From Hamptons-style shakes to smooth sawn shingles, real cedar siding is the signature Long Island look. We install and finish it so it protects your home from day one.
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Cedar siding is the signature look of Long Island's coastal homes, from Hamptons-style shakes to smooth sawn shingles. Real cedar insulates naturally, takes stain and paint beautifully, and can be left to weather into a soft silver-gray.
We install cedar shake and shingle siding with stainless fasteners, rain-screen detailing where it belongs, and finishes that protect the wood from day one.
Weathered cedar can often be repaired and refinished rather than replaced. We will tell you honestly which route makes sense for your home. Either way, it starts with a free estimate. Want the cedar look with less upkeep? James Hardie siding gives you the closest match without the maintenance clock.
Cedar siding is wall work, but it fails the same way roofs do, at the details. Nails that rust, boards that trap water, corners left open to wind. We hang cedar shakes and shingles with stainless fasteners and a gap behind the boards so the wood can dry. That is the difference between a wall that lasts forty years and one that rots at twenty.
The crews that built our Long Island roofing name are the same ones on your walls, so the flashing around windows and the housewrap behind the shakes get done right, not just the parts you can see. Still weighing wood against vinyl or fiber cement? Our Long Island siding contractors page lays out each material honestly, and the estimate is free and in writing either way.
Cedar siding is the signature Long Island, NY look, from Hamptons shakes to sawn shingles. Here is what it gives and what it asks.
Real cedar shakes and shingles are the defining look of Long Island's shoreline architecture, from Hamptons classics to North Fork cottages. No synthetic product truly replicates it.
Left natural, cedar weathers into the silver-gray patina the East End is known for. Stained or sealed, it holds rich wood tones that manufactured siding only imitates.
Wood insulates naturally and allows the wall assembly to breathe, helping manage moisture in humid coastal air. The result is a quieter, more comfortable home.
The wrong fasteners:
Only stainless fasteners belong in cedar. Everything else bleeds black streaks down the wall.
No rain-screen detailing:
Cedar lasts when it can dry from behind. Boards nailed tight to housewrap in wet exposures rot early.
Thin, flat-grain stock:
Bargain cedar cups and splits. Grade and cut matter more than brand.
Cedar siding lasts 30 to 40 years or more on coastal Long Island when the details are right, and the finish schedule decides how it looks along the way. Cedar walls reward a rhythm. Miss it for five years and the wood pays the bill:
Cedar wears three classic Long Island costumes, and the right one follows your home's architecture.
1. Hamptons-Style Shake:
The East End signature. Left natural, it weathers to the silver-gray the coast is famous for.
2. Sawn Cedar Shingles:
Smoother and more uniform than shakes, laid in crisp courses. Stained or painted, they suit colonials and traditional homes.
3. Board-and-Batten:
Vertical cedar for farmhouse and custom looks, increasingly popular as an accent.
Honest answer: it depends on what you want the wall to do. Vinyl siding that looks like cedar shakes from the curb is easy to find now. Molded panels such as CertainTeed Cedar Impressions copy the shape well, cost less up front, and never ask for stain.
What no panel copies is the wood. Real cedar has grain, depth, and shadow lines that change piece to piece, and it repairs the same way it installs: one damaged piece out, one new piece in. Vinyl repairs by the panel, and matching a faded color run years later is a gamble. Fiber cement lands between the two, closer to the cedar look with less upkeep.
We install real cedar, and our Long Island siding contractors page compares vinyl, fiber cement, and wood side by side. Tell us your budget at the free estimate and we will give you the honest tradeoffs, not a pitch.
Both species belong on Long Island walls. The right one follows the finish you want and how hard the weather hits the wall.
Red cedar is rich in natural oils, so it resists rot and takes stain evenly. It is our pick for stained shakes, clapboard, and board-and-batten, and it holds deep tones on the south- and water-facing walls that weather first.
White cedar is the classic Cape and Hamptons shingle wall. Left alone, it weathers to the even silver-gray the East End is famous for, which makes it the pick when the plan is no finish at all.
Our Advice: going gray, choose white cedar; staining or painting, choose red. Either way, your written estimate spells out the grade and cut, so you know exactly what is going on the wall.
Cedar walls price on the wood, the wall, and the finish. Every honest quote itemizes all three.
1. Grade and Cut:
Clear vertical-grain cedar costs more than knotty flat-grain and repays it in stability and lifespan.
2. Coverage and Height:
Wall area and stories set the material and staging, and shake coverage runs differently than sawn shingles.
3. Finish Choice:
Factory-primed, site-stained, or natural each carry different day-one costs and different maintenance rhythms.
Every project gets a written, itemized estimate before any work begins, so the number you approve is the number you pay.
Every cedar finish is legitimate. They differ in look, upkeep rhythm, and how forgiving they are of neglect.
Our Advice: Semi-transparent stain is the sweet spot for most homes: it shows the grain, renews easily, and fails gracefully instead of peeling. Choose natural weathering only if you love silver-gray, because there is no halfway back.
Roof repairs, roof replacements, and honest inspections backed by over 10 years of local experience.
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The Fastener Risk:
Only stainless fasteners belong in cedar. Everything else bleeds black streaks that no wash removes.
The Moisture Risk:
Cedar nailed tight to housewrap in wet exposures cannot dry from behind, and rots from the side you cannot see.
Our Approach: Stainless fasteners as standard, rain-screen detailing where exposure demands it, and finishes applied on the wood's schedule, not the calendar's.
Usually, yes. Cedar goes on the wall one piece at a time, so it comes off the same way. Most calls we get about fixing cedar siding end in a repair, not a residing.
Split, cupped, or woodpecker-damaged pieces come out individually and new ones weave in. Done right, the patch blends within a season or two of weathering.
A tired wall often needs cleaning, not new wood. A gentle wash, targeted piece replacement, and a fresh coat of stain can bring back a wall that looks past saving.
When rot runs behind the boards or past repairs cover half the wall, full replacement is the honest call. We inspect for free and put both numbers in writing, so you can weigh repair against replacement for your own Long Island home.
Old cedar tells you where it hurts if you know how to read it. Boards that cup are trapping moisture at the back. Keyway gaps that have spread past a finger width mean the wood has been drying and swelling too fast. Black streaks bleeding from nail heads mean somebody used the wrong fasteners. We walk every wall and read those signs before we quote a single course.
The new wall goes up to prevent those same failures. Stainless nails driven flush so nothing ever streaks. Shakes spaced with an even keyway so each board can move without splitting its neighbor. An air gap behind the wood so the backs dry as fast as the faces and the cupping never starts. Slower than slapping shingles on a flat wall, and the reason the work holds for decades.
We treat every roof like it's protecting our own family.
Benjamin ShepherdCEO · Benny's Roofing
Get a Free EstimateCall us at 631-209-7792
Twenty-plus reviews, a 5.0 average, and not one of them written by us. What you cannot fake is a Google profile, because we cannot edit a word of it. Ours is linked right beside this section, filled out by Long Island homeowners over the years. Read them, then get two other bids. We have been at this over 10 years, and we win jobs by comparison, not by pressure.
Cedar work shows its quality slowly, which is exactly why reputation matters. A wall that looks fine at the final walkthrough can streak black in two winters if the crew used the wrong nails. The people who reviewed us have lived with our work through storms and salt seasons. We are licensed and insured, and if a job ever needs us again, you know where to find us.
Benny's replaced our whole roof after a storm and made the insurance claim painless. Crew was on time, cleaned up every nail, and the new roof looks incredible. Could not recommend them more.
Got three estimates and Benny's was the only one who actually inspected the attic and flashing. Honest, no pressure, and the price was fair. The new roof was done in two days.
A shingle blew off and I expected the runaround. Instead Benny's came out the next morning, fixed it, and didn't even charge me. That's how you earn a customer for life.
New roof in a single day. The crew showed up on time, protected the landscaping, and the final price matched the quote to the dollar. No surprises anywhere.
Financing made a full replacement doable for us. The office kept us in the loop the whole way and the work passed inspection with zero issues. Truly professional.
Quick response after a windstorm. They tarped the roof the same day and had it fully repaired that week. Lifesavers. I recommend Benny's to every neighbor.
Cedar siding is an investment in warmth and character that vinyl cannot match, and financing makes it easier to say yes. Spread the cost into predictable monthly payments instead of draining your savings or leaning on a high-interest credit card.
Checking your options takes just a few minutes and won't affect your credit score. Tell us a little about your project, and we'll walk you through plans with quick approvals, flexible terms, and no prepayment penalties.
Yes. We install and restore cedar siding across Long Island, from Hamptons style shake siding to sawn shingles and clapboard, with stainless fasteners and finishes that protect the wood from day one. Every project starts with a free estimate and a written scope before any work begins.
Shakes are thicker and more textured, the rustic Hamptons look that weathers silver-gray. Sawn shingles are smoother and lay in crisp uniform courses that suit colonials, and board and batten covers vertical farmhouse looks. We look at your home's architecture and show you real examples before you decide.
Real cedar costs more than vinyl, and the price rides on the grade and cut of the wood, how much wall you have, and the finish you choose. Shake siding also covers differently than clapboard, so square footage alone never tells the whole story. We give you a free written, itemized estimate so the number you approve is the number you pay.
Vinyl shake siding copies the shape of cedar, not the wood. It can make sense on a budget, but it will not match real grain, real depth, or cedar's board by board repairability. If you are weighing both, we lay out the honest tradeoffs at your free estimate instead of pushing you either way.
Most of our walls are western red cedar or eastern white cedar. Red cedar is rich in natural oils and takes stain beautifully, while white cedar is the classic Cape and Hamptons shingle that weathers to silver-gray. Both hold up in coastal air when the grade, fasteners, and detailing are right.
All three are legitimate. Stain shows the grain and renews easily, paint gives a crisp traditional look, and untreated cedar weathers into the silver-gray patina Long Island is known for. We help you pick based on the look you want and the upkeep you will actually do.
Often, yes. Cedar repairs board by board, so cleaning, targeted replacement, and refinishing can bring a tired wall back for far less than residing the house. We inspect for free and tell you honestly which route makes sense for your home.
Cedar siding commonly lasts 30 to 40 years or more here when it is installed and maintained right. The routine is simple: wash it annually, watch the south and water facing walls, and refinish on your finish's schedule. Skip the upkeep for years and the wood pays the bill.
The visit is an hour, and most of it happens outside. One of us shows up at the time you picked, and we spend it looking at your walls instead of selling from a binder. We measure, check the sheathing where we can reach it, and talk through shakes, shingles, and finishes with samples you can hold. Ask every question you have.
A few days later you get a free written estimate that spells out the wood grade, the fastener spec, and the finish plan, with no follow-up calls hounding you. Sit with it. Show it to other contractors if you want. Cedar is a big decision and rushing it helps nobody. When you are ready, call us and that same paper becomes the plan we build from.
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