Why not just paint the vinyl siding green? I would never waste the time and expense to install cedar shake and then paint it green. What’s the point of going to cedar then?

I would not paint cedar shakes or shingles: they should be dipped in stain at the factory.

Describe what was there and how it was finished. Where is the house located?

If you're considering white cedar you probably mean resawn shingles rather than shakes. I've only seen pressure treated pine shakes on a roof and they're expensive. I think there's a manufacturer in NH.

Here are two buildings on an island off the coast of Maine. The shingles are resawn white cedar typical of the area. The green stain is wonderful.

It would help to see the house.

Vinyl is awful stuff because it hides damage. It is important to see damage so you can do something about it. Painting it will look awful.

I’m going back to the sheathing, will wrap the house with a better water shedding barrier, get all new windows put in, and having new cedar shake and a new roof out on. The roof will be CertainTeed, I believe. Also, new gutters, copper half rounds and not K style gutters.

Besides, I hate the look of vinyl, it is so fake looking with its ridiculous faux cedar shake look. Any charm the house had from 1925 has been lost under the vinyl.

As for color, what about a solid stain like Woodscapes from Sherwin Williams?

https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/products/woodscapes-exterior-acrylic-solid-color-house-stain?gclid=CjwKCAiAn7L-BRBbEiwAl9UtkPB7R40j0hpj6FPrj2bjDUI03DF1i34nxvcpI3rb-YxtAuOIPybLrhoC_cAQAvD_BwE

There is a Pine Needle color.

What stain do you recommend? I agree that it is problematic to paint exterior wood siding and am leaning towards a stain.

I’m in Pittsburgh. It rains a lot here. I have two sump pumps and a French drain system. RES2, now, we’re talking, I think I can sell my wife on a green stain. Whose product is that? A lot of my neighbors have painted shake, don’t ask me why. They also painted brick, which can cause spalling. I just need to clean a hundred years off the brick. Steel making, you know.

Here are a couple of pics. It’s a Hulley house from 1925. Hulley built about 700 of these in Pittsburgh.

RES2, I’m not going to put shake on the roof, sorry for the confusion.

Can I get samples of dipped shingles so I can see how it will look with the red brick of my house?

RES2, my wife’s take on that color is that there is too much blue in it so that it will not go well with our red brick. I’ll holding firm on staining instead of painting but need to find a color that will pass with her.

Let's define some terms. Shakes are hand spit red cedar and are normally used or roofs. They have a rough scored texture and thick butts. Shingles are sawn red or white cedar with a smooth surface and thinner butts.

The best bang for the buck is Eastern white cedar resawn/rebutted dipped in stain at the factory. Painting or staining with a brush does not protect the wood and it allows the tannins in cedar to render the weather barrier (house wrap) useless.

Maibec is one manufacturer and probably the largest. You can find a dealer and look at samples. Unfortunately they don't have a real green stain but They will send you up to 5 color samples for free and they will match anything you send them. Find a green sample paint color you like and send it to them.

All shingles come in different grades but first decide what kind of shingle you want.

Oh, wow, thank you so much! Matching any color and getting them stained at the factory sounds ideal! Do you know what they use to stain? Will they tell me so I can re-stain down the road?

So, I should call these shingles when used on siding?

Are you sure that the cedar shakes already there, are damaged so badly they cant be left. Vinyl was used a lot because people didnt want to bother painting or staining, so it may be that your cedar is still ok underneath the vinyl siding. I would like to see the cedar, stained a darker cedar color. No paint on cedar please.

I don’t know what shape the cedar shake are under there but my guess is that they don’t look great after almost a hundred years. Since I am having all new windows put in, I think now is the time to do it right, take it all off, and put up new shake.

I know the vinyl went up thirteen years ago but given the negligence I have seen in the rest of the house, I’d say the shake is bad and not worth keeping.

I’m against painting but I need a color that my wife will accept.

How do the colors age? Is there is a difference between the light and darker colors for how they age? We picked five colors.

The fifth one

Wrong one

Of all of them, I like the mulberry or the pepperwood, although, I think I would like something a bit more darker and more brown, than any of those. Those all look painted, not stained.

We managed to find a picture of the house with its wooden shingles. We find the brown to be too drab. We might wind up with a gray.

Wall siding can be shingles or shakes; they're made differently so they look different. Look at the photo I posted. The one on top is a shake and its thick with vertical ridges that can only be created by splitting. The others below it are shingles which are smooth with perfectly square corners because they were cut with a saw. Maibec only makes sawn shingles.

I don't know what is under your imitation siding but it doesn't really matter. Choose whatever you like.

Thanks RES2. I want the elegance of sawn shingles and not the rustic look of split shakes. My neighbors all have sawn shingles.

I have ordered five samples, Nantucket grade, which I think is the best grade but I don’t know how it compares to the red/blue grading system.

Have you used Malbec shingles on a project? What do you think of the durability of the finish on the factory-stained singles?

I posted a photo of the house when its brown shingles, I don’t find it appealing at all. Since we’re biting the bullet and putting in all Bea windows, I think it makes sense to put up all new shingles.

I need to know how they’re going to wrap the house for moisture shedding. The devil is on the details, it seems to me.

The end of this video had some information in a microfiber like barrier to carry the water away from behind the shingle:

https://youtu.be/_lVc8-l-jPE

Is that still being used? What is it called and where do you order it from?

What do people think about this class action lawsuit against Malbec?

https://www.yourlawyer.com/construction-defects/maibec-wood-shingles/

Well, it appears that law firm is looking for plaintiffs. I think this is common. "Design flaws." Look, these things have been used for hundreds of years! What possible design flaw could there be?

Using natural wood on an exterior always entails maintenance and some risk. Hence why vinyl is so attractive to many.

I didn't scour the legal notice but in my quick perusal I did not see where there was any kind of trial or settlement.

Well, I ordered some samples and will compare against some other locally sourced shingles. We are talking about a sawn piece of wood. Maybe they’re too thin. How thick are they supposed to be?

You know how class action lawsuits go. The lawyers make big bucks and everyone gets three dollars ten years from now.

Here are five samples in the green-gray, and we’re going to look at other grays.