Most Portland-area siding repairs run $900-$6,500 with materials, and a typical one lands around $1,800 (market data, November 2026) . Two or three lap boards low on a single-storey wall sit close to the floor of that range. Soft sheathing behind them, a second-floor wall, a board profile no mill still makes and painting the patch all push it higher.
What we fix and how to send photos is on our siding and wood rot repair page. Here it's money only. I'm Slava, with 7 years of this work behind me; until I've checked the figures below against my own invoices, treat them as market numbers.
How much does siding repair cost around Portland?
Siding first, then the work that often comes with it. Each row says whether materials are counted.
| Job | Usual figure | Spread | Basis | Where the number comes from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New boards in place of damaged or rotted ones | $1,800 | from $900 up to $6,500 | with materials | market data |
| Rotted trim beside the siding: corner boards, casing, belly band | $1,500 | from $500 up to $4,000 | with materials | market data |
| Sealing siding joints, gaps and pipe or vent holes | $700 | from $300 up to $1,500 | labour only | Portland-area estimate |
| Painting just the repaired trim and patches | $900 | from $400 up to $2,000 | labour only | Portland-area estimate |
Fascia and soffit boards up at the roof edge get priced separately and aren't in this table.
National cost sites price per square foot of wall, or mix single vinyl panel fixes with full re-siding, so their low end is one panel and their high end a whole house. The usual call here is a few bad boards on one side.
Much of our area is one-storey ranches and split-levels, from Cedar Hills' 1950s tracts to Beaverton's 1960s-90s houses, so damaged boards are mostly within ladder reach.
Can you replace just a few boards, a corner or one wall, and what does each cost?
Yes, siding can be fixed in pieces. The market figure is per job, not per board, so here's roughly where each size of job ought to fall.
| Size of job | What it usually looks like | Where it falls |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 boards | one split or soft board near the ground, behind a downspout or under a window | at or under $900 |
| A corner or a section | several rows at a corner, or the run beneath a leaky window | close to $1,800 |
| One full wall | soft spots spread across one side, sheathing patches needed | toward $6,500 |
| The whole house | every wall | past this range, and past what we take on |
That $900 floor is steep for one cracked board, and a one- or two-board fix on a ground-floor wall might cost less. I won't print a smaller number until it comes from my own work.
One board costs more than its lumber because of the drive, the setup, hunting for a matching width and edge, and primer drying before paint. Those barely change between one board and six.
West Slope has hillside lots where the downhill face of a house stands well above the yard. A one-wall job there can need staging rather than a ladder, and that's an access charge, separate from how big the repair is.
What goes into the bill for a siding repair?
| Part of the job | Why it's there |
|---|---|
| Pulling the damaged boards | without cracking sound rows above |
| Checking sheathing and building paper or house wrap | soft or torn layers get patched first |
| Flashing above windows and trim | where missing, water keeps coming back |
| New boards, primed on all sides and both ends | bare ends wick water straight into the wood |
| Paint on the patch | bare primer won't last outdoors |
| Ladder or staging | depends on height and the slope of the yard |
| Getting the old boards off the property |
In the market data, materials are about a fifth of a siding repair, so roughly four dollars in five pay for time on the wall .
Paint is the line people forget. One quote may finish the new boards; another may leave them primed for your painter . If fresh paint will stand out against a faded wall, repainting that side falls under our exterior painting service, and the price of a full repaint is broken down in the guide to exterior painting costs.
Does the type of siding change the repair price?
There's one market figure for siding repair, not one per material. So the differences below are about time and matching, not separate price lists .
- Painted wood lap. Boards come out one at a time. The slow part is finding a replacement with the same thickness, reveal and edge, then spacing the end joints so they don't line up.
- Cedar shingles. Each piece is cheap. Weaving new ones into old rows by hand is what eats the hours.
- Plywood panel (T1-11) and hardboard. A hand-sized piece can't come out alone. The cut has to reach a framing member or a seam, so a small soft corner can turn into a whole sheet.
- Fiber cement. Heavy, and it has to be cut with dust control .
- Vinyl. Buying one panel is easy. Matching a colour that twenty summers have bleached is the hard part .
Many west-side houses built between the 70s and the 90s wear panel or hardboard siding instead of lap boards .
When does patching stop making sense and a new wall start to?
A patch is the cheaper move while the damage stays in one place and whatever let the water in has been fixed. The maths turns around in three cases. You're paying for the second or third patch on the same wall. The old profile can't be found anywhere, so any patch will always show. Or soft spots keep turning up on more than one side of the house .
Whole-house re-siding is quoted per square foot by siding companies. We're set up for board and section repairs.
Selling soon? If the inspection report lists siding rot as wood-destroying organism damage, Portland-area estimates for those repairs start at $600 and reach $5,000, with $2,000 as a common middle, labour only .
Why can the price change after the old boards come off?
A quote covers what's visible from the yard. Pull the first board and the real job shows: sheathing gone soft, building paper wet through, flashing that was never installed, or decay that has run into a stud. When that happens I stop, photograph it, and give you a number for the extra work before going on .
The leak belongs in the price too, since new boards over an open water path rot again. The usual culprits: an overflowing gutter at the roof edge, caulk cracked at board ends and around windows, siding sitting too close to soil or bark dust, and a sprinkler head aimed at the wall.
Cedar Mill has lots of houses from the 1960s and 70s standing under tall Douglas firs. Fir needles clog the gutters, water runs down behind them, and the fascia and the top rows of siding soak it up through the wet months. Rot in trim, sills and framing has its own price breakdown in our dry rot repair cost guide.
Do permits or a pre-1978 house change what siding repair costs?
A permit usually adds nothing. The state Building Codes Division puts repair or replacement of siding that isn't required to be fire resistant on its no-permit list, and the City of Portland's page for houses agrees, with a reminder that building and zoning code still apply. The picture changes once rot reaches framing that has to be cut out, or anything load-bearing. Then your building department may require a permit, with its fee and inspection . Which common repairs need one is covered in our permit guide.
House age matters more. Oregon's Oregon guidance treats every home built before 1978 as having lead paint until testing shows it doesn't. Old painted boards reach 20 sq ft fast, and lead-safe containment adds time and cost.
Many houses in Cedar Hills, Cedar Mill and older Beaverton streets predate 1978; Bethany is mostly 1990s and 2000s.
Will homeowners insurance pay for siding repair?
That's for your policy and your agent to answer. My price doesn't change with who pays it.
Storm damage, like boards ripped loose by wind or a fir limb through the wall, is its own line. Portland-area estimates put storm damage repair between $300 and $3,000, about $1,000 typical, labour only . Photos of the damage before and after the work are worth keeping for your own records .
What should a siding repair quote list, and how do two quotes compare?
A quote worth signing names:
- which walls, and how many boards or square feet;
- the siding type and how the new pieces will be matched;
- what's behind the boards (sheathing, paper, flashing) and how surprises get priced;
- primer, caulk and paint, included or not;
- ladder or staging;
- where the old boards go;
- when work begins and how long it runs.
Many siding jobs cross $2,000. A job that starts below $2,000 and grows past it still needs a written contract, delivered within five days. Our guide to Oregon contract rules walks through each piece .
Comparing two quotes, match the scope before the totals: a cheaper one without sheathing, flashing or paint is pricing a smaller job. There's no calculator here, because the number depends on what's behind the boards.