How to price siding
Siding installs at $4 to $9 per square foot of wall for vinyl and $9 to $18 for fiber cement, including tear-off of one existing layer and house wrap.
The formula
(Wall area × material rate) + tear-off + sheathing allowance + trim details.
An 1,800 sq ft wall area, single layer of old vinyl, fiber cement replacement:
- 1,800 × $11 = $19,800
- Tear-off and disposal, 1,800 × $1.50 = $2,700
- House wrap and flashing details: $1,400
- Trim, corners, soffit and fascia: $3,200
- Quote: $27,100, plus a stated sheathing rate
That is $15.05/sq ft all-in — upper-middle of the fiber cement band, which is right for a full trim package.
Price a siding job
Your numbers, the formula above. Nothing is sent anywhere — this runs in your browser.
$13,500 base (1,800 square feet of wall × $8)
This is a starting number, not a bid. Walk the property before you send it.
Measure walls properly
Perimeter × height, plus gables, less large openings only.
Two consistent errors here. Gables get forgotten, and on a house with two or three they are easily 15% of the wall area. And small windows get deducted — but you still cut, fit and trim around every one, which takes longer than simply running siding across the space would have. Deduct only large openings.
Pre-price the sheathing
The same problem roofing has with decking. You cannot see what is behind the old siding until it is off, and rot around windows, at the base of walls and behind failed flashing is common.
Sheathing replacement, if required: $XX per 4×8 sheet, carried out only with your written approval. All affected areas photographed before covering.
Without that line, you are pricing rot on a scaffold with a nervous homeowner watching.
What changes the price
Material. Vinyl, engineered wood, fiber cement — a wide spread in both material and labour.
Number of existing layers. Two layers of old siding is much more tear-off and disposal.
Trim complexity. Corners, window and door surrounds, soffit, fascia, frieze boards. A trim-heavy house is a substantially bigger job at identical wall area.
Height and access. Two and three storeys mean staging rather than ladders.
Insulation. Adding foam board or house wrap upgrades.
Asbestos. Old asbestos-cement siding needs licensed abatement. Exclude it or subcontract it; do not improvise.
The mistakes
Forgetting gables. Straightforwardly underprices the job.
Deducting every window. Openings cost more in labour than solid wall.
No sheathing allowance. The most predictable overrun in siding.
Underpricing fiber cement labour. It is not vinyl with a different price. It is heavier, slower and less forgiving.
Ignoring trim. On some houses the trim package approaches the cost of the siding.
Quoting faster
QuoteIQ at $29.99/mo measures exterior wall elevations off satellite imagery, which gets you a defensible starting area before the site visit. Jobber at $49/mo produces the better customer-facing proposal and handles deposits and staged billing on a job this size. Housecall Pro Max presents material tiers as options.
Questions operators actually ask
How much should I charge for siding installation?
$4 to $9 per square foot of wall for vinyl and $9 to $18 for fiber cement, both including tear-off of one layer and house wrap. Engineered wood sits between them. Sheathing replacement is extra and should be pre-priced per sheet.
How do I measure a siding job?
Wall area — perimeter times height, plus gables, less large openings. Do not deduct small windows; you still cut and trim around them, which takes longer than siding the opening would have. Gables are frequently forgotten and can be 15% of the job.
How do I handle rotten sheathing?
Exactly as roofers handle decking: a pre-priced per-sheet rate in the quote, carried out only with written approval. You cannot see sheathing until the old siding is off, and discovering rot with no agreed price is the most common siding dispute.
Why is fiber cement so much more expensive to install?
It is heavy, it needs specific cutting equipment and dust control, it usually takes two people to handle a plank, and it is far less forgiving of a poorly prepared wall. The material costs more and the labour costs considerably more.
What about asbestos siding?
Do not touch it without the correct certification. Older asbestos-cement siding requires licensed abatement in most states, and it should be quoted as a separate specialist line or excluded entirely from your scope.