Clapboard siding gives your home a unique look thanks to its overlapping boards and less-obviously manufactured nature.
Understanding what it is, how it’s made, and how it differs from other types of siding helps you decide if that unique look is worth the extra money you may pay.
Speaking of money, average installation costs of clapboard siding on a 1,500-square-foot house range from $7,725 to $19,050.
The downside – labor costs increase significantly if your home has complex or uneven exterior walls, though that’s a common problem for all types of siding.
What Is It, and Why Are They Called Clapboards?
In a world where so much of the siding you see is manufactured to achieve perfection, clapboard siding is something of a rebel.
Traditionally, it’s made by splitting a piece of wood apart rather than carefully sawing it, creating an overlapping look in which the top part of the board overlaps with the second.
Even its name hints at this origin – clapboards are likely named after the Dutch word “Klappen,” which means “to split.”
In more modern times, that splitting is more carefully controlled than it used to be. Today’s clapboards are refined and cohesive, though they still provide an overlapping look similar to the more rough-split versions of the past.
How Much Does Clapboard Siding Cost?
Including installation, you can expect to pay anywhere between $7,725 and $19,050 for clapboard siding, with the cost varying based on factors including the specific material and the size of the job.
| Material | Cost of Material per Square Foot | Cost of Installation per Square Foot | Average Total Cost for a 1,500-Square-Foot House |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Clapboard Siding | $4-$6.70 | $1.15-$2.70 | $7,725-$14,100 |
| Cedar Clapboard Siding | $5-$10 | $1.15-$2.70 | $9,225-$19,050 |
If you’re a DIYer, you can save up to $4,000 on installation. The materials alone cost in the $6,000 to $10,000 region for a 1,500-square-foot house, assuming you use pine clapboard.
Cedar costs even more, bringing you closer to $15,000 for the most high-grade siding before you factor installation into the mix.
Clapboard Siding Cost per Square Foot
Breaking down the total average cost of clapboard materials into square feet, you already have a starting point – between $6,000 and $10,000 for pine clapboard for a 1,500-square-foot house.
So, a simple equation gives you a “per square foot” cost:
Divide both $6,000 and $10,000 by 1,500 to get a square-foot cost of between $4 and $6.70, assuming you use pine clapboard.
Throw installation into the mix, and you’re paying between $1,750 and $4,000 for a 1,500-square-foot house, creating a per-square-foot installation cost of between $1.15 and $2.70 (approximately).
Bring the two sets of figures together, and your average price to buy clapboards and have them installed per square foot is between $5.15 and $9.40.
Again, the numbers go up if you choose cedar clapboards, with combined costs hitting $12.70 per square foot if you also have an expensive installation.
Did you know? The combination of material and installation costs means that clapboard costs more to fit as siding than vinyl (between $2 and $11 per square foot) and aluminum (between $2.50 and $6.50 per square foot).
Additional Cost Factors
Labor and materials are already a pretty lethal combination for people who are trying to keep to a strict budget.
Moreover, there are other factors that may affect the price you pay for your clapboard siding.
Clapboard Siding Sizes
As a general rule, the larger your clapboard siding boards, the less you’ll pay for the installation. That may seem like a strange idea until you remember that smaller boards create more work for your contractors. They have to deal with more volume, as each board still needs to be secured properly, leading to them spending more time on the job.
Material Quality
In some ways, installing clapboard siding is like fitting regular wood siding – the rarer or better quality the wood, the more you’ll spend.
Clapboard gives you a few material options, with the most popular being pine and cedar. Cedar costs more ($5 and $10 per square foot compared to $4 and $6.70 for pine), though it makes up for that by being more resistant to pests and rot.
Then, there’s the material grade. If you want a perfectly clean and clear look, you need Grade A wood, which will cost you more than Grade B or C.
The latter two tend to come with more knots and visible flaws. Whether that’s good or bad for you depends on how authentic you want the wood to look.
Did you know? Wood with a Grade of C or D isn’t necessarily bad wood. Sure, it has defects, including knots and small holes, but these defects often lend character to siding that would otherwise look bland and uninspired.
Finish
The cost of the finish will get you in one of two ways – you either pay more for the material because it arrives pre-finished, or you pay extra in labor to finish the wood as it’s installed.
Either way, it’s a cost you’ll likely have to absorb, especially if you fit pine or oak clapboards. Both are susceptible to rotting and pest issues if left unfinished and exposed to the elements.
Cedar is a little better. But even though it absorbs about half the amount of water as pine, unfinished cedar can still experience rotting issues without treatment.
Labor
You’ve already seen the cost of labor above, as you’ll pay up to $2.70 per square foot to have your clapboard siding fitted.
But there’s another labor cost that may slip your mind – removing existing siding.
You won’t have to worry about this cost if you have clean and clear exterior walls. Unfortunately, you might pay over $2,000 to remove existing siding or closer to $3,000 if you need to get rid of stucco or heavy stone siding.
Job Complexity
In a perfect world (at least for installers), your house would be a perfect square that allows them to fit your clapboard siding with no extra effort.
But that perfect world doesn’t exist. Your home may have little alcoves and small, tight corners, all of which force your contractors to cut your clapboard siding down to achieve the right fit.
Working on the clapboard itself takes time, and that time gets added to the job in the form of more money paid to your installers.
Location
Where you live can almost impact your costs as much as who you hire for the simple reason that installers have to cover their costs of living.
For instance, if you live in a high-cost-of-living state like California, you can expect to pay more for installation than somebody who lives in a location with a low cost of living.
Top Clapboard Siding Brands
It’s often tough to find clapboard brands because many brands don’t call their siding “clapboard,” even though that’s what they’re selling. They’ll use alternative names, such as “weatherboard” or “lap siding.”
Throw those terms into the mix, and it’s easier to find a few top brands that make this type of siding, including:
Accoya
Amerhart
KWP Engineered Wood Products
CertainTeed
Interestingly, some of these manufacturers use vinyl, rather than wood, to emulate the clapboard look without actually dealing with the complexities of “splitting” wood.
CertainTeed’s “Restoration Classic” siding is a good example, as it mimics the overlap even though it’s made using vinyl.
Where to Purchase Clapboard Siding
America’s two biggest home hardware stores, Home Depot and Lowe’s, both sell clapboard siding, though the latter calls theirs “natural wood bevel” siding. You can also get it from American Lumber Co., which offers clapboard options in white pine and cedar.
Otherwise, you’re best served by going straight to the manufacturer if you have a specific brand in mind.
Clapboard Siding Pros and Cons
By now, you’re probably asking yourself a question – why should I choose clapboard siding ahead of something like shiplap or shingles?
Only you can answer that question, though these pros and cons will help you to find that answer.
The Pros
Starting with the obvious, clapboard can be made using a ton of different materials, from natural wood to vinyl siding designed to look like wood.
That variability gives you plenty of options. Assuming you’ve decided the overlapping look is right for your home, you can find almost any color with clapboard siding.
It’s an environmentally-friendly choice, too, assuming you go for the wooden variety. Choosing vinyl eliminates this benefit, though.
Longevity is also a key benefit of clapboard siding. You’ll get at least 20 years of use out of it as long as it’s finished properly and maintained well. Some versions can even last for 40 years.
The Cons
Most of the cons of clapboard siding are the same as you’ll see in most wood siding – rotting, pests, and peeling.
Did you know? Untreated wood siding, including clapboard, can fall victim to termites, carpenter bees, and even powder post beetles. The latter love boring holes in wood to create nests and to eat the wood’s fibers.
Proper finishing combined with regular maintenance takes care of most of those problems, though it doesn’t change the fact that you’ll spend more time maintaining the clapboard than you would vinyl.
The cost could also be an issue. Clapboard isn’t the most expensive siding available (the materials fall in the mid-range), but installation can be tricky. Creating that overlap so it looks consistent across all of your walls takes time, and that time leads to higher prices from contractors.
What Is the Difference Between Clapboard and Wood Siding?
On the surface, there’s very little difference between clapboard and wood siding for a simple reason – they’re both made using wood.
Sure, the type of wood can vary across both (and clapboard is also available in vinyl), but you’re usually going to face similar maintenance issues regardless of which you choose.
As such, the main difference stems from manufacturing (splitting vs. cutting) and installation.
Clapboard siding overlaps, creating a few more challenges for your contractors than regular wood siding, which sits flusher against other boards and the wall itself.
Is Shiplap the Same as Clapboard?
On the surface, clapboard and shiplap seem the same because they both overlap. The difference lies in how that overlap is created, with the difference between cutting and splitting coming into play again.
With shiplap, a manufacturer cuts rabbeted edges into the boards, allowing the shiplap boards to fit snugly while still creating the overlapping effect. Those edges don’t exist in clapboard. The overlap in clapboard siding comes from the split itself, creating a slightly less manufactured look.
Clapboard Siding vs. Shiplap
There’s little to choose between clapboard and shiplap siding because both create an overlapping effect, giving them similar aesthetic appeal. Your choice will ultimately come down to how much you like shadows. Clapboard often casts shadows because the nature of split wood means you don’t get as snug a fit on the overlap as you do with shiplap.
With shiplap siding, the careful engineering that goes into making rabbeted edges means the boards fit snugly together. They still look like they overlap. But that overlap is manufactured, meaning there’s no gap and, thus, no shadow.
Clapboard Siding vs. Dutch Lap
As you’ve seen with shiplap, there’s little difference between clapboard siding and Dutch lap. The latter is a variation of the former and is hand-carved when made in the traditional fashion.
So, what’s the difference that could be the decider when making your choice?
Dutch lap siding has notches at each end, with a concave face at the point where the boards overlap. With clapboard, the panels are narrower and flatter, without the concave face, creating a more old-school look than the more modern Dutch lap.
Did you know? Dutch lap siding is a touch more difficult to install than clapboard, meaning you’ll pay a little more for Dutch lap on the installation side. But being as they’re both usually made using wood, material costs are about the same.
Clapboard Siding vs. Shingles
You get a completely different look with shingles, which are smaller and narrower than clapboard. They also sit flusher against the wall, which is great for wind resistance because there are fewer “open” edges for the wind to catch.
Shingles also have a more uniform and rounded edge at the base compared to the overlap in clapboard. Again, your choice will likely be aesthetic – do you prefer the tight and small fit of shingles or the longer boards you get with clapboard siding?
Clapboard Siding vs. Tongue and Groove
Cost is likely going to be your main consideration when it comes to choosing between these two types of siding.
As the name flatly states, tongue and groove siding use planks for which the tongue of one plank fits into the groove of the next. The overlap is almost non-existent, creating a very different look.
But more importantly, the act of manufacturing the tongue and groove for each board takes work and time, both of which add to material costs.
Does Clapboard Siding Have Asbestos?
It shouldn’t.
At least, any clapboard siding made after 1980 should be completely free of asbestos because it was around that time that siding manufacturers stopped using this dangerous material in their products.
It’s always worth checking that your siding is asbestos-free, and avoid any siding, clapboard or otherwise, that contains asbestos.
Interestingly, the United States hasn’t banned the manufacture and sale of asbestos, even though the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) phased out about 90% of the products made using the material in the 1980s. On the plus side, the last asbestos mine in the U.S. shut down in 2002, and you’re unlikely to find any siding manufacturers that willingly use the material.
Can You Paint Clapboard Siding?
Assuming the siding is made using wood, you can paint it any way you want as long as you take the time to finish and prime the wood properly.
Vinyl clapboard is a little different, as many manufacturers void your warranty if you paint vinyl. That’s not to say you can’t do it, at least in terms of it being possible, but it’s not advised.
Can You Put Siding Over Clapboard?
Most installers will recommend removing your old siding before installing new siding. Still, you can place another type of siding over the old clapboard if you take steps to transform the clapboard into a flat surface.
Fan fold and rigid foam both help to achieve this task, allowing your new siding to lay flat by getting rid of the clapboard overlap that would otherwise make it impossible to install.
Is Clapboard A Good Siding Choice?
All of the benefits that come with installing wood siding come with clapboard siding, with the added advantage of creating an overlapping effect that’s perfect for homes made in the colonial style.
In that respect, clapboard is great because it helps you achieve a specific aesthetic. But you may pay more for installation and materials than you’d pay for other types of siding, and consistent maintenance is needed to keep siding in good condition.
Clap Your Hands For Clapboard
If the colonial style is where it’s at for your home, clapboard siding and its overlapping edges allow you to create the look you’re going for.
But, as with all types of siding, it’s not perfect. The overlaps inherent in the boards can be a hassle for installers, and they’ll often charge you extra because they have to spend more time slotting the boards together.
Plus, it’s usually made using wood, so it comes with the rotting and pest drawbacks of all wood siding when improperly treated or poorly maintained.
If you look beyond those issues, though, clapboard is a good mid-range choice for siding that looks great and comes loaded with character.
