Interesting idea. Never thought of it. I just wonder about how metal stands up to the elements. Winters can be a little harsh here in NY.
Also, any idea about costs of using metal vs. stucco vs. cedar plank?
Thanks so much for your suggestion!

Not sure of costs but think that metal may be the least expensive. I live in Minnesota and we use metal roofs without problem so think it would be ok in NY. I would contact a metal roofing company for costs.

Will the stucco be textured?
My bias, is that stucco doesn't seem to fit with your house style but I could be wrong depending on how its done. The horizontal cedar seems more modern, as does your house and then stucco I think of something completely opposite. I am biased thought cause our house was covered in textured stucco (over the original wood siding) and I don't like it all. And its realllllly messy to remove.

have you consider getting another contractor to give you an opinion on the need to reface the whole house?, while I am sure some of your boards need replacing, cedar is very durable and you might need to replace only a portion and give some paint to the rest. I am also in NY and our weather is getting to be unpredictable from 45 to 97 in one week. not many materials withstand those extremes. I would be a little afraid of stucco. I have used Anderson 400 and they are great windows. you could also try mixing materialsm as Dar Eckert said. also take a look at Corten.

Thank you much mmonika and sacpuntaslapioz.

I am in an exploring phase. Since our first contractor told us that the work for cedar replacing and windows could cost at least 60K, we were dumbstruck and thought we ought to explore all options. We like the cedar. Very much. Its just that when you consider spending that kind of money on any home job, it seems like it suggests a good time to rethink the elements.

Unfortunately, the contractor seems to think that most of the planks will need to be replaced on the rear; there might not be the same need on the side of the house to replace. But the contractor felt that painting the cedar (e.g., so that old and new planks match) is harmful for the wood...speeds up deterioration as the wood cannot breathe as well. I'm new at this so I'm not sure I understand that point. Perhaps if we learned that painting the cedar is not a bad thing (in terms of maintenance), we would do that.

PS. Sacapuntaslapioz -- what is Corten?

I certainly empathize with you. Many years ago I owned a contemporary modular home built in the early ‘70s, which I loved. The siding was cedar; in the eight years we lived there I had the house re-stained once. Red cedar is the best you can get and staining is preferred to painting.

Although the house was all windows on three sides of the second storey, where the living, dining, and kitchen were located, there was at least three foot roof over-hang that kept the hot summer sun from the interior spaces. The house was located in the woods, in “up-state” NY near the NJ boarder.

For a house on Long Island, NY, you might have to consider the effect of salt from the water and the likelihood of intense storms, although the climate might be more moderate. Salt tends to be hard on metal. So If I were in your situation, I would not look to change the exterior siding to some other material. Also, as nice as pictures look, there are always issues when one material intersects with another.

I’d also be cautious when someone tells me that to replace the windows all of the siding has to be replaced.

It seems though, that you are uncertain with the style of the windows and what you want. I would stay as close as possible to the original dimensions. Remember that changing the configuration of the windows will affect the look and feel of the interior, too. And increase the price. (The more you change, the more it costs.)

My eyebrows raised too when you wrote all the siding has to be replaced with the windows.... I am not sure I understand this. You may need to replace all the windows, frames and exterior trim, but not sure how that means the siding has to be replaced too. Sure, it would be "easier" to do the siding before your trims go up, but the siding folks can still pop those off, do the siding, then re-install.
If your in the exploratory phase then drive around the neighborhood and see houses you like, up close and in person :-)
Also regarding changing the 3 sliding doors into 1 glass wall. You are now talking structure here, major structure. Over each of your sliders are headers, that carry the houses load over the glass and down the sides (king studs). If you remove all of these, you will to restructure this into 1 massive header. With that span, and that much load, you are probably looking at steel beams now. If your exploring your options, make sure you explore an structural engineers!!! This is not the windows guy problem.

Thanks again, Houssaon and Mmonika for very helpful suggestions.

Houssaon: sage advice about thinking about mixing materials and the good sense it will probably make to stick with the house structure and dimensions as is. We don't want to remodel per se. We quite like the house...a lot! And salt air could well be a problem although we're nearer to the bay than the ocean.

Mmonika: I also feel I don't understand fully the need to re-side, in order to replace windows. Except that it did make sense when the contractor was explaining that each window abuts a number of cedar planks. In order to put in new windows, each of those planks will need to be fixed somehow. Whether they replace the entire plank or just the few inches of the plank that frame the window is a question. The contractor showed us, however, that when new cedar planks (or pieces of planks) are installed around each window, they are of a different size and quality of the planks already on the wall. The latter have shriveled over time. And so, even if one were to try to patch in new cedar plank pieces around the new windows, it might not work well, as they wouldn't fit in the tongue/groove space provided by the old planks. It is for this reason, that the contractor is suggesting the re-do... at least on the sections of the house (e.g., the rear) where much of the cedar planking is shriveled.

Not to mention the aesthetic issues of old and new cedar planks..

Anyway, I don't expect you to respond again, Mmonika (unless you want to, of course)... I just wanted to explain how I understand what the contractor has in mind.

Whatever you decide to do, as regards the cedar planking and window issue, make sure you get at least three bids from licensed, bonded and insured contractors. Ask for and check references, and view the jobs they have completed. Do the same with contractors you might approach about stucco. I live in the hot, dry southwest and stucco is generally the way to go here so I can't address the weather issues you have in your area. Most importantly, do your homework and be thorough. After all, you're talking about spending alot of your hard earned money and want to spend it wisely, I'm sure.

Google up "annie selke", she is a designer who refurbished her contemporary home and replaced all the windows but did it economically by using standard sizes, doubling them up, even installing some upside down. She had a running feature in last years' House Beautiful.

Side note, wow that house looks so much like one of my friends friend's house I knew growing up in Dix Hills, NY.. I wonder??

Please, please do NOT stucco. You will lose every inch of character the house has now. "Dar Eckert" ideas are fabulous per the pictures....

Google up "annie selke", she is a designer who refurbished her contemporary home and replaced all the windows but did it economically by using standard sizes, doubling them up, even installing some upside down. She had a running feature in last years' House Beautiful.

Side note, wow that house looks so much like one of my friends friend's house I knew growing up in Dix Hills, NY.. I wonder??

Please, please do NOT stucco. You will lose every inch of character the house has now. "Dar Eckert" ideas are fabulous per the pictures....

Thanks Valegrl and Ann for your notes. All good advice. I definitely think its good practice to get multiple bids for construction jobs. Will do.

Ann: the house is in Noyac near Sag Harbor, NY....not Dix Hills. But I wouldn't be surprised if the builder made his way 'up island' to build similar houses!

Type corten in houzz. is a form of steel that rusts in a controlled manner to a point. It might be more expensive, but requires no maintenance. If you are replacing all the windows, 60K is not a bad price and the siding is not a big part of it. we just had to have some of our cedar siding ( identical to yours) in our house, which we just bought because the previous owner did not take care of roof and gutters and some siding rotted. it was installed in the 1980's and our contractor was able to find matching cedar siding. as for painting Benjamin Moore makes a stain that comes off as solid color Benjamin Moore Premium Exterior Stain Exterior Siding that is very easy to paint. Also there is a natural product called lifetime that is used on untreated wood that will make your new cedar look like silver old cedar in a few days http://www.valhalco.com/ I have used it and it performs very well. Also consider replacing the windows on the north and west side and a few years down the road do the other exposures. or whatever your most exposed sides are. good luck

I don't think stucco works with your contemporary style. The vertical cedar siding works well. Providing a proper rainscreen installation will make it last longer and better. You will still have to maintain it with occassional staining, but with the rainscreen furring out, the siding will dry quicker and thus last longer.

You can also think about Hardie Panel. It's a cement fiber siding which comes textured like wood. It is non-combustible. You have to paint it once and maybe 15-20 years down the line if needed. You do have to install it with a rainscreen furring system. You also have to deal with the joints between panels. You would need a qualified installer for that.

My preference though is still vertical cedar siding.

All very helpful comments. I can't thank you enough.
-Bonnie

Have you looked at the siding and thought about reversing it, turning it over? Good Cedar siding, especially wood form the 1970's, should be in really good condition.
Not sure about the NE, but here in Dallas there are loads of 1970's era homes that wee done in stucco that have a very modern feel. In Fact, some have Cedar and Stucco.
There's also Hardi-board products, and as mentioned metal that can look really interesting that would mimic the "feel" of the existing Cedar.
Before talking to more contractors, have you talked with an Architect?
Good luck!

Hi bondale4, do you have more photos to post? preferably from all 4 corners of the entire home so I can get a sense of the massing and scale.

So far these are the pictures I have. I will try to go to the house to take more angles. Essentially there are 3 interlocking one story sections each with a shed/sloped roof. The center section rises at the back. The two side sections slope outwards towards the ground. The right section is considerably larger than the left..
Also there is a progression of how they interlock.. viewed from the front they all form a line; viewed from the rear, the east side is set back, the mid section juts forward, and the west section juts forward from the mid section. I will try to draw what I am describing and send later.

Thanks so much for bothering to respond!

Hi Bonnie, my recommendation would be painting the siding a darker shade instead of white to give some contrast to the existing deck area.

Thanks much, Dytecture. I really appreciate your time doing this.. (btw, we will probably have to re-do the deck too!)

You're welcome :) I think some stone paving will look really nice.

the contractor should change all the siding around the window for best practice install. The warranty's and install methods have changed drastically the last few years because of so many lawsuits and failures, the industry has learned much from this! The 400 series Anderson is a great window if installed properly. MAKE SURE your contractor is working to current guidelines! I personally make a great living fixing improperly installed windows, and i can say most homes have them done very wrong!

I would stay away from stucco as i have seen more problems with stucco'd homes not because it's a bad finish, but because it was not properly prepped... wrong paper, no drainage, no weeps, no flashing.... i'm not sure if some of the installers were ever trained on code!

Cedar is a nice maintenance product, and not too expensive. I would suggest changing your deck boards out to Ipe, Cumaru, or Massaranduba decking for a brilliant look! this wood would require a yearly or bi-yearly oiling to keep it looking new.

good luck with your project

all good advice. thanks much.

Please, please spend the money for an architect to do a drawing and plan for your exterior if you are investing that much money in this project. This is not a do it yourself as far as the design goes and you will be much happier in the end and will avoid a costly error. You will see it and KNOW if you like it. No guessing games here on this large of a project.

i don't follow your suggestion for an architect.
that is not a large project and for the line of windows and siding to be replaced, not that much money! The structure is not being altered, it is aesthetic work.
Here in New Jersey, we have to file for a permit to rip and re-side... the building inspector should be on his side.
The best thing he can do is to make sure the contractor is competent and honest to use best methods for the job so that it will last more than 8 years.... not even an architect can make sure it's done right, only the contractor can. there are good guys out there, you just have to find us!

Thanks again for the advice, suggestions... I only wonder how we would assess the quality of the window installation job (or contractor)? We are collecting a third estimate for the windows and siding job. What should we be asking the gc's about their window installers?

read the basic installation guide here http://www.andersenwindows.com/servlet/Satellite/AW/AWProduct/awProductDetail/AWProduct/1135095638566/1135095638566?tab=5-1&tableftnav=1135095638566&tabname=Installation+&+Warranty
its only a few pages and alot of pics...

know what needs to be done and ask the contractor what he will do, but DO NOT give him a chance to lie by asking a direct "will you do this" type question, it's better to say something like "it has been mentioned by another contractor that the installation methods have changed over the years, what is it exactly that needs to be done differently now?"

i'll say this too... the slightest chance that all 3 are unaware, you could show them the PDF and see how willing they are to accept change. If one of them are interested in doing it that way, which is required and minimal for warranty, let him make you happy.

if one goes on (and on) about they have been doing it the old way for years and has never had any problems blah blah blah, RUN!

i could write a book on the psychology of us contractors!

I think of an architect as drafting a plan for the overall look of the house. If you are keeping the same look you wouldn't need one. But when you talk about overhauling the whole exterior to a new look or style, you may need a professional. I have bought and sold many houses and during every house hunt it is obvious when a project was done without serious planning or professional advice. By project I mean finishing a basement or something of a larger scale. If this project is meant to change the whole look of the exterior I would rather pay someone $500 - $1,000 for a plan of action before spending $40,000 plus on a mistake.

Laketa - Agree, Agree, Agree! Truer words could not be spoken.
Too many people think by watching HGTV and the like, or going to home remodel shows, that it's easy to get a project done without consideration for a professional.
Even a small project, like a bathroom fix up, could use the help of a professional who know the market place, the right contractors, and how to work with budgets.

As for hiring a reputable contractor,ask for references and call them. Ask specifically what they did for them, etc. Ask other people or neighbors who have had similar work done. Check with the Better Business Bureau and google all the contractors because some comments or lawsuits could show up. The cheapest quote isn't necessarily going to be the best job. Compare apples to apples when it comes to products being used. If someone with a cheaper quote uses cheap products then it's not worth it. Good luck!

Hello Bondale 4 , I really think that stucco is the best idea of all. People might not be aware but stucco has come a long way and is used extensively in Canada where the weather is extreme. It now comes in many different colors blended in the mix and does not discolor for many, many years when it could be repainted, if need be. There is a very small texture to it , but nothing like the globby mess it use to be. It very appropriate to a modern structure in fact it really adds to it. I urge you to google stucco sites and architectural sites where you will see lots of examples.

Do not Stucco! I live nearby and that look is horrible for resale here and simply looks out of place. I love the look in FL or CA but you will never be able to sell it if you want/need to. Please post update photos! I would paint it a dark grey and lots of nickel contemporary outdoor light fixtures.

Re: windows. I have Anderson casement windows and I hate them. Parts are ridiculously expensive, customer service is confused and has sent wrong parts too many times. There are better windows and better companies to choose.