Cedar Siding Edmonton
*Please note that Blue Jay Exterior Renovations does not repair wood siding, or work with old wood clapboard product. We work with new wood siding as an accent on full exterior renovations, but we won’t be able to help you with re-finishing your existing wood siding, or installing an older style wood siding on your home. If you aren’t certain, please give us a call and we can discuss accordingly.
Cedar siding has been a part of Edmonton residential architecture for a long time, and it can give your home a beautiful, timeless look. While the Edmonton siding market moved away from cedar siding in the past thirty years as lower cost and lower maintenance options like vinyl siding and Hardie board came in, it has had a recent resurgence.
From a maintenance and durability standpoint, cedar siding performs worse than some of its contemporary competitors. The product has to be re-stained or re-painted on a fairly frequent basis to keep its original aesthetic. And it can't withstand fire or hail like Hardie siding can. But, one thing wood siding does not get enough credit for is its ability to protect the building envelope.
At Blue Jay Exterior Renovations, we have extensive experience in removing a variety of old siding products from existing houses. Unlike stucco, which can trap water in and cause damage to the weather barrier and eventually the home itself, wood siding installed correctly allows moisture to shed away from the building, keeping the home safe from moisture damage. So while the wood planks may swell as they pick up water, know that if the product was installed correctly it should still be protecting your building envelope.
Another nice thing about cedar siding is that it offers some unique design options that other siding products are not able to. Tongue and groove cedar siding, installed horizontally, can allow you to miter your corners. This can be a standout look that can't be achieved with Hardie, vinyl, or CanExel siding. Tongue and groove cedar can also be installed vertically, which gives you the ability to play with design options for different areas of your home.
The typical widths of cedar siding in Edmonton are 4" and 6". Most cedar siding suppliers will be able to offer you cedar siding in a knotty finish or a clear finish. There are a couple things to consider when choosing between the two finishes:
The cedar siding suppliers cannot guarantee the lengths of the clear cedar. As such, you can expect more joints on your home with clear cedar due to the random sizing.
Knotty cedar siding can be supplied in a variety of pre-set lengths for installation and design convenience.
The cost difference to go from a knotty cedar to a clear cedar is about double.
The cost of cedar siding in Edmonton can be quite expensive. It is a fairly labor intensive installation, and as such the install cost is approximately 30-50% more than a Hardie siding installation. The product cost for knotty cedar siding is about 2x the cost of Hardie plank.
Another factor to consider when choosing cedar siding for your Edmonton home is staining. If you or your siding contractor purchase the cedar siding unstained, I would recommend checking out Vivid Coatings. Vivid provides a unique service for the Edmonton market, offering a fully automated pre-stain of your cedar siding. You can check out their services here.
At Blue Jay Exterior Renovations, we love working with cedar siding. If you're interested in samples, info, or anything else, reach out to us! We'd love to chat with you.