecker I haven't had any issues. Every other year or so I spray them down with some deck wash and rinse gently with a power washer. I then coat with a clear water sealer.
Be sure to replace any that split and become loose.


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oh..maybe these are cedar. they were recently painted.

We have sidewall shingles on the 2nd floor of our house. We replaced nearly all of them as the originals were pushing 100 years old. We pre - finished before installing - both sides. I have photos of the process somewhere. You'll want to have them gently powerwashed and exterior stain / finish treated every 4-5 years. Any wood shingled surface (roof, wall , etc) needs to "breathe" so the old school felt paper is better than modern tyvek house wrap underneath. There's also a breathable underlayment I've seen but can't recall. Probably not applicable to you as it's all existing.
If they're painted that's less good, but not necessarily a deal killer.

Same here

Just hope you never have a fire. Those things burn quick.

Cedar shingle sidings are great. They look fantastic....on someone else's house. It will require some maintenance compare to a stucco home. anything painted wood house covering will require that. Otherwise, its not a big issue. Just a little work but if you are not a DIY, it can run up a a few bucks.

Worse than vinyl/aluminum siding? Or clapboard? Even brick houses are wood framed.

Wonder how much it would cost to strip the shingles and stucco?

Pretty sure my old front house had a wood exterior and my brother had it stuccoed for ease of maintenance.

My house is covered with cedar shingles, 100% coverage, and three stories high.

They are neither painted nor stained. Good grade cedar shingles will last longer than you might - I know they will outlast me. The original buildings on top of Mt. Washington, NH withstand some of the harshest weather on the planet Earth, and they are shingled with cedar. Bare cedar will last a very long time, as long as your house is correctly built with proper drainage, etc.

In time, the cedar will weather to a silvery grey and will resemble stone in color.

But, expect to do a little work now and then. Mine were installed almost 12 years ago and it's time to replace a few here and there. Paint is nothing but a bother. If you have painted cedar on the house you are considering then all bets are off.

I have never seen a stucco covered house up here.

Yes much worse. Easy experiment, get some aluminum siding, clapboard, brick and a cedar shingle. Take a torch to each and see which one lights first. Probably why stucco homes are so popular in the Southwestern states.

When I used to have a wood shingle roof, I kept some for kindling. It burns fantastically as a fire starter.

My dad and I looked at a cabin in Blue River right outside Breckenridge. It had a wood shingled roof that needed to be replaced, we were going to go with metal. In the end we didn't buy it and I'm still a little bummed. Was a great property with 4 lots....

You may really want to rethink that. Aesthetics is important too. Some houses are just meant to have shingles and not stucco. Sure, its a heck of a lot easier to maintain that's fur sure.

The house I just bought is all cedar. I just moved in last week though so I'll get back to you in 20 years. God I'm funny.

I don't have stats to back this up, but I imagine that nearly all house fires start on the inside of the house, not from the outside. Torching a shingle becomes a moot point in this case. If a wildfire envelopes the place (as in Ft. McMurray, Alberta at the moment), then all bets are off anyway.

Totally agree... stucco would look out of place on a mountain cabin... fortunately for me it works on my SoCal beach house.

I don't know Scott, Stucco works pretty well for many homes up in our local hills. I rather buy a stucco home up in Arrowhead or Big Bear then a wood siding home. Low to no maintenance. No treating of the exterior or painting every few years from snow or rain and the summer heat. My opinion is that you should be up there to enjoy yourself instead of going up to work.

Vash, look for termite droppings around the perimeter of the home and start poking at the siding and see if there are any soft spots. That usually means problems with water.