Cedar siding’s aesthetic is one that many homeowners love and its resistance to insect damage is a great advantage. While it’s a desirable choice for many, the Midwest’s harsh freeze-thaw cycles, high fluctuations in humidity, and general pest pressures make maintenance a greater factor to consider when you’re evaluating if you should choose another siding material during your next replacement.
If you have cedar siding that is damaged and nearing the end of its lifespan, give the team at Hoffman Weber a call. Our team thoroughly inspects and repairs cedar homes, and can tell you when it’s tipped past the point where repairs are effective for both cost and the protection of your home. If you’re considering a different siding material, you have choices with Hoffman Weber.
There are five clear signs that it’s time to consider replacement over repair, due to passing the threshold of simple cosmetic weathering.
To test your bottom runs, cover boards, and window trim, press lightly with a flathead screwdriver on each area. If you feel the wood giving easily or crumbling, this isn’t good news. Fungal rot has likely penetrated deep into the wood grain. It’s common for rot to travel behind boards and become a significant problem before it’s noticed. Rot occurring behind boards can compromise the integrity of your weather barrier and OSB sheathing.
If you see your cedar boards curling outward, it’s because they’ve lost their natural oils and have likely undergone multiple moisture absorption and drying cycles before oils have been replaced. Also, if you notice siding nails popping out of your boards, they have physically pulled free from the wall framing, leaving space for pests and more damage.
If you have freshly painted or stained, and you see bubbles or flakes within 1-2 years, it’s likely that the wood has been internally saturated with moisture and cannot hold a coating any longer. This also means that there is likely rot trapped within the paint or stain.
Softened cedar can attract pests like carpenter ants, termites, and wood-boring bees. These pests draw in woodpeckers, which are excellent at drilling destructive holes into your siding to root out the larvae. If the holes are small, it may be possible to repair them, but it’s likely a larger problem than a few small holes by the time this happens.
If you start to notice discolored drywall, mold along baseboards, musty odors, or sudden spikes in heating or cooling costs inside, it could be a cedar siding problem. Drafts, water marks and peeling drywall are also signs that you may need an expert to check out your siding.
Hoffman Weber is your local expert for evaluating the state of your cedar siding. We’re committed to providing a transparent assessment of your choices and what actions are in your best interests regarding your cedar siding, its lifespan, and whether a repair or replacement is necessary.
If damage is only in isolated areas, like a single corner board, localized woodpecker damage, or lower boards near a gutter spout, it may be possible for a repair to fix the issue. As long as the surrounding boards remain structurally intact, the moisture barrier hasn’t been breached, and the overall damage is less than 15-20% of the wall surface, it’s likely your siding is repairable.
The tipping-point for when replacement becomes the best option for your money and the integrity of your home is usually around 20-30%. When rotting, cupping or splitting is at this point, and plank replacement becomes a regular event, repair becomes a costly band-aid to the root of the issue.
Sub-wall vulnerability is another concern. Older cedar was typically nailed directly over tar paper, without modern housewrap or proper rainscreens. Because of this, full removal is required to allow contractors to fix structural water damage and install modern moisture management systems.
Building material prices have surged in recent years. Clear-grade cedar, or cedar without any knots and prominent defects, has been reaching upwards of $24+ per square foot, including installation costs. Some of this is because back priming, face nailing, and hand-finishing raw wood is required in the installation process to be done right.
On top of installation costs are routine maintenance expenses. Every 3-5 years, the siding should be washed, re-caulked, and stained or painted. On average, for a 2,000 sqft home, this maintenance costs $3,000-$7,000 or more. Over a 15-year period, maintaining cedar siding can cost as much or more than a complete replacement with a more modern alternative material.
Two alternatives that are carried by the Hoffman Weber team are LP® SmartSide® and James Hardie®. These options are noted as the best cost-effective options. Additionally, they come in finishes and colors that look like cedar without the maintenance expense.
LP SmartSide Engineered Wood has a variety of deep, realistic cedar-grain embossing, which provides the aesthetic of real wood without the expensive upkeep. Installation is faster and cheaper than natural cedar to install as well. LP uses their SmartGuard process (which includes zinc borate, premium resins, and wax) to protect SmartSite engineered wood from falling prey to fungal rot, termites, and severe hail damage. LP SmartSide also comes in a wide variety of finish options, in case you want to change up the look of your home. These finishes include LP’s ExpertFinish and long-term paint warranties to ensure your home looks fresh with top-notch protection for years to come.
James Hardie fiber cement is a blend of Portland cement, silica sand, and cellulose fibers, carefully engineered for cold and wet climates with the HardieZone® system. HardiePlank® Lap Siding and HardieShingle® replicate traditional cedar profiles with crisp shadow lines for the right aesthetic for your home.
James Hardie Fiber Cement siding offers the following key benefits:
|
Factor |
Natural Cedar |
LP® SmartSide® Engineered Wood |
James Hardie® Fiber Cement |
|
Upfront Material & Install Cost |
$14 – $24+ per sq. ft. Premium material pricing and specialized exterior carpenter labor. |
$8 – $14 per sq. ft. Up to 30–40% less expensive than cedar; lighter weight and faster install times reduce labor. |
$10 – $17 per sq. ft. Moderate to cost-effective alternative; requires specialized tools and certified installers. |
|
Maintenance Frequency |
Every 3–5 Years Mandatory power washing, scraping, caulking, and solid or semi-transparent staining. |
Every 10–15+ Years Routine seasonal wash; factory pre-finished coatings (LP ExpertFinish®) resist fading. |
Every 12–15+ Years Annual gentle rinse; baked-on ColorPlus® finishes resist chipping, cracking, and peeling. |
|
Rot & Pest Resistance |
Low to Moderate (Over Time) Natural tannins degrade; vulnerable to dry rot, carpenter bees, termites, and woodpecker drills. |
Superior Treated with LP SmartGuard® (zinc borate, waxes, resins) to prevent fungal decay and insect nesting. |
Impervious Portland cement and silica composite cannot rot, harbor wood-boring insects, or attract woodpeckers. |
|
Fire Rating |
Class C (Combustible) Ignites and fuels flames easily unless treated with costly fire retardants. |
Class C (Standard Flame Spread) Wood-based substrate; meets building codes with 1-hour fire-rated wall assemblies. |
Class A (Non-Combustible) Does not ignite, add fuel, or melt when exposed to direct flames or extreme heat. |
|
Expected Lifespan |
15–25 Years (Midwest Climate) Can reach 30+ years only with intensive, non-stop maintenance and timely board replacements. |
30–50 Years Backed by LP's 5/50-year limited prorated warranty on the substrate. |
30–50+ Years Backed by James Hardie's 30-year non-prorated, transferable substrate warranty. |
Hoffman Weber Construction follows an honest diagnostic approach, which means we’ll perform a thorough on-site inspection to determine whether spot repairs are a viable option to buy a few more years of life for your siding, or if a full replacement is necessary. We’ll also evaluate if a conversion to LP SmartSide or James Hardie siding would be a better option by eliminating the cost and time required for regular maintenance and boosting your home value.
Discover what a free inspection and estimate could do for your Twin Cities area home. We promise to deliver a no-pressure inspection and estimate for your home.
It depends. If the damage is outer surface damage to the boards and is less than 15-20% of the total surface area, it may be feasible to replace just those boards that are affected. Color-matching between new planks and existing siding may be one of your biggest challenges. Another important thing to consider is that you’ll need to verify the underlying sheathing and housewrap has maintained its integrity prior to installing new planks.
As a general rule, “siding over” or installing new siding on top of old siding is strongly discouraged by manufacturers. The reason for this is you could be burring unseen dry rot, trapped moisture, and be voiding manufacturer substrate warranties. All that said, it’s structurally necessary to strip down exterior walls to OSB and install modern weather barriers and flashings to make the most of your new siding and keep your warranties intact.
Real cedar is expensive. There’s a scarcity of clear, old-growth cedar that you think of on houses, and a general timber shortage which has increased the cost of many types of lumber.
Furthermore, real cedar requires manual back-priming, precision face-nailing, and immediate field staining. This helps to protect the integrity of the real cedar planks. In contrast, LP SmartSide’s factory efficiency, reduced installation labor, and pre-finished options are a cost-effective and timely option as an alternative.
In the Midwest, cedar siding typically lasts approximately 15-25 years before failure. It is possible to reach a 30+ year lifespan; however, intensive upkeep is required to maintain each board for that long. Homeowners with cedar siding will need to wash, recaulk, and stain every 3-5 years in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Elevation, sun exposure, and tree canopy coverage all make a difference in how long you can go between maintenance cycles.
There’s a difference between natural surface finish weathering and moisture-induced failure. If you notice chronic bubbling in 1-2 years, it’s most likely due to interior moisture that’s been trapped and is preventing paint adhesion. Flaking paint is a more likely indicator that you’re dealing with rot. To test for this, probe the areas with a flathead screwdriver. If it gives way, it may be fungal dry rot.