Material choice is the part everybody shops. The line that actually moves a Minnesota siding number is the one nobody can price until the old siding comes off — and the code requires it to be dealt with when it does.
Four things move a siding price: the material, the amount of trim and detail on the house, the condition of the sheathing underneath, and the barrier and flashing work that goes on before the new siding. The third is the one that cannot be priced in advance — and when rot is found, the code requires it be replaced. A quote that says nothing about it will say something about it later.
We do not publish a blanket siding price. The spread is real, and the thing that moves it most — the condition of the sheathing behind the old siding — is not knowable from a phone call.
What we will do is give you an itemised number in writing after looking at the property, with the code-driven lines named so you can see which are requirements and which are choices. It is free and it is yours to keep whoever does the work.
Because nobody can see it. The sheathing is behind the siding, and the places it fails — under a failed window flashing, behind a deck ledger, at a roof-to-wall intersection without a kick-out — are exactly the places you cannot inspect without taking the siding off.
When it is found, replacing it is not optional. The Department of Labor and Industry is explicit that rotted or damaged sheathing, framing and insulation must be replaced once the siding is off, and advises contacting the municipality about inspecting those repairs before proceeding.
So the honest way to quote it is a stated price per sheet, visible on the estimate, rather than silence. Silence becomes a change order at the worst moment.
MN Dept. of Labor and Industry: “When the siding has been removed, any rotted or damaged sheathing, framing and insulation must be replaced. Contact the municipality for possible inspection of these repairs before proceeding.” Source: MN DLI, Re-siding and the 2020 Minnesota Residential Code
The barrier and flashing. A water-resistive barrier over the sheathing and corrosion-resistant flashing at windows, doors, wall-roof intersections and above projecting trim. This is inspected before the siding covers it, and it is the part that keeps the wall dry.
Detail. A plain rectangular house is cheap per square foot. Gables, dormers, bays, multiple corners, shutters and decorative trim multiply cuts and labour on the same wall area.
Permits, including electrical. Re-siding needs a building permit, and an electrical permit as well when meter sockets, disconnects, fixtures or receptacles come off and go back on.
Tear-off and disposal, and on older houses, what is found under it. Two layers, or a layer over original wood siding, is more work and more dumpster.
It depends what you are buying it for. Fiber cement and engineered wood cost more up front and hold up well to Minnesota freeze-thaw. Vinyl is cheaper and appropriate on a great many houses, though it does get brittle in deep cold, which matters when hail arrives in April rather than July.
What does not change with material is everything behind it. The barrier, the flashing and the sheathing repair are the same work and the same requirement whichever cladding goes on, and they are a larger share of a good job than most homeowners expect.
Put differently: a cheap material installed over a properly built wall will outperform an expensive one installed over a bad one. Spend on the parts that get covered up.
Look for the lines that are requirements. Does each quote name the water-resistive barrier product? Does each say how windows and doors are flashed, and specifically whether tape is being used where flashing is required — the state says tape is not flashing unless approved for that use? Does each state a price per sheet for sheathing replacement? Is the permit included, and the electrical permit?
A quote missing those is not cheaper, it is less specific. And on siding, unspecific is expensive, because the vague parts are the ones that disappear behind the cladding.
This page quotes Minnesota statutes and the adopted Minnesota building code and links to the official text of each so you can read it yourself. It is general information from a licensed contractor, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for reading your own policy. Statutes and codes are amended; the linked sources are authoritative, this page is not. Last reviewed 2026-10-27.
Straight answers to the questions Minnesota homeowners ask before they call anyone.
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Read the FAQ →We’ll walk it, photograph it, and give you a written scope that says exactly what is required and why. Retail or insurance.
We’ll walk the roof, photograph what we find, and hand you a written scope that names the code requirement behind every line. Yours to keep, whoever does the work.
We measure the work by how it holds up — and by what clients say once we're gone.