How much does it cost to replace siding on a 2,000 square foot house?

The square footage that matters is the wall area, not the floor area. A two-story house of 2,000 square feet can have around 2,500 square feet of siding once the gables are counted. At the 2026 national range of $3 to $12 per square foot, that is about $7,500 to $30,000 in vinyl, and $12,500 to $35,000 in fiber cement at $5 to $14. Removal of the old siding adds up to $2 per square foot, and new trim, soffit and fascia are usually priced on top.

Is it cheaper to put new siding over old siding?

It saves the tear-off, which runs $0.25 to $2 per square foot nationally, and vinyl can be installed over most existing siding. The catch is that nobody sees the wall underneath. If the old siding is rotted, loose, or hiding water damage, covering it traps the problem behind the new panels. Most contractors recommend a full tear-off on old or damaged siding so the sheathing and the water-resistive barrier can be checked and fixed.

Should I replace my windows or my siding first?

It depends on the window. New-construction windows have a nailing flange that has to be flashed and taped to the wall under the siding, so they go in first, with the siding off. Replacement windows slide into the existing opening without touching the siding, so they can go in later, even years later. If you plan both, tell the siding contractor before the work starts.

Does siding repair make more sense than replacement?

For a few cracked, holed or loose boards, yes: most siding repairs cost $367 to $1,524 nationally. Once repairs run past about $2,000, or half the cost of new siding, replacement is usually the better money. Faded vinyl is the other catch: new panels rarely match old ones that have been in the sun for years.

Siding Replacement Cost in 2026: Vinyl, Fiber Cement, Wood

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Updated Oct 2026

Replacing the siding on a house costs $11,588 on average in 2026, and most homeowners pay $5,554 to $17,721, US national figures. Per square foot of wall, vinyl runs $3 to $12, fiber cement $5 to $14, wood $1 to $15 and steel $4 to $16, before removal of the old siding at up to $2 more. A two-story house can carry 2,500 square feet of siding, so a full job with new trim, soffit and fascia often lands well above the average. Wall area, stories, the shape of the house and the trim decide where you land.

On this page · 10 sections

What does siding replacement cost in 2026?
Why most full-house quotes beat the average
How contractors measure your house
What pushes a siding quote higher
Vinyl, fiber cement or wood?
Siding first, or windows first?
Patch the boards or reside the house?
Checking a siding bid before you sign
When to call a pro
Frequently asked questions

A siding quote is a price per square foot of wall times the size of your walls, plus everything that has to be cut, fitted and sealed around them. The material sets the rate. The shape of the house, the number of stories and the trim decide how far above that rate the final number goes.

All ranges are 2026 national figures from HomeAdvisor’s siding data, installed. Labor rates in your area and the product line you choose set your spot in each one.

National average for a siding replacement in 2026: $11,588
Per square foot for vinyl, installed: $3–$12
Per square foot for fiber cement, installed: $5–$14
Per square foot to tear off and dispose of old siding: $0.25–$2

Source: HomeAdvisor national siding cost data (June 2026).

What does siding replacement cost in 2026?

Material	National range, per sq ft	Upkeep
Engineered wood	$1 to $6	Paint on a schedule; must be installed to keep water out
Vinyl	$3 to $12	Wash it; never painted
Aluminum	$3 to $6	Dents and scratches; can be painted
Steel	$4 to $16	Touch up scratches before they rust
Wood	$1 to $15	Reseal or repaint every 3 to 5 years
Fiber cement	$5 to $14	Repaint and recaulk periodically
Stucco	$7 to $9	Patch cracks before water gets in
Stone veneer	$5 to $11	Little, if installed right
Brick	$10 to $20	Little; can last over 100 years

Those rates usually include installation. Removal and disposal of the old siding is a separate line on many quotes, $0.25 to $2 per square foot, and the permit, $150 to $1,500 depending on the city, may or may not be in the price.

Why most full-house quotes beat the average

The $11,588 average is real, but it blends one-story houses, partial jobs and basic vinyl with everything else. A full job on a two-story house is a different size of project, and the arithmetic shows it.

Take a two-story house 30 by 40 feet with 18-foot walls. The perimeter is 140 feet, so the walls are about 2,520 square feet. Take out the windows and doors, add the two gable triangles under the roof, and you are at roughly 2,500 square feet of siding. At the national rates:

Material	Rate per sq ft	2,500 sq ft of wall
Vinyl	$3 to $12	$7,500 to $30,000
Fiber cement	$5 to $14	$12,500 to $35,000
Old siding removed	$0.25 to $2	$625 to $5,000

Then come the parts that are not siding: new trim around the windows and corners ($630 to $2,300 nationally), soffit and fascia, gutters if they come down, and any rotted sheathing found behind the old boards. That is how a full exterior on a two-story house climbs past $20,000, while the national average sits near $12,000. When you compare a quote with a national figure, compare it with the per-square-foot rate for your wall area, not with the average.

How contractors measure your house

Siding is sold and quoted by the square: 100 square feet of wall. A contractor measures every wall, length times height, subtracts the large openings, and adds the gables. Every gable, dormer and inside corner means boards cut at an angle and trimmed to fit, which adds labor and waste: the offcuts from angled cuts go in the dumpster, and the contractor orders extra material to cover them.

What pushes a siding quote higher

Stories and access. A one-story ranch can be sided from ladders. A two- or three-story house needs scaffolding or pump jacks, more time and more crew. HomeAdvisor puts siding labor at $40 to $75 an hour, and taller, more complex walls simply take more of those hours.

The shape of the house. A plain rectangle is the cheapest house to side. Gables, dormers, bump-outs, bay windows and porches each add corners, trim and cuts.

The profile. Horizontal lap is the baseline. Vinyl board and batten runs $3 to $8 per square foot, scalloped shingles $5 to $10, and vinyl shakes average $6.50. Shakes and shingles cost the most to install because each piece is short, so there are far more pieces to place than with 12-foot lap boards. Mixing profiles, shakes on the gables and lap on the walls, adds a little more.

A house wall covered in butter yellow painted shake siding, rows of overlapping rectangular shingles above a painted brick base, a white window trim at the top — Shake siding: short pieces, many more of them, and a higher labor bill than lap boards.

Trim. On a vinyl job, the cheapest finish around windows and corners is a simple J-channel. Wide PVC or fiber cement trim boards look better and cost more, and on a house with a lot of windows the difference can run to thousands of dollars. Ask which one the quote assumes.

Soffit and fascia. The soffit is the underside of the roof overhang, and the fascia is the board along the roof edge that the gutters hang on. They are usually priced as a separate line. HomeAdvisor puts soffit and fascia repair alone at $1,050 to $3,300; replacing or wrapping all of it with the siding job adds more, depending on how much roof edge the house has.

Looking up at a roof overhang: white vented vinyl soffit panels with a recessed light, the fascia along the roof edge, a white gutter and a downspout elbow running back to the wall — Soffit under the overhang, fascia along the roof edge: often a separate line on the quote, and worth doing while the crew is up there.

What is behind the old siding. Nobody knows until it comes off. Rotted sheathing, soft framing at the bottom of a wall or under a window, or water damage behind a leaking trim joint all add cost. A good quote prices that up front, per sheet of sheathing or per hour, so a surprise does not become a blank check.

The bottom corner of a house wall with old grey painted wood lap siding, the lowest boards rotted and broken away beside the corner trim, dry grass below — Rot at the bottom of a wall. What is behind boards like these is the line nobody can price until the siding comes off.

The water-resistive barrier. The siding sheds most of the rain. The barrier behind it, house wrap or building paper, stops what gets past. The model residential code requires one on all exterior walls (IRC R703.2), lapped over the flashing at windows and doors. It is a small share of the price and a large share of whether the wall stays dry.

Asbestos and lead. Houses built before 1980 may have asbestos cement siding, which only a licensed abatement contractor should remove; HomeAdvisor puts asbestos siding removal at $9 to $10 per square foot, and a test at $230 to $785. On a house built before 1978, federal rules require a lead-safe certified contractor to disturb painted siding or trim.

Vinyl, fiber cement or wood?

Vinyl is the budget choice, $3 to $12 per square foot, and the low-maintenance one: it is never painted, only washed. Thicker product lines cost more and hold up better. Its weak points are impact, since a stone thrown by a lawn mower can crack a panel, and fading: a replacement panel years later rarely matches the color of the wall around it.

Fiber cement, a mix of cement, sand and wood fiber, costs $5 to $14 per square foot. It looks like painted wood, resists fire, rot and insects, and takes impacts better than vinyl. It is heavy, which raises the labor, and it is a painted product: it needs repainting and fresh caulk at the joints over the years, even when it comes prefinished.

Wood ranges from $1 to $15 per square foot depending on the species; pine and cedar are the common choices. Nothing looks quite like it, and nothing needs as much care: HomeAdvisor’s guidance is to reseal or repaint every 3 to 5 years, and to inspect it for rot and insects.

Engineered wood, wood strands bonded with resin, costs $1 to $6 per square foot, looks like wood and is treated against rot and insects. It depends on a careful install: cut ends and gaps that let water in are where it fails.

Siding first, or windows first?

If you plan to replace windows too, the type of window decides the order. A new-construction window has a nailing flange around it that gets flashed and taped into the wall under the siding, so it goes in with the siding off, before the new siding goes up. A replacement window slides into the existing frame without touching the siding, so it can go in afterward, or years later, with no risk of damaging the new siding. Tell the siding contractor about the windows before the work starts; doing both at once can add days to the schedule.

Patch the boards or reside the house?

Siding condition and the right fix

A few cracked, holed or loose boards Repair those boards

Faded but sound vinyl Leave it, or replace for looks

Peeling paint on sound wood or fiber cement Repaint

Soft, rotted boards on one wall Repair that wall, check the sheathing

Rot, warping or water stains on several walls Replace

Repairs adding up past about half the cost of new Replace

Most siding repairs cost $367 to $1,524 nationally, with an average of $928. HomeAdvisor’s rule of thumb is to consider replacement once repairs pass about $2,000, or half the cost of new siding. Water is the expensive kind of damage: a small leak behind the siding can spread into mold and rotted sheathing long before it shows on the outside, so soft spots and stains are worth opening up early.

Checking a siding bid before you sign

A low siding bid usually drops something you will not see once the panels are up: the house wrap, the window flashing, or the soffit and fascia. Ask the cheapest contractor to price those three as separate lines; if the total climbs to match the others, the gap was scope, not efficiency.

When to call a pro

Siding is licensed differently from state to state: many states require a home improvement or contractor license for a job this size, so check with your state licensing board and ask for proof of liability insurance. A whole-house job often needs a building permit, especially when windows, doors or the electrical service on the wall are moved. In a house built before 1978, a contractor who disturbs more than 20 square feet of painted exterior must be EPA lead-safe certified, and siding on a house built before 1980 should be tested for asbestos before anyone pulls it off. Get at least three written quotes on the same scope: square footage, the product line and its thickness, removal and disposal, the water-resistive barrier, flashing at every window and door, the trim, soffit and fascia, and the price per sheet of rotted sheathing if they find any. Ask who handles the manufacturer warranty registration.

What a licensed contractor charges, parts and labor

Line item	Low	High
Siding repair, typical national job	$367	$1,524
Soffit and fascia repaired	$1,050	$3,300
New exterior trim installed	$630	$2,300
Vinyl siding, per sq ft installed	$3	$12
Fiber cement siding, per sq ft installed	$5	$14
Whole-house siding replacement, typical national job	$5,554	$17,721

US national ranges from HomeAdvisor siding replacement, vinyl siding and siding repair cost data, updated June 2026, materials and labor. The national average for a full replacement is $11,588. Removal of the old siding, $0.25 to $2 per square foot, and permits are often extra.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to replace siding on a 2,000 square foot house?: The square footage that matters is the wall area, not the floor area. A two-story house of 2,000 square feet can have around 2,500 square feet of siding once the gables are counted. At the 2026 national range of $3 to $12 per square foot, that is about $7,500 to $30,000 in vinyl, and $12,500 to $35,000 in fiber cement at $5 to $14. Removal of the old siding adds up to $2 per square foot, and new trim, soffit and fascia are usually priced on top.
Is it cheaper to put new siding over old siding?: It saves the tear-off, which runs $0.25 to $2 per square foot nationally, and vinyl can be installed over most existing siding. The catch is that nobody sees the wall underneath. If the old siding is rotted, loose, or hiding water damage, covering it traps the problem behind the new panels. Most contractors recommend a full tear-off on old or damaged siding so the sheathing and the water-resistive barrier can be checked and fixed.
Should I replace my windows or my siding first?: It depends on the window. New-construction windows have a nailing flange that has to be flashed and taped to the wall under the siding, so they go in first, with the siding off. Replacement windows slide into the existing opening without touching the siding, so they can go in later, even years later. If you plan both, tell the siding contractor before the work starts.
Does siding repair make more sense than replacement?: For a few cracked, holed or loose boards, yes: most siding repairs cost $367 to $1,524 nationally. Once repairs run past about $2,000, or half the cost of new siding, replacement is usually the better money. Faded vinyl is the other catch: new panels rarely match old ones that have been in the sun for years.