Of all the different ways to put finish siding on a house, none is more practical for the do-it-your self enthusiast  than cedar shingles. Unlike huge sheets of plywood, or long floppy strips of siding, shingles are easy for one person to handle. They’re also easy to put up and easy to fit around doors, windows, trim. And if you make a mistake with a shingle, it’s no disaster. Just throw it away and try again with another.

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Of all routine home-maintenance jobs, which one do you think takes the most time and effort?

The hands-down winner has to be painting. Painting a house is a hard, messy, even dangerous job. When you factor in all the preparation and cleanup, it can easily take one man a week or two to do a house, and then the whole procedure has to be repeated every few years.

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