Our lumberyard sells the Sierra Primed Shake Deep Groove in 20 board bundles at $168.30 per bundle, which breaks down to approx $8.40 per 8' board. We did price out the pre-finished in Maple too...$259.25 per bundle or approx $12.96 per board. Those prices are with a 15% discount that they very kindly offered since we're OBing. :o)

Georgiapeach, a siding contractor is the last person I would trust on your old siding. I suspect you actually have shingles on your house. Shakes would be very rare in your location, but I could be wrong. Is your wood smooth-sawn on the outward face (shingle) or does it have a natural split face consisting of small V-shaped grooves that exactly follow the grain (shakes). In either case, unless the wood is badly warped and cracked and starting to rot, you should be able to save it. The two enemies of cedar siding are sunlight and constantly changing from wet to dry. Keep it protected from sun and in a steady state of moisture content, and it will last 500 years. Whatever you do, DO NOT pressure wash it! It's too soft.

I took a few of the same shingles the house was sided with over to the paint shop to have a few samples done. Sikkens RDC is what they were recommending although again being oil based it made the shingle samples look darker. The natural seemed to be the closest to what I am looking for but not really what I truly want. Other than the fact that water base finishes don't last as long or protect as well, are there other inherent problems with using one of the hybrids as suggested. Another paint shop was pushing Olympic Maximum clear (hybrid) and it appeared to be closer in color when put on as a sample. Faron, I'm not sure what back primed means, but if it means sealed both sides and all edges before installation, the answer is definitely no. And to help answer your question, I"m looking to see as much grain and as much of the original color as possible. I've heard a bit about the Log and Siding but was concerned about it producing a look which was much different to what I have now. Any thoughts? Thanks to both of you for the help. Art

IMO cedar shakes do not belong on that house at all.