Cedar shake siding is hand-split or resawn wood, thicker and more irregular than cedar shingles, and it is the most texture you can honestly put on a house.
Expect $10–$18 per sq ft installed in most US markets, with the material alone running $4–$8 per sq ft — roughly double fiber cement and triple vinyl. Cedar shingles, the thinner sawn cousin, land closer to $8–$14 per sq ft installed.
This guide covers species, grading, formats, costs, installation details, finishes, and the upkeep you are signing up for.
Cedar Shake Siding vs. Cedar Shingles: The Split Is the Whole Story
Both come from the same tree. How they are made changes everything downstream.
Shakes are split. A shake is riven along the grain with a froe or hydraulic splitter, leaving a rough, fibrous face and a natural taper — thick at the butt, thin at the top. Shingles are sawn to a uniform thickness, usually 3/8 to 1/2 in., with a smooth face and straight edges.
That difference drives look, cost, and durability. Split shakes run 1/2 to 3/4 in. thick at the butt, so they throw heavy shadow lines and shrug off weather. Sawn shingles are lighter, flatter, and cheaper, and they lay tighter — which is why shingles deliver a tailored surface that shakes never will. The trade-off is labor and price.
Species and the Grading System, Decoded
Western Red Cedar is the standard: natural oils and extractives that resist rot and insects without chemical treatment, plus low shrinkage, which matters when you nail thousands of pieces to a wall. Alaska yellow cedar is denser and slightly more rot-resistant, but harder to source and pricier. Eastern white cedar (sold as Northern white cedar) is lighter, softer, and abundant in the Northeast — fine for shingles, less ideal for heavy hand-split shakes because it dents.
Grade decides both look and price:
- #1 Premium (hand-split): straight grain, no knots, thickest butts. Top dollar, often special order.
- #2 Select: sound wood with knots or minor defects, edges trimmed square. The workhorse grade on most houses.
- #3 Utility: heavy knots, splits, irregular thickness. Fine on a shed, a mistake across a visible field.
- Resawn shakes: split, then sawn flat — thicker than a shingle, cleaner than a hand-split.
- Perfection shingles: sawn and uniform, the tailored end of the spectrum.
You will also see R&R in catalogs. That means re-butted and re-squared — a processing step applied to a grade, not a grade itself. Butt thickness is quoted separately, usually 5/8, 3/4, or 1 in. Confirm which one is in the bid.
Formats: Individual Shakes, Panels, and Perfection Shingles
Individual shakes are bundled by the square (100 sq ft of coverage) and nailed one at a time. Highest material and labor cost, best result, and the only format that lets a skilled installer adjust width to the wall.
Pre-stained shake panels are factory-mounted on a plywood or mesh backing, usually 8 sq ft per panel, finished before shipping. Installation moves about twice as fast and the color is uniform. You lose some shadow depth because panel edges are straight.
Perfection shingles are sawn and tight — cheaper and cleaner if you want wood without the rugged texture. Ask which format is in your bid. The gap between “cedar shakes” and “cedar shake panels” can be $4 per sq ft.
What Cedar Shake Siding Costs
| Option | Material, $/sq ft | Installed, $/sq ft | Service life | Upkeep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand-split cedar shakes | $4–$8 | $10–$18 | 30–40 yrs | High |
| Cedar shingles | $3–$6 | $8–$14 | 25–35 yrs | High |
| Pre-stained shake panels | $5–$9 | $9–$15 | 25–35 yrs | Moderate |
| Fiber cement shake | $2–$4 | $8–$14 | 30–50 yrs | Low |
| Polymer composite shake | $3–$6 | $9–$16 | 25–40 yrs | Low |
On a 2,000 sq ft house with roughly 2,000 sq ft of wall, add about 10% for waste and cuts. That puts a real shake job at $22,000–$39,000 installed in most US markets. Material is only about 40% of that; the rest is labor, WRB, furring, flashing, trim, scaffolding, and disposal. Staining after the fact adds $2–$4 per sq ft — and scaffolding gets charged twice if you stain later instead of buying factory-finished panels.
Field note: The most common bad bid we see prices “cedar shakes” but leaves out the rain screen, back-priming, and keyways. Those three omissions save the contractor maybe $1,500 on a whole house and cost you the bottom two courses at year 12. Ask for the assembly in writing, not just the product.
Installation: Nails, Keyways, and the Rain Screen
Fasteners. Stainless or hot-dipped galvanized, 4d to 6d depending on butt thickness. Electro-galvanized and plain steel are not acceptable — cedar’s extractives eat the coating, and rust streaks bleed down the face for the life of the wall. Within a mile of salt water, stainless is the only sensible choice.
Position. Two nails per shake, about 1 in. above the butt line and 3/4 in. in from each edge. Drive them flush, never countersunk. Overdriving crushes fibers and creates a pocket that holds water.
Spacing. Leave 1/4 to 3/8 in. keyways between shakes so water drains instead of wicking sideways, and offset vertical joints in adjacent courses by at least 1.5 in.
Behind the shakes. A WRB over the sheathing, then vertical furring strips creating a 3/8 in. drainage gap. That rain screen is not optional in the Pacific Northwest, the Gulf Coast, or the Southeast. Finish with metal flashing at the base, at least 6 in. of clearance above grade, corner boards, and back-priming on all faces.
Finishes: Weathering, Stains, and Why Not Paint
Left unfinished, cedar weathers to silver-gray. In full sun the shift starts within 6 to 12 months and settles into an even gray in 2 to 3 years. In shade it goes blotchy gray-black as mildew takes hold. That is an honest look, and it suits a coastal shingle-style house. On a tidy suburban colonial it reads as neglect.
If you finish it, you have three choices. Clear water-repellent or oil adds no color, slows graying by a year or three, and needs recoating most often. Semi-transparent stain shows grain and adds UV pigment; expect 3 to 5 years. Solid-body stain is opaque and lasts 5 to 8 years, but hides the grain you paid a premium for.
Skip paint. Paint forms a film; cedar moves and pushes moisture out through the face, so the film cracks and peels in sheets, and you are locked into scraping and repainting. Penetrating stains wear away gradually instead.
Maintenance, Rot, and the Fire Question
Cleaning. Once a year, wash with a soft brush and a mild oxalic-acid cleaner to lift tannin stains and mildew. Keep pressure washing under about 1,200 psi or you will fuzz the grain.
Re-staining. Every 4 to 8 years. South and west walls go first; coastal salt air and relentless sun push you to the short end of that range.
Mold, mildew, and rot. Homes in the humid Southeast and Pacific Northwest fight mildew on shaded walls. Rot shows up in the same places every time: end grain at the shake butts, corner board joints, penetrations, and anything within 6 in. of grade. Probe a few butts each spring.
Fire. Untreated cedar is Class C in most assemblies, sometimes Class B over fire-rated sheathing. Fire-retardant-treated shakes carry Class A ratings in tested assemblies and cost more. In California’s wildland-urban interface, cedar is often banned outright or priced out by insurers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does cedar shake siding last?
Thirty to forty years for Western Red Cedar on a properly built rain screen with regular re-staining. Cut that by a decade if the shakes were face-nailed, butted tight, or left against grade. Rotted butts and rusted fasteners retire a cedar wall, not the wood itself.
What is the difference between #1 and #2 cedar shakes?
#1 (Premium) is straight-grained, knot-free, and uniformly thick. #2 (Select) allows knots and minor defects with re-butted, re-squared edges. #2 is what most homes get and what contractors quote by default. #1 looks noticeably cleaner across a large sunlit field and costs meaningfully more.
Do you have to stain cedar shake siding?
No. Unfinished cedar weathers to silver-gray and lasts decades if the assembly drains properly. You still clean it annually and inspect for rot, and shaded walls go blotchy. Staining is about appearance and slower moisture cycling, not survival.
How often do cedar shakes need re-staining?
Every 4 to 8 years depending on sun, salt, and finish. Clear water-repellents fade fastest, semi-transparents sit in the middle, solid stains last longest. Splash water on a shake — if it soaks in instead of beading, it is time.
Does cedar shake siding raise insurance or resale value?
It can raise resale in coastal New England, the Pacific Northwest, and upscale suburban markets where the look is expected. It can raise premiums in wildfire zones, where some carriers surcharge or decline wood cladding. Check with your insurer before you buy, not after.
The Bottom Line
Cedar shake siding delivers a depth and warmth that fiber cement and polymer imitations get close to but never quite match. It is also the highest-maintenance cladding we cover and among the priciest, at $22,000–$39,000 for a typical 2,000 sq ft house. If you will actually re-stain every five years and your contractor builds a proper rain screen, nothing else looks like it. If you want a wall you can ignore for 20 years, buy fiber cement shake. For the wider comparison, start with our home siding guide; to weigh cedar against other wood profiles, see cedar siding.
About the author
Marcus Hale writes about exterior remodeling and building products for SidingHolic. He researches siding, trim, and gutter systems using manufacturer specifications, contractor pricing in US markets, and residential building-code requirements, then translates the trade-offs into plain language for homeowners. Read more about our editorial approach.