Cedar Shake Siding Repair in Suffolk County, NY

Common Cedar Shake Siding Problems

Six Things We Find

Splitting: cedar naturally splits along the grain as it cycles through wet and dry seasons over decades. Narrow splits are cosmetic and completely normal. A split running the full length of a shake creates a direct water path right to the wall behind it.

Cupping and curling: flat-grain shakes cup as they age, lifting up at the edges and letting wind-driven rain blow behind the course.

Base course rot: this is the single most common serious problem we encounter. The bottom courses sit closest to ground splash-back, snow piled against the foundation, and soil or mulch built up over the years. Cedar in direct contact with damp earth rots from behind where nobody can see it until a shake breaks away in your hand.

Fastener staining: black or rust streaks running down the wall below every nail line mean the original installers did not use stainless steel fasteners. Cedar contains natural acids that attack ordinary nails, and the salt air near our coastal waterways accelerates this process rapidly.

Mildew and dark patches: these show up frequently on north-facing elevations and shaded walls, as well as on wooded lots inland of Montauk Highway where cedar stays damp under heavy tree canopies.

Insect and woodpecker damage: this is less common but much more dramatic. Both pests target cedar that has already softened from moisture.

Cedar Siding Staining and Maintenance

What Cedar Wants From You

Cedar walls generally fall into two categories, and each requires a different approach.

Left natural. Cedar weathers to a classic silver-grey and remains stable that way. It provides the traditional look across the South Shore and the East End. Maintenance is mostly about cleaning: a gentle wash to remove built-up mildew and surface dirt. Never use a pressure washer at high pressure. High-pressure water shreds the soft summer wood between the grain lines, permanently furring the surface and driving water deep into the wall framing. It is the fastest way to ruin a cedar wall, and it happens constantly.

Stained or oiled. Semi-transparent stains and penetrating oils slow down the weathering process and preserve a warmer wood tone. However, they commit you to a regular maintenance cycle—typically re-coating every few years, more frequently on sun-hammered south and west walls and less on sheltered sides. Skipping this cycle results in a patchy, half-stripped look that takes far more work to correct than routine maintenance would.

Neither approach is wrong. The only real trouble starts when a property owner begins one method and abandons it halfway through.