Siding — Muskoka & Georgian BaySiding for a cottage that faces weather all year.
Starting from — our real book rate
What siding costs here
$12.50/ sq ft + HST
Typical project $4,950 – $9,900300–600 sq ft of cedar siding
05 specs03 photographs on file
Custom siding in Wasaga Beach, Tiny & across cottage country
Sheet A-206 — The work
Siding done properly
Siding in cottage country takes lake-effect snow, driven rain, and hard sun. We install wood, engineered wood, fibre-cement, and board-and-batten systems with the flashing, ventilation, and detailing that make them last — and make the cottage look like it grew there.
Specification — Siding
- A-206.01Cedar, engineered wood, and fibre-cement systems
- A-206.02Board-and-batten and shake profiles suited to cottage architecture
- A-206.03Proper house-wrap, rainscreen, and flashing details — no shortcuts
- A-206.04Soffit, fascia, and trim completed in the same job
- A-206.05Colour and profile consultation against your roofline and stonework
The question — The skin
Which skin — and what goes behind it?
Every rate above carries the water management with it: taped house wrap, rainscreen strapping, flashing at every opening, stainless fasteners.
Sheet A-206 — rates from the bookPer unit
Engineered wood
$12.50/ sq ftThe look with more stability and a factory finish. From the dock it reads as wood.
Fibre cement
$14/ sq ftThe durability pick — fire-resistant, rot-proof, happy in hard exposure.
Board and batten
$15/ sq ftThe cottage profile, priced as its own line.
Western red cedar
$16.50/ sq ftThe real thing. It moves, it silvers or stains, and it belongs here.
Trim and take-out, priced on top
- Soffit, fascia & trim package$28/ ft
- Siding removal & disposal$2.50/ sq ft
Book rates, supplied and installed. Your written quote is measured from your site and shows HST as its own line.
Sheet A-206 — Process note
How we side a cottage
We strip to sheathing and look, because siding hides its problems until it is off. Anything soft gets repaired before anything new goes on. Then the water management that decides how long the job lasts: house wrap, taped; flashing at every opening; rainscreen strapping so the wall can drain and dry behind the siding. The siding itself goes on with stainless fasteners, and soffit, fascia, and trim finish in the same job — one crew, one setup, one clean-up.
Materials we trust
Western red cedar for the classic cottage skin — it moves, it silvers or stains, and it belongs here. Engineered wood when you want the look with more stability and a factory finish. Fibre cement where fire rating, low maintenance, or hard exposure argue for it. Board-and-batten and shake profiles in all three. House wrap, rainscreen strapping, and stainless fasteners under everything — the parts you never see are the reason it lasts.
Sheet A-206 — Site conditions
Before we can put a number on it
Four things decide a siding quote. We walk them with you on site — bring what you have and we'll find the rest.
Strip, repair what's soft, wrap, strap — then side. Soffit, fascia and trim finish in the same job, with the same crew.
No self-serve estimate
Siding is priced off your elevation — the wall area and every opening in it — so it starts with a measure on site rather than a slider.
- A-206.01What's underneath
- We strip to sheathing and look. A cottage that has been through fifty winters usually has a soft corner somewhere, and repairs are priced in writing as things are opened up.
- A-206.02The water-facing wall
- Driven rain with nothing to slow it, UV bounced off the lake all day, freeze-thaw every shoulder season. That wall gets the rainscreen and extra care at every flashing.
- A-206.03Openings
- Flashing at every window and door. It is cheap while the wall is open and impossible after.
- A-206.04Season
- Cold doesn't bother cedar or the crew, but sealants and some finishes have temperature floors. We schedule the weather-critical steps into workable conditions.
Record photographs — Siding
Siding we've built
Real projects photographed as jobs wrap up — towns named, clients never.
Rear elevation in charcoal lap siding, with the white pergola and wood deck landing at the side entrance. — Georgian Bay, Ontario Charcoal lap siding run tight to the white trim around the patio door and window. — Georgian Bay, Ontario
Sequence of work — 04 steps
Four steps, one point of contact
- 01Survey
Quote
We visit, measure, and send a written quote with HST shown — price honoured as quoted.
- 02Prep
Design & materials
We settle the layout together and price your material options side by side.
- 03Build
Build
One crew, a scheduled start date, and a tidy site every day we're on it.
- 04Finish
Walkthrough
We walk the finished work with you — it isn't done until you say it is.
We build siding across Wasaga Beach, Tiny, Tay, Port McNicoll, and Midland — and everywhere north of Barrie. See our full service area.
Cost schedule — real book rates
What siding costs here
Installed siding runs $135 to $165 a square foot in our book: engineered wood at $135, fibre cement at $145, board-and-batten at $155, and cedar at $165 — each including wrap, rainscreen, and flashing details. A soffit, fascia, and trim package is $45 a linear foot. Stripping and disposing of old siding is $18 a square foot. These are our real book rates. Your written quote is measured from your site and shows HST as its own line.
Straight answers
Questions we get about siding
Cedar, engineered wood, or fibre cement — how do I pick?
Cedar is the real thing: it costs the most at $165 a square foot, asks for refinishing, and looks like nothing else. Engineered wood is $135, holds a factory finish for years, and reads as wood from the dock. Fibre cement, at $145, is the durability pick — fire-resistant, rot-proof, happy in hard exposure. We price your elevation in more than one and talk it through against the roofline and the stonework.
What is a rainscreen and do I need one?
A rainscreen is a small air gap — strapping between the wrap and the siding — that lets the wall drain and dry. Wind-driven rain gets behind every siding eventually; the question is whether it can leave. On lake exposure we consider it non-negotiable. It is cheap while the wall is open and impossible after.
Can you re-side in winter?
Some of it. Cold doesn't bother cedar or the crew, but sealants and some finishes have temperature floors. We schedule so the weather-critical steps land in workable conditions, and we are honest when the calendar should wait for March.
Do you repair what you find underneath?
Yes, and we assume we will find something — a cottage that has been through fifty winters usually has a soft corner somewhere. Restoration is one of our trades, so sheathing repair, sill work, and flashing corrections happen in the same job with the same crew, priced in writing as things are opened up.
Why does lake exposure change the job?
The water-facing wall lives a different life: driven rain with nothing to slow it, UV bounced off the lake all day, freeze-thaw through every shoulder season. That wall gets the rainscreen, extra care at every flashing, and the finish chosen for punishment. It is also the wall everyone sees from the dock — it earns the attention twice.
Sheet A-500 — Request for quote
Get a number you can hold us to.
No obligation. A written quote with HST shown — price honoured as quoted.