Wood & Cedar Siding Cost Calculator
Estimate installed wood or cedar siding cost from your net area and quoted rate, against a labeled $5–12/sq ft planning band.
Wood or cedar on 1,336 sq ft at $8.00/sq ft is about $11,756.80 (wood/cedar installed band ~$5–12/sq ft — labeled). Natural wood looks premium but needs the most upkeep (repaint/restain on a cycle — that maintenance is paintingcalcs); enter your quoted $/sq ft.
1 Enter your numbers
Natural wood — cedar bevel lap, clapboard, tongue-and-groove — sits in the upper-middle of the installed band at roughly $5–12/sq ft. You are paying for the material and a careful install, but the honest cost story for wood is not the up-front number: it is the maintenance. Wood has to be sealed, stained or painted on a cycle to reach its 20–40 year life, and that recurring repaint is a real, ongoing expense that this up-front estimate does not include — repainting an existing surface is a separate trade (paintingcalcs), not part of a new-cladding budget.
So read this total as the install cost only, and weigh it against the material’s upkeep in the lifespan & maintenance reference before you choose. Enter your net area and the installed $/sq ft from your quote; put any separately-quoted labor in its own field.
Formula
Same closed-form as every siding cost — the material simply sets the rate you enter:
total = (net_area_sqft × $/sqft + labor + add‑ons) × (1 + contingency)
The labeled $5–12/sq ft band is the installed sanity check. It does not include the periodic restain or repaint that natural wood needs to last — budget that separately.
Worked example
The worked house at 1,336 sq ft, installed at $8.00/sq ft for cedar bevel lap, 10 % contingency:
- Siding work: 1,336 × $8.00 = $10,688.00
- Contingency: 10 % = $1,068.80
- Estimated total: $11,756.80
Over a 25-year life a cedar wall may be repainted or restained several times; each cycle is its own four-figure cost that lands outside this number. Engineered wood (below) buys most of the look with far less of that upkeep.
The up-front number is only half the story
Two edge cases dominate a wood estimate:
- Grade and species. Clear vertical-grain cedar costs far more than a knotty grade or a pine clapboard; the rate you type should match the exact product on the quote, or the band comparison is meaningless.
- Maintenance is recurring, not one-time. Factor the restain/repaint cycle into your total cost of ownership — it is what makes wood pricier than its install band suggests, and it is why engineered wood exists.
Planning estimate only; the repaint work belongs to a painting estimator, not here. Get itemized written quotes from licensed, insured contractors before you commit.
Reference table
| Material | Installed band ($/sq ft) | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Vinyl siding | $3–$8 | Lowest cost, low maintenance |
| Engineered wood / LP SmartSide | $4–$9 | Wood look, moderate cost & upkeep |
| Aluminum siding | $4–$9 | Light, low maintenance; can dent |
| Steel siding | $6–$12 | Durable, resists dents & fire |
| Wood / cedar siding | $5–$12 | Premium look, highest upkeep |
| Fiber cement / James Hardie | $6–$13 | Durable, fire-resistant, higher labor |
Installed = material + labor. These are labeled planning bands, a sanity check only — they are not a price you should paste into a budget. Enter the real number from your own itemized quotes; costs move with wall and gable geometry, profile and exposure, waste and trim, tear-off and disposal, house wrap and insulation, complexity, region and labor. Basis in sources & formulas.
Frequently asked questions
How much does wood or cedar siding cost?
Installed wood and cedar run a labeled band of about $5–12/sq ft, material and labor, before the recurring restain or repaint that natural wood needs. Grade and species swing the rate widely; enter your own quoted number.
Does wood siding cost more than vinyl?
Yes on both counts — a higher installed rate and a maintenance cost vinyl does not have. Wood has to be sealed and refinished on a cycle to reach its service life; that ongoing expense is the real gap.
Is the repaint cost included in this estimate?
No. This is the new-cladding install cost only. Refinishing an existing wood surface is a separate trade (paintingcalcs); budget those cycles alongside this number when you compare wood against low-maintenance materials.
Why does this calculator not show a price?
Because a fixed price would be wrong the day it was written. Material and labor rates move with region, season and demand, so the only number that reflects your job is the one on your quote. You enter the installed $/sq ft; the tool does the arithmetic and shows a labeled planning band beside it so you can tell whether your quote sits inside the usual envelope.
What contingency should I use?
A contingency covers what the measurement cannot see — rotten sheathing behind old cladding, extra trim on a fussy elevation, a price change between quote and start. On a clean re-clad, 10 % (0.10) is a reasonable planning margin; on an older house of unknown condition, 15 % is defensible. It is a buffer you hope not to spend, not a negotiating discount — enter it as a decimal fraction.