Siding Replacement Cost: Tear-Off, Storeys and Material Add-Ons
What siding replacement costs on a typical home, and how removing old layers, extra storeys and your material choice move the price.
The average cost to replace siding is $14,000 for a typical mid-range job on a 140 m² (about 1,500 sq ft) house, with most projects landing between $10,900 – $18,200. Basic work starts around $12,300, and premium jobs reach $22,900 (all before sales tax).
Those numbers hide three things that swing the final quote: what is already on your walls, how tall the house is, and which material you pick. Here is how each one works, so you can read a quote line by line.
Tear-off: the cost of what comes off
Removing old siding is labor plus disposal, and it shows up in our model as a separate option:
- No tear-off: walls are already bare, for example after an addition or a rebuild. This is the cheapest scenario.
- One layer: the most common case. Crews strip the old cladding, inspect the sheathing and haul everything away.
- Two layers: older homes sometimes have new siding installed over old. Taking off both layers means more hours, more dumpster weight and more chances to find damaged sheathing underneath.
Some contractors will offer to cover the old siding instead of removing it. That can save money up front, but it hides rot, adds weight to the wall and leaves little room to add house wrap or insulation board. If the existing siding is warped, soft or bulging, tear-off is the better call.
When you compare bids, check that each one states how many layers it assumes. A low quote that assumes one layer can grow if the crew finds two once work starts.
Storeys: why height adds cost
Taller walls mean scaffolding or lifts, slower material handling and more safety setup. Per square foot of wall, a three-storey house costs more than a single-storey one even when the wall area is the same. Our model lets you choose one, two or three storeys, and the difference is most noticeable on labor-heavy materials such as fiber cement and cedar, which are heavy and awkward to lift into place.
Gables, dormers and many corners also add cutting and trim time. If your home is complex, expect to land toward the upper end of the range.
Material add-ons compared
Material is the biggest lever. Here is what a mid-range job costs for each option at the default size, tear-off of one layer included in the baseline:
- Vinyl: $14,000
- Insulated vinyl: $15,200
- Aluminum: $14,800
- Engineered wood: $15,800
- Fiber cement: $17,000
- Cedar: $17,700
- Steel: $18,200
- Stucco: $18,800
For the full table with usual ranges and lifespans:
| Material | Typical | Usual range | Lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vinyl | $14,000 | $10,900 – $18,200 | 20-40 years |
| Aluminum | $14,800 | $11,600 – $19,300 | 20-40 years |
| Insulated vinyl | $15,200 | $11,900 – $19,800 | 20-40 years |
| Engineered wood (LP SmartSide, CanExel) | $15,800 | $12,300 – $20,500 | 30-50 years |
| Fiber cement (James Hardie) | $17,000 | $13,300 – $22,100 | 50+ years |
| Cedar | $17,700 | $13,800 – $23,000 | 20-40 years |
| Steel | $18,200 | $14,200 – $23,700 | 40-70 years |
| Stucco | $18,800 | $14,700 – $24,400 | 50-80 years |
A few practical notes on the trade-offs:
- Vinyl is the budget standard: low maintenance, but it can crack in cold snaps and fade over time.
- Insulated vinyl adds a foam backing that stiffens the panels and improves the wall slightly.
- Fiber cement and engineered wood look more like real wood and hold paint well, but installation is heavier work.
- Cedar is beautiful and needs regular staining or sealing, so count the upkeep as part of its cost.
- Steel and aluminum are durable and fire resistant, though dents can show.
Hidden costs to ask about
- Sheathing repairs. Rot behind old siding is common around windows and at the bottom of walls. Ask how the contractor prices replacement plywood.
- Trim, soffit and fascia. Often quoted separately.
- Windows and doors. Replacing siding is the cheapest moment to fix flashing, and if you are also planning new windows, doing both at once saves on labor. See our guide to Window replacement.
- Painting. Fiber cement and wood may come primed only, so confirm whether finish coats are included.
- Permits. Structural changes usually need a local permit, and some towns want one for full re-siding. Ask who pulls it.
- Sales tax. Our figures are before sales tax on materials, which varies by state. Labor is often not taxed, but rules differ.
Is the roof next?
Siding and roofing share edges, flashing and scaffolding. If your roof is also near the end of its life, pricing both together can reduce setup costs. Our Roof replacement guide shows what that side of the project costs.
How we calculate these figures
We build each estimate from labor hours multiplied by local rates, add materials, then check the result against market prices and real quotes. The storey, tear-off and material options adjust those inputs rather than adding a flat markup.
Checking your own quote
Take the number of layers, storeys and the material from your bid and compare them against the figures above. If a quote is far outside the range, use our "is my quote fair" quote checker to see which line items explain the gap. Get at least three written bids, and make sure each one covers the same scope: tear-off, house wrap, trim, disposal and cleanup.
No federal tax credit currently applies to siding. The 25C credit ended for property placed in service after 31 Dec 2025. Some utilities offer insulation rebates, so check the DSIRE database for state and utility programs before you sign.