I have no idea, but I'm working on an addition and am SHOCKED at the price of cedar siding!!! 3 years ago we replaced a wall's worth, and the price has since gone through the roof (pun intended)

Since you're interested in a total replacment, if you're open to other ideas, you can get a rustic distinct look with metal roofing at a fraction of the cost. As a bonus, it'll last longer, be easier to maintain, and you may even get a reduced rate on your HO insurance!

Whatever you decide, good luck!

In my area of Texas, cedar roofs have become virtually illeagle because of the fire hazard. State Farm Insurance has stopped insuring homes with cedar roofs in our area.

In my many years of home ownership, I've had cedar roofs replaced twice. I love how they look...for the first few years. However, I will never re-roof with cedar. I became sick of the maintenance, and the quality of the shakes just ain't what it used to be, so the life expectancy has gotten quite a bit shorter, while the price of squares has been going up and up. I've switched over to a 50-year steel roof and I'm not looking back. If it were me, I'd look at non-cedar alternatives.

I agree that the quality of cedar seems to be inferior to what used to be available. 5 years ago, we replaced our 15 year old cedar roof with enviroshakes. It is an engineered material, made from recycled polymers. Our roof looks just like cedar shingles and has given us absolutely no problems.

I would highly recommend this instead of cedar. It won't cost you less this year, but you won't need to replace it, or have it repaired in a few years.

Here is a link that might be useful: Enviroshakes

We live in the Northwest, where cedar siding and roofing were quite normal for most houses. When we had to replace our roof 5 years ago, I got bids for all sorts of alternative roofing materials as well as cedar.

You're right...cedar roofing prices are sky high. Part of the problem, as it was explained to me, is that most of the old growth cedar is now gone, and what is available is exhorbitantly expensive. To save wood, the newer cedar shingles are much thinner than the old growth shingles, therefor you are not getting as much wear out of them.

The other problem is that the ozone hole is causing the cedar to break down faster from higher UV exposure. Most roofing companies here in the PNW will not do cedar anymore...it ain't environmental, and they just don't last. You're lucky to get 10 years out of a new cedar roof, and in the old days you could stretch it to 20 years with good care.

Our neighborhood's covenant restrictions stated cedar roofs for all houses, but everyone has ignored that and gone with alternative materials. We now have metal, tile, and composite roofs around us. We chose to go with a 40-50 year composite roof...extra thick, extra realistic with shadings in the granules, etc. Not one peep from the neighborhood association, and roof care for us has gone down to almost nothing. Just blowing the leaves off in the fall, and taking care of any algae growth in shady areas.

I'd never go back to cedar again. We do have cedar siding on our house and in the renovation replaced one whole side with more cedar. With paint/stain, it has held up beautifully over the last 30 years in our harsh wet climate.

It took a state law to get rid of our neighborhood deed restriction that required cedar shingles(texas). Insurance rates and fire deaths were going sky high. Now they are illegal on multifamily, and illegal to require them on single family. You can't even find them in the lumberyards anymore.

Depends on the slope of the roof, the size of the roof, how cut up the roof is, how much flashing, and what type of cedar shingles/shakes you desire...

I'm in New England, up here we charge $475-$1100 a square.

Mongo

we just had ours replaced...I'm not sure how many squares, but our house is about 2600 sf. The cost (including lots of copper for flashing dormered valleys and chimneys)...
$25000.

I'll also jump on the anti-cedar bandwagon. we replaced our cedar shakes ourselves after 15 years and they were composting quite nicely on the roof. We got fireproof shingles instead and got a reduction on our insurance.

Look at EnduraShakes. It's real wood AND you get a discount on homeowner's insurance - even in Texas( my discount is 20% off). It's a class 4 hail roof and you can make it fire-resistant by using a liner of tampco.

Also, it lasts over twice as long before you have to replace it and it's cheaper than cedar. I'd say either go with composite or endurashakes but stay away from cedar if you can!