Cedar Shake Siding Guide 2026: Everything Ontario Contractors Need to Know
Key points
- Polymer vs. real cedar: freeze-thaw performance and 30 to 50 year lifespan comparison
- Profile breakdown: Mitten RS8, Novik Hand-Split, Foundry Staggered and more
- Installed cost guide: $5 to $9 CAD per sq ft for polymer vs. $10 to $22 for real cedar
Cedar shake siding is one of the most searched exterior cladding terms in Ontario for a reason: the profile works on almost every house type, from Victorian gable accents to full-wrap cottage exteriors, and it reads as premium from the street in a way that flat horizontal siding does not. For Ontario contractors, cedar shake siding comes up in three common scenarios: full-wrap re-cladding jobs, gable and dormer accent work, and heritage restoration projects where the original wood shakes need a durable, maintenance-free replacement.
At Pro Materials, we stock cedar shake and shingle profiles from Mitten, Novik, and Foundry. This guide covers every profile, real pricing, and the installation considerations specific to Ontario's climate, so you can spec the right product on the first call. Browse the full cedar shake and shingle siding range for every profile and colour we carry.
What Are Cedar Shakes and Cedar Shingles?
Cedar shakes are split from western red cedar blocks, leaving one or both faces with a rough, hand-hewn texture and irregular thickness. Cedar shingles are sawn smooth on both faces, resulting in a flatter, more uniform profile. In practice, Ontario contractors use both terms interchangeably on site, but the distinction matters when a client is matching an existing exterior or specifying a particular shadow depth.
Polymer cedar shake siding replicates both styles in rigid panel form. The material is engineered for Canadian climate performance, with the polymer compound resisting moisture absorption, freeze-thaw cycling, UV fading, and insect damage. The panels install faster than individual wood shakes because a single panel covers the equivalent of an entire course.
Worth saying clearly: polymer cedar shake is not a budget substitute for real cedar. A well-specified Novik or Foundry install on a York Region home holds its appearance for 30 to 50 years with zero maintenance. Real cedar in Ontario typically needs restaining every 3 to 5 years at $1.50 to $4.00 CAD per square foot, and even with consistent upkeep, freeze-thaw cycles will shorten its service life in this climate.
Cedar Shake & Shingle Profiles at Pro Materials
How Ontario Contractors Are Using Cedar Shake Siding
The most common application we see from contractors in York Region is accent cladding: polymer shake on the upper gable, the dormer, or a bump-out, paired with horizontal vinyl or fiber cement on the main body. A builder in King Township recently used Foundry Staggered Shake on two front-facing gables of a new custom build, with Mitten West Ridge horizontal siding on the main walls. The combination gives the house a craftsman character without the maintenance liability of real cedar.
Full-wrap shake installations are more common on cottages, heritage restorations, and rural properties where the aesthetic has to be consistent. A contractor near Barrie completing a century home exterior replacement used Novik Hand-Split Shake across the full facade, citing the deep shadow lines and random-width butt pattern as the closest match to the original wood shakes.
For commercial and multi-unit residential, the Novik RS8 and Mitten RS8 8-foot panel formats are the practical choice. An Aurora contractor doing a 12-unit townhouse project told us the 8-foot panels cut his shake installation time by roughly 30% compared to the shorter double-course panels, with noticeably less waste on the gable ends.
Cedar Shake Profile Comparison
| Profile | Format | Exposure | Best Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mitten RS8 | 8.45" x 8' single course | 8" | Full-wrap, gables, fast install |
| Novik RS (Rough Sawn) | 48.75" x 14.5" double course | 12.8" | Re-cladding, large walls |
| Novik HS (Hand-Split) | 48.38" x 18.75" double course | Varies | Heritage look, full facades |
| Novik Northern Perfection | Single course | 5" | Fine-texture shingle look |
| Foundry Split Shake 7" | 60.75" x 7" | 7" | Accent bands, gables |
| Foundry Staggered Shake 7" | 60.75" x 7" | 7" | Cottage, craftsman gables |
All profiles listed are polymer. Each carton of Foundry Split or Staggered Shake covers 100 sq ft at 34 panels per carton. The 8-foot formats (Mitten RS8, Novik RS8) cover comparable area with significantly fewer cuts on standard wall heights. The Novik Northern Perfection is the closest match to traditional cedar shingles in terms of smooth, uniform butt line, making it the right call when a client specifically asks for the shingle look rather than the rougher shake texture.
Choosing Colours for Cedar Shake Siding in Ontario
Colour choice on cedar shake profiles works differently than on horizontal vinyl siding. The texture creates shadow and depth, and the same colour that looks flat on a clapboard panel will look two shades richer on a shake profile. That changes what you should be speccing.
Lighter colours (linen, cream, heritage white, driftwood grey) read as the most authentic wood substitute. The shadow lines between courses do the visual work, and a lighter base lets that texture show. These are the right call for heritage restorations, century homes in Aurora and Newmarket, and any project where the goal is replicating the look of natural cedar.
Medium tones (hearthstone, cedar, autumn harvest, pewter) are the most common choice in York Region subdivision work. They sit comfortably in the mid-range of the street's colour palette and don't polarize buyers the way dark or bright colours can. If a client asks for "cedar look," these are almost always the answer.
Dark colours (ironstone, night sky, deep charcoal) are increasingly popular on new custom builds, particularly on gable accents paired with lighter main-body siding. Dark polymer cedar shake performs well technically: the profile has enough shadow depth that dark tones read with contrast even at flat angles, but dark colours absorb more solar heat on south-facing walls. Specify them with the understanding that the nail slot adjustment for thermal movement matters more in dark installs than light ones.
Two-tone combinations are where cedar shake profiles earn their design value. A contractor in Barrie recently closed a custom home contract partly on the strength of speccing Novik Hand-Split Shake in Hearthstone on the upper gable against Mitten West Ridge in Linen on the main body. The contrast created a craftsman-style exterior character that plain horizontal siding couldn't have delivered. If your client is on the fence between cedar shake and standard siding, this combination argument often closes it.
At Pro Materials, we carry the full Mitten, Novik, and Foundry cedar shake colour ranges at our Newmarket location. Call ahead for large-project colour availability and we can confirm lead times on anything outside standard stock.
Warranty and Maintenance Comparison
This is the section most contractors don't read until they've had a warranty claim go sideways. Know it before that happens.
| Real Cedar | Polymer Cedar Shake | |
|---|---|---|
| Warranty | None standard; some manufacturers 5 to 15 yr limited | Lifetime limited (Novik, Foundry); 50 yr (Mitten) |
| Covers | Defects in material only | Delamination, fading (to specified limits), cracking |
| Does NOT cover | Weather, moisture, UV, maintenance failure | Impact, improper installation, substrate issues |
| Maintenance cycle | Restaining every 3 to 5 yr at $1.50 to $4.00 CAD/sq ft | None; wash with garden hose if required |
| Lifespan in Ontario | 20 to 35 yr with consistent maintenance | 30 to 50 yr with zero maintenance |
| Common failure modes | Checking, cupping, rot at butt line, ice damming damage | Fading on extreme UV exposure (south-facing, dark colours) |
Polymer cedar shake warranties are lifetime for the material, but they're conditional on correct installation and a sound substrate. A warranty claim on a Novik or Foundry install will be denied if the inspector finds the profile was installed over a damaged substrate, nailing was outside the specified slot, or expansion gaps were caulked. We've seen this come up. Document your installations: take photos of the substrate condition before cladding, note the nail placement, and keep a copy of the manufacturer spec sheet signed by the installer on every job.
Real cedar carries no meaningful warranty from any supplier. If it fails early, the liability falls on whoever spec'd it. For projects where the client is cost-sensitive and pushing for real cedar, a written scope-of-work that explicitly names the maintenance requirements and client responsibility is worth the 20 minutes it takes.
Cedar Shake Siding Cost in Ontario 2026
This is where polymer and real cedar diverge most clearly. Real cedar shake siding materials alone run $4 to $11 CAD per square foot before labour. Installed, a standard Ontario job lands between $10 and $22 CAD per square foot depending on complexity, profile, and market. GTA labour pushes that toward the high end.
Polymer cedar shake installed in Ontario typically runs $5 to $9 CAD per square foot. On a 1,500 sq ft re-clad job, that difference adds up to $8,000 to $20,000 CAD in savings before factoring in the ongoing maintenance costs of real cedar.
The chart reflects mid-range installed pricing based on contractor estimates in the York Region and GTA market. Rural Ontario typically runs 10 to 15% lower on labour. Premium detailing, complex gable geometry, or large corner and trim counts will push toward the upper end.
Installation Best Practices for Ontario Contractors
Polymer cedar shingles and shake panels install following Vinyl Siding Institute guidelines, with a few profile-specific details worth knowing for Ontario conditions:
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Use the manufacturer's starter strip. Foundry's profile geometry sits at a slightly different angle than Novik's. A universal starter strip changes the rake angle of every course above it.
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Follow specified exposure exactly. Most cedar shingles and shake profiles are engineered for a specific interlocking depth. Varying the exposure to save material creates water infiltration paths at the butt line.
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Use purpose-built corners. Most profiles have outside and inside corner accessories. J-channel is acceptable on interior corners but noticeably degrades the appearance on exposed outside corners.
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Do not caulk between shakes. This is the most common mistake crews make when transitioning from horizontal vinyl to cedar shingles. Shake and shingle panels need to breathe. The Ontario Building Code Section 9.28 treats siding as a drainage plane, not a sealed barrier. Caulking the butt joints traps moisture and degrades the substrate behind the panels.
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Use corrosion-resistant fasteners. In the GTA and Simcoe County, road salt spray reaches further than most contractors expect. Galvanized nails are standard. Stainless is worth the cost on any project within a few blocks of a heavily salted arterial road.
Why Ontario's Climate Favours Polymer Over Real Cedar
Ontario's freeze-thaw cycle is the defining performance variable for exterior cladding. Environment Canada's climate normals show Ontario sites swinging from below -20°C in January to above 30°C in July, with dozens of freeze-thaw transitions in spring and fall. Water that penetrates wood fibres freezes, expands, and splits the cell structure. With real cedar, that process is gradual and cumulative. After 10 to 15 years in a wet Ontario microclimate, sections of a cedar shake exterior will show checking, cupping, and discolouration even with consistent maintenance.
Polymer cedar shingles and shake panels are impervious to this process. The panels contain no wood fibre to absorb moisture, no cellulose to rot, and no finish coat to maintain. At Pro Materials, we carry cedar shingles and shake profiles rated for continuous exposure to Canadian climate conditions, including direct contact with roofline snow loads in the case of the Novik Hand-Split and RS profiles.
One nuance worth knowing: darker polymer colours absorb more solar heat, which in a south-facing Ontario application can cause minor thermal expansion at panel joints. All manufacturer profiles have expansion gaps built into the locking system, but dark-colour shake installs should use the lower end of the specified nail slot to allow for full thermal movement.
Sourcing Cedar Shake Siding in Ontario
At Pro Materials, we stock all the profiles in this guide from our Newmarket warehouse, with same-day availability on most standard colours and next-day on special orders. We serve contractors throughout York Region, the GTA, Simcoe County, and north to Barrie. For large projects, request a quote online or call us directly and we can confirm lead times and volume pricing on the first call.
For contractors specifying for an upcoming project, the fastest starting point is to request samples of the two or three cedar shingles or shake profiles that match the architectural style. Profiles photograph differently in catalogues than they read on an actual wall. Seeing the texture and shadow depth in person saves the back-and-forth with homeowners on colour and profile approval. We also carry the Mitten RS8 cedar shake technical spec sheets if you need to include product documentation in a project specification package.
NEWMARKET SHOWROOM Unit 5, 1235 Journey's End Cir, Newmarket, ON L3Y 8T7
Phone: +1 (905) 836-7272 Email: info@promaterials.ca
Lena Marchetti
Stone Veneer & Specialty Cladding Advisor
Lena advises architects and custom home builders on premium cladding solutions including stone veneer, engineered cedar shake, and specialty profiles from Novik, GenStone, and Foundry. She has designed exterior packages for over 200 custom homes across York Region.
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