Silver-gray color everywhere
Shingles that have gone uniformly gray have lost their surface protection, and the wood fibers are now eroding with every rain and salt wind.
Exterior Painting in Quincy
Cedar shingle staining for Quincy shore cottages and shingle-style homes
Cedar shingles on Houghs Neck, Squantum and Adams Shore go gray, grow black mildew on the north walls and curl where old stain has worn off, and once the wood dries out the shingles split and let water in.
- Phone answered 24/7
- Walk-throughs across Norfolk County
- Exterior Painting
$1.95 to $4.15Typical per sq ft of shingled wall in Quincy. The walk-through sets your number.
Brands we work with: Benjamin Moore, Sherwin-Williams, California Paints, Farrow & Ball, PPG, Fine Paints of Europe, Cabot, Zinsser, York Wallcoverings, Thibaut, Schumacher, Phillip Jeffries, Graham & Brown, Roman.
Quick answer
Cedar shingle staining in Quincy involves cleaning off mildew and gray fibers, brightening the wood, letting it dry, then applying a penetrating semi-transparent stain, a solid-color stain or a bleaching oil by brush or back-brushed spray. Typical ranges run $1.95 to $4.15 per square foot of shingled wall. Painted or badly weathered shingles cost more, and a walk-through sets the real number.
What cedar shingle staining covers with us
Western red and eastern white cedar shingles cover a lot of the Quincy shoreline. The converted summer cottages and bungalows on the Houghs Neck and Squantum peninsulas, the small shingled houses at Adams Shore and the gable ends of many Wollaston two-families all wear cedar, and so do the big Shingle Style houses in Milton. Left bare, cedar turns silver, collects mildew and slowly erodes, and old stain that has failed leaves dark streaks under the eaves and pale spots where the sun hits.
Staining shingles is a different job from painting clapboard. Stain should soak into the wood rather than sit on top, and every shingle has edges and butts that need coverage. We pick the stain type for how weathered the shingles are and what you want the house to look like, then plan cleaning and drying time around humid summers and the damp mornings that come off Quincy Bay.
How do you know cedar shingles near Quincy Bay need staining?
Black mildew on shaded walls
Dark streaks under eaves and on north-facing walls show mildew living in the wood, and stain applied over it will look dirty.
Curled or split shingles
Cupping and cracks mean the cedar is drying and absorbing water unevenly, and new stain helps the remaining shingles stay stable.
Patchy, uneven color
Old stain that has worn away in sunny areas but stayed in shaded ones leaves a blotchy look that a new coat evens out.
Water darkens the wood instantly
Splash water on the shingles. If it soaks in at once and darkens the cedar, the stain is no longer repelling moisture.
Peeling solid stain
Solid stain flaking off in sheets usually points to moisture behind the wall or stain over dirt, and it needs scraping before recoating.
Cleaning and brightening cedar shingles before any stain goes on
Stain over mildew, salt film or gray, loose fibers fails early and looks muddy. We start with a cedar cleaner, usually a sodium percarbonate solution, worked in with soft brushes and rinsed at low pressure. High-pressure washing gouges cedar and raises fuzz, so we avoid it. On walls with tannin stains or a dark cast, a follow-up oxalic acid brightener restores the wood's color and balances the pH.
The shingles then need to dry. On the peninsulas, where fog and dew linger, that's often three sunny days, longer on north walls. We check moisture with a meter before staining, because cedar that's too wet won't take penetrating stain.
- Percarbonate cedar cleaner, soft brush and low-pressure rinse
- Oxalic acid brightener for tannin bleed and graying
- Moisture check before any stain is applied
- Loose, split or cupped shingles replaced first
Semi-transparent, solid color or bleaching oil: choosing the stain
Semi-transparent stains, often oil-based, soak into the wood and let the grain show. They wear by fading rather than peeling, which makes recoating easy, but they don't hide repairs or color differences. Solid-color stains, usually acrylic, look more like a flat paint and cover weathered or mismatched shingles. They last longer between coats but can peel if moisture builds behind them.
Bleaching oils give the even silvered look that suits a shore cottage on Houghs Neck. They're a good choice when you like gray cedar but want to slow mildew and erosion. Shingles that were painted in the past usually need to stay solid-color, since penetrating stains can't reach the wood under old paint.
Applying stain to shingle walls so every butt and edge is covered
We apply stain by brush or by spray followed immediately by back-brushing, which works stain into the gaps between shingles and the exposed butt edges. Spray alone leaves dry spots under each course. Semi-transparent stain goes on in one or two wet coats depending on how thirsty the cedar is, while solid stain takes two coats.
We work in the shade where possible, keep a wet edge along each course and avoid staining in direct afternoon sun, which causes lap marks. On windy days near the water we keep spraying to a minimum and brush instead. Windows, trim and roof edges are masked, and drips on decks below are wiped up as we go.
How a shingle staining job runs over a week
Walk-through and test patch
We look at shingle condition, previous coatings and exposure, then recommend a stain type. A small test area shows you the color on your actual cedar.
Repair and replace
Split, missing and badly curled shingles are replaced with matching cedar, fastened with stainless nails, so new wood can be cleaned and stained with the rest.
Clean and brighten
Walls are washed with a cedar cleaner, rinsed at low pressure and brightened with oxalic acid where tannins or graying need correcting.
Dry and check moisture
We wait for the cedar to dry, usually two or more sunny days, and confirm moisture readings before stain goes on.
Stain and back-brush
Stain is applied course by course by brush or spray and back-brush, getting into butts and gaps, with trim and windows protected.
Inspect and clean up
We check each wall for skips and lap marks, touch up as needed, remove masking and rinse any overspray from walkways.
Typical cost for cedar shingle staining in Quincy
Typical range in Quincy$1.95 to $4.15per sq ft of shingled wall
The range covers cleaning, brightening, normal drying time and stain application on standard cedar shingle walls. One-story cottage walls with sound wood sit near the low end, while tall, weathered or previously painted walls sit near the top. A walk-through sets the real number.
What moves the number
- Stain type: semi-transparent, solid-color or bleaching oil
- How weathered the cedar is and whether brightener is needed
- Number of shingles to replace before staining
- Wall height and access on two- and three-story houses
- Old peeling solid stain or paint that has to be scraped first
- Decorative fish-scale or diamond shingles that take extra brush time
Compare every service side by side in our painting and wallpaper cost guide, or call (617) 576-8235 to set a walk-through.
Cedar shingles on the Quincy shore and the South Shore suburbs
Many shingled houses on Houghs Neck, Squantum and Adams Shore started as summer cottages and were winterized over the decades, so the cedar on them may be several generations old next to newer patches. Wollaston two-families and Wollaston Hill Queen Annes often carry fish-scale or diamond shingles in the gables and bays, which wear differently from the plain walls and need hand brushing. Inland, Milton, Dedham and Wellesley have Shingle Style houses with long, tall shingled walls.
Salt air and steady wind off Quincy Bay dry out cedar faster on the water side, while shaded lots and foggy mornings feed mildew on the back. Penetrating stains near the water may need a recoat every three to four years, while solid stains last longer between coats. Late spring and September usually give the driest stretches for cleaning and staining, ahead of the humid weeks of July and August.
Where we do cedar shingle staining
Quincy neighborhoods and nearby towns we cover most often, with ZIP codes:
- Quincy02169
- Wollaston02170
- North Quincy02171
- Squantum02171
- Montclair02171
- Merrymount02169
- Houghs Neck02169
- Adams Shore02169
- West Quincy02169
- South Quincy02169
- Quincy Point02169
- Braintree02184
- Milton02186
- Dedham02026
- Needham02492
- Wellesley02482
- Norwood02062
- Canton02021
- Stoughton02072
- Newton02458
- Natick01760
- Framingham01702
- Waltham02451
- Watertown02472
- Weston02493
Cedar Shingle Staining questions from Quincy homeowners
How often does cedar shingle staining need to be redone on a Houghs Neck cottage?
It depends on the product and exposure. Semi-transparent stain on a sunny, bay-facing wall may need a recoat in three to four years, while a sheltered back wall may last five. Solid-color stains often last longer between coats. Recoating before the wood goes fully gray saves on cleaning and brightening.
Can you switch from paint to stain during cedar shingle staining on a Squantum house?
Not easily. Once shingles have been painted, penetrating stain can't reach the wood under the old coating. The usual options are a solid-color stain over well-prepared painted shingles or full stripping, which is slow and costly. Replacement is sometimes more practical where shingles are in poor shape.
Is pressure washing safe before cedar shingle staining at Adams Shore?
High pressure can gouge cedar, raise fibers and force water deep into the wall. We clean shingles with a cedar cleaner, soft brushes and a low-pressure rinse, then brighten if needed. That removes mildew, salt film and gray fibers without damaging the wood, and the shingles dry faster.
Will cedar shingle staining stop mildew on the shady side of a Wollaston two-family?
Stain with a mildewcide slows regrowth, and cleaning removes the existing growth, but shaded and damp walls will always be more prone to mildew. Trimming back shrubs, cleaning gutters and letting sun reach the wall help. A light rinse each year on the north side extends the time between staining jobs.
Do new cedar shingles need to weather before shingle staining on a Milton Shingle Style house?
Many stain makers recommend a short weathering period, often a few weeks to a few months, for new smooth-sawn cedar so the surface opens up. Others allow immediate application after a light cleaning. We follow the stain maker's guidance and test how the new cedar absorbs before staining.
Is a bleaching oil a good choice for cedar shingle staining on a Quincy shore cottage?
Often it is. A bleaching oil helps cedar weather to an even silver gray instead of patchy brown and black, and it adds water repellency and mildew resistance. It suits cottages on the peninsulas where owners like the weathered look. It won't hide mismatched or painted shingles, so those walls usually need a solid stain instead.
Related work we often pair with it
Exterior House Painting
Peeling clapboard, chalky trim and bare gray wood on the weather side of a Quincy house mean the old paint film has stopped protecting the siding,.
How we do itPressure Washing
Green streaks on the north wall, black mildew on porch ceilings and a gray salt film off Quincy Bay make a house look neglected, and they keep new.
How we do itWood Rot Repair
A screwdriver sinks into your window sill, the corner board crumbles at the bottom, or a porch column has gone soft.
How we do itExterior Trim & Window Painting
Window sills, sashes, corner boards and cornices take the worst of the weather, and on many Quincy houses the trim is peeling and soft long before.
How we do itTalk to us about cedar shingle staining
Our phone is answered around the clock. Tell us about the rooms or the house and we will set a walk-through and a written estimate.