What is Vinyl Shake Siding? Modeled after cedar shake, vinyl shake provides a custom look with low-maintenance. Check out the before and after of this home’s exterior renovation with shake siding accents.
While our house was primarily renovated using board and batten (or, vertical siding), we accented several parts of the exterior with shake siding. Based on traditional cedar shake, vinyl shake siding is a cost-effective and low maintenance option for exterior remodels.
What is Cedar Shake Siding?
Cedar shake is a siding and roofing material that is split (vs. sawn) on one or both sides (source). Splitting the wood (vs. sawing) results in thick shakes with natural irregularities that will not necessarily lie perfectly flat.
Want to learn more? Check out this video about how to hand-split cedar.
Cedar shake is beautiful upon installation, and it ages gracefully, as well. With the proper maintenance – including cleaning and applying stain every several years – cedar shake siding will last decades (source).
What is Vinyl Shake Siding?
Vinyl shake siding replicates the look of cedar shake siding, without the maintenance. Similar to other look-a-like siding products, such as vinyl board and batten, the vinyl version of cedar shake is durable, lower maintenance, and lower cost.
Types of Shake Siding
Shake siding is available in several main styles. Here are a few of the common terms to know:
Straight Edge Shake Siding – Straight edge siding shakes are all the same length, resulting in straight-edged rows of siding.
Staggered Edge Shake Siding – Staggered edge siding shakes are not all the same length, resulting in an uneven edge on each row of siding.
Hand-Split Shake – Hand split shake is the term that refers to the traditional method of making shakes, where one or two face sides are split by hand, instead of sawn. Even though vinyl shakes aren’t actually hand-split, the vinyl has a hand-split appearance.
Rough-Split Shake – Rough-split describes shakes that are especially rough due to the hand splitting process. Even though vinyl shakes aren’t actually hand split, rough-split vinyl will have a rougher appearance.
Vinyl Shake Siding Accents
Shake siding can be used in large or small amounts on a home’s exterior.
When selecting siding for our home, we found out that shake was more expensive than lap siding and vertical siding (we eventually chose board and batten siding).
Therefore, it made sense to use shake siding in small doses. We used vinyl shake to accent the architectural features of our home’s exterior.
Shake Siding on Dormers
Our cottage style home has two dormers, one on each side of the chimney.
Rather than using our primary siding – a vertical board and batten – we chose to highlight the dormers with a light gray, rough-split, staggered shake siding.
Shake Siding on Gables
Gables, similar to dormers, is another exterior feature that lends itself to using shake siding as an accent.
Abbie, from The Gray Cottage, used a straight shingle in the gables of her board and batten home (check out her exterior color palette, here).
Shake Siding on Bump-outs
Another exterior feature that is well suited to shake siding accents is bump-outs.
What is a bump out? When an exterior wall extends out further than the rest of the exterior it is called a bump-out.
Our home has a bump-out on the back of our home. It is where the kitchen and laundry room are located. The kitchen has patio doors which open to our deck.
During our exterior renovation, we chose to use a light gray vinyl shake siding on the bump-out to highlight the entry and break up the board and batten.
Shake Siding Exterior Renovation
The shake siding accents on our home are a favorite detail of our exterior renovation.
I especially love the shake around our patio doors.
In a lighter color – compared to the dark vertical siding – the gray shake makes our black patio doors a focal point. Plus, the light gray allows the dark finish on our patio lights to pop.
The rough-split shake design adds organic texture where almost every other exterior detail has straight lines.
Best of all? Vinyl shake siding fit within our budget. Since we only used it in small doses – on the dormers and bump-out – we didn’t have to invest a ton of extra money to get the look of cedar shake.
FAQs
Q: What is the difference between a shake and a shingle?
A: A shake is split on one or both face sides, whereas a shingle is sawn on both face sides.
Q: Is vinyl shake siding more expensive than regular vinyl siding?
A: Yes, vinyl shake siding is more expensive than regular vinyl siding (lap siding). As an example, Lowes shows that shake siding is approximately twice as expensive as lap siding (when comparing the same color and brand).
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Shirley
Tuesday 7th of February 2023
Hi: I have the staggered edge vinyl siding on the house I just bought. My question is, is the siding paintable? I don’t mind the siding but really dislike the color of it. Any suggestions?
Lora Green
Tuesday 21st of February 2023
Hi Shirley! Siding is paintable, but how it is painted does depend on the type of siding. For wood and aluminum siding, select a paint for exterior wood or aluminum siding. For vinyl siding, select an exterior paint for vinyl AND it is recommended to only paint similar or lighter colors on vinyl siding because darker colors may cause the vinyl to overheat, resulting in warping.
Mimi
Sunday 29th of January 2023
Thank-you for this excellent article! I've searched high and low for an example of what I'm trying to do with accent shingles and your patio door example is the closest. Could I pull this look off on the front of my home creating a window surround accent/highlight that is Not a bump-out, similar to your door treatment?
Lora Green
Thursday 2nd of February 2023
Hi Mimi! Yes! I definitely think this would work on the front of a home, even if there is no bump out. The key will be creating a division of some point (essentially, the division that would have been created by the corners of the bump-out, you will create with siding trim/j-channel). I emailed you a few examples (I couldn't find many with shake specifically, but where two types of siding meet and the trim creates the boundary).
Courtney
Wednesday 10th of August 2022
Hi! The siding looks great. We have old cedar shingle siding and we'll be adding an exterior light. It looks like the light by your patio door isn't on a mounting block. Any chance you know how it's mounted and how it was made level/plumb on the shingles?
Lora Green
Tuesday 16th of August 2022
This is a great question, Courtney! We unfortunately don't have a great solution, and would like to improve on our setup. Essentially, we used some of the same siding to support the back of the light. However, I don't love it. I will send you a closeup photo.
Timothy
Wednesday 1st of June 2022
Hi: good article! Is highly concurring with my renovation projects. Not only is your home base close to my residence...but you also mentioned lowe's which is i guess the favorite store of my building material. However, please don't consider me a customer or client of your business...i am more of a do it myself type of lone wolf doer who gets inspiration & ideas by perusing other people's ads & blog's (?)...to enhance and go along with my own workaday deecisions. My humble retirement income does not allow me a large budget allowance for mentor fees, large projects, etc....but i wanted to say thank you very much for providing me with some more motivation and inspiration. Good luck & best wishes! Regards, Timo
Lora Green
Wednesday 1st of June 2022
Good luck to you, too! While I'm not retired (still have a ways to go for that), we are pretty particular about our budget, too. I agree that is very important when working on a home. For us, we try to pay with cash as often as possible and DIY when feasible to save on labor costs. No worries that I'll be selling you anything :), this article is just my thoughts and ideas. I appreciate your kind comments and glad you found some inspiration. Have a great week!