I have a home that is 25 years old and has cedar shingles. The siding is in decent shape but the house is in need of painting - it must be stripped completely to the wood and repainted. The cost of this repainting is the same as vinyl replacement. Is it worth keeping the cedar?

You're the only one who can answer that question I'm afraid. All the homes we build nowadays people are looking for maintenance free, but on the other hand - cedar looks a lot better than vinyl. Question is - do you like the cedar enough to do the maintenance on it?

If you decide to keep the cedar, don't paint it again. Use a stain instead. Stain lasts longer between applications than paint. The cedar itself will last 100 years or more.

But Jay is right...you have to decide whether the maintenance and appearance are worth the cost.

Wood siding is more work but it can be repaired. Vinyl siding is a lot harder to fix once it's damaged. Just a thought.