Cedar Shake vs. James Hardie Siding on the North Shore: What Each Costs, How Long It Lasts, and What Salt Air Does to Both
Most homeowners on the North Shore who call about siding have already narrowed it to two things: cedar shake or James Hardie fiber cement. Both are good products. Both suit the houses around here. They ask different things of you over twenty years, and that is usually what decides it.
Here is how the two compare on lifespan, upkeep, and what actually moves the price, along with the installation details that matter more than the material you pick.
What actually drives the price of a re-side?
The material is rarely the biggest line on the estimate. Labor is, and labor is driven by the house.
A simple ranch with long straight walls goes fast. A saltbox with three dormers, a wraparound porch, and a bay window does not. Every corner, every window, every roof-wall junction is hand work. That is where the hours go.
The five things that move the number most
How much tear-off there is, and whether it comes off in one layer or three
What the crew finds behind the old siding once it is open
Roofline complexity, dormers, and the number of outside corners
Trim scope, since new casing and corner boards can run a real share of the job
Site access, especially on tight lots or waterfront properties with limited staging
That last one catches people. A house you cannot get a lift close to costs more to side than the same house on an open lot.
Why we quote off the house, not a square-foot average
Dave walks the property, opens up what needs opening, and puts the number together from what is actually there. A per-square-foot figure from a national calculator has no idea what is behind your walls.
How long does each one last near the water?
This is where the two products separate.
Cedar shake, installed properly and kept up, generally runs several decades in a coastal New England climate. Neglected cedar in a salt-air location can fail much sooner. The range is wide because the outcome depends almost entirely on maintenance and on how well it was installed in the first place.
Fiber cement holds its factory finish far longer and does not rot, so it tends to run a longer service life with less intervention. The tradeoff is that when a board does get damaged, you are replacing a board, not weaving in a shingle.
Neither number means much on its own. What matters is what the wall underneath is doing, and that comes down to ventilation and flashing.
What does salt air actually do to siding?
Three things, and they are not the same three most people expect.
Fasteners corrode first
Salt spray attacks galvanized nails long before it touches the siding. On any coastal job we use stainless steel ring shank nails on cedar. Galvanized will bleed rust streaks down a shingle wall within a few seasons near the water, and there is no fixing that short of pulling the shingles.
Finishes fade faster
Sun plus salt is harder on stain and paint than sun alone. Expect a shorter recoat cycle in Newburyport or Salisbury than you would inland in Boxford.
Moisture gets trapped
Humid summers push moisture into the wall, and if it cannot dry to the back, the shingles cup and the sheathing suffers. This is the failure that costs real money, and it is entirely preventable with the right assembly.
What maintenance does cedar shake need?
Cedar asks for attention on a schedule. Fiber cement mostly does not.
For cedar on the North Shore, plan on a wash to clear salt and organic growth, a look at the south and west elevations where sun does the most damage, and a recoat when the finish starts going chalky. Individual shingles that split or blow off get woven in as you go, which is one of cedar’s advantages over panel products.
Letting cedar go silver on purpose
Some homeowners here never stain cedar at all and let it weather to gray. That is a legitimate choice, and it is what a lot of the older houses around Ipswich and Rowley have done for a century. It changes the maintenance picture rather than removing it, so decide up front instead of three years in.
What fiber cement asks for
Washing, and a look at the caulk at joints and penetrations. That is close to the whole list.
Where does each one make more sense?
When cedar shake is the right call
Cedar earns its keep on houses that were designed for it. Capes, saltboxes, shingle-style, anything with the coastal New England character people move here for. Nothing else gives you that dimensional shadow line, and no product imitates weathered cedar convincingly at close range.
When James Hardie is the right call
Fiber cement makes sense when you want long stretches of wall to stay put with minimal attention, when fire performance matters, or when the architecture is more colonial than coastal. It also takes a clean painted look that cedar has to work harder for.
Plenty of houses use both. Shingles on the gable ends, clapboard or fiber cement on the field. That is a common and correct North Shore detail, not a compromise.
What separates a good cedar shake install from a bad one?
This is the part that decides whether your siding lasts twenty years or forty, and almost nobody asks about it.
Casing sequence
Cedar butts against the window casing. It does not tuck under it the way vinyl does. Get this backwards and you have built a path for water into the wall at every opening. Crews who mostly hang vinyl get this wrong more often than you would think.
Back-jigging
Our exterior crew jigs the shingles on the back before they go up. It takes longer. It is also why the courses stay straight and the exposure stays consistent across a forty-foot wall instead of drifting an eighth of an inch at a time.
Ventilation behind the shingles
A drainage gap lets the back of the cedar dry. Without it, moisture sits, the shingles cup, and the sheathing starts going soft where you cannot see it.
Stainless fasteners, blind nailed
Nails hidden by the course above, stainless so they do not bleed, and set to the right depth so the shingle can still move.
Flashing at every junction
Roof to wall, deck ledger to wall, around every window. Flashing is what actually keeps water out. Siding just sheds the first pass.
Dave is on site for this work. One point of contact from the first walkthrough through the punch list, no project manager handoff. If you are working with an architect, we build what they draw and coordinate with them directly.
What should you ask a siding contractor before signing?
What fasteners are you using, and are they stainless?
How are you handling drainage behind the shingles?
Does the siding butt to the casing or run under it?
What happens if you open the wall and find rot? How is that priced?
Who is actually on my property every day, and who do I call?
A contractor who answers those clearly is telling you a lot about how the job will go.
Planning more than siding?
Siding rarely happens on its own. If you are adding on, the new siding has to match the existing wall, and matching weathered cedar takes some planning. See house additions. If the porch or deck is coming off anyway, it is usually cheaper to handle deck construction in the same mobilization. And when siding is one piece of a larger exterior scope, our home renovation work covers the whole picture.
Full detail on materials and process is on our premium siding and cedar shakepage.
Frequently asked questions
Which lasts longer near the coast, cedar shake or fiber cement?
Fiber cement generally holds up longer with less attention. Well-installed and maintained cedar can run several decades in this climate. Installation quality and ventilation matter more than the product for either one.
Why do coastal homes need stainless nails?
Salt spray corrodes galvanized fasteners. Corroded nails bleed rust streaks down the wall and lose their hold. Stainless costs more up front and it is not worth skipping within a few miles of the water.
Can I leave cedar shake unstained?
Yes. Cedar weathers to silver gray on its own, and many older North Shore homes are finished this way on purpose. It changes the maintenance schedule rather than removing it, so decide before the shingles go up.
Do you install vinyl siding?
We take vinyl work when a homeowner asks for it, but our exterior work is built around premium siding, cedar shake, and exterior trim.
How do I get a real number for my house?
Call Clarke Building Company at (978) 693-5706 or reach out through our contact page. Dave walks the property, looks at what is behind the existing siding, and puts together a number based on your house rather than an average.
