See How Much Our Cedar Shake Siding Color Has Changed After 3 Years

I remember when we first finished the cedar shake siding how excited I was to for it to turn gray. I actually really liked the yellowy orange color that it started as, but I will always prefer a gray cedar that has naturally aged. And aged it has!

We have cedar siding in two different locations on our house that were installed about 1 ½ years apart. One on the south side and the other on the north. To our surprise, they have grayed at very different paces.

I thought it would be fun to do a side by side comparison of the color change from day 1 vs year 1 ½ & year 3.

Above: Day 1

Above: Year 1 ½

Above: Day 1

Above: Year 1 ½

To be honest, I didn’t think this portion of the cedar shakes would gray very quickly because it doesn’t get a ton of sun. Some morning sun, but the surrounding trees provide a lot of shade throughout the rest of the day. To our surprise it has faded rather quickly. Far faster than the cedar on the south side of our house. After a year and a half (aka today), most of the yellow color has faded and it’s really quite gray. A teeny bit of color remains, but for the most part it’s faded…which I love!

Above: Day 1

Above: Year 3

Then on the front of our house is a small portion of cedar shakes that also gets very little sun because of surrounding trees. This section has faded pretty slowly, but after three years the color heavily leans gray. What’s fascinating to me is that despite installing this siding 1 ½ years before the other, they’re both nearly the same color. It’s so interesting how sun and rain exposure play such a big role in the graying process.

Watching cedar shakes turn gray is like watching paint dry. It requires expert level patience, something I lack, and a good bit of distraction. But then one day, you’ll take a glance and realize it’s gray. And suddenly you’ll fall in love with it all over again. At least I have.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON OUR CEDAR SHAKE SIDING:

• Where We Bought Our Cedar Shakes

• How We Installed Cedar Shake Siding

• The Big Reveal!