I'm buying a house to fix and flip which is sided with natural cedar shakes. Here in NJ's damp-ish climate, shakes take on a kind of black, unappealing look after years of exposure to the weather. Also, since this is a short sale, the house condition is not great and some of the shakes on the rear of the house are missing.
My first thought was to get the shake siding painted in order to make it look cleaner and blend in the new shakes that will need to be replaced in the rear. However, I've heard from a source who has been through this process on his own flips that it has ended up costing nearly the same $ to paint cedar shakes as re-siding the house. I guess this is b/c of the texture in the cedar and the amount of effort (and hours of labor) needed to paint it. So why paint when you could get it re-sided for almost the same $. But either way, an expensive undertaking, and a cost I'd rather reduce if possible.
Does anybody out there have any experience with getting this type of siding painted? Or does anyone have any clever ideas on how to make the house look presentable for resale without having it re-sided (or spending the same amt. just to get it painted)?
Thanks for any advice offered.
