What price do you think I should look for when replacing cedar shakes to vinyl shake siding of a raised ranch?

 

You've not provided anywhere near enough information to provide a useful answer. Much will depend on labor rates in your area as well as your home. Obstructions like shrubbery close to the house can add to the cost as can lots of windows and details that need trimming. Add to that labor to remove your old siding and disposal fees. Then the cost of whatever siding you choose.

In my area installing "normal" vinyl siding on a new home (no removal of old) with easy access runs $2-3 per square foot. That's just for installation. Materials are in addition to. I would assume cedar shake siding to be more expensive to install since it comes in smaller pieces and can be more difficult to cut.

 

Just going to have to make some local calls to real contractors to even come close to a real price.

 

no shrubbery in the way I have 11 windows. I was looking into the vinyl shakes that give a woodlike appearance since I have wood cedar shakes on the house now. I was also thinking clapboard in the back and one side of the house since besides woods no one sees those sides. Does this help. I think the vinyl can go over the existing siding.

 

You really can't get a reliable estimate online site unseen. You should be able to get multiple local estimates for free ..... and then you'll have numbers that can be relied on. Always check a contractor's references prior to signing the contract.

 

Somewhere between $5,000 and $50,000.

When I had vinyl siding added to my previous house, around 1986 or so, the cost was about $8,000 and did not include wrapping the window frames with sheet aluminum. In 1998 I had a majority of the windows replaced and the enclosed carport (garage now) sided and that cost about $15,000. All the vinyl was an off brand, Gold Bond as I recall. I'll add that the entire house was maybe 900 square feet on one level. Bottom line, it ain't cheap to install vinyl but it may be less expensive than many other materials over the life of the house.

I had the vinyl installed to eliminate painting. Every other year or so I would use a combination of Simple Green swabbed on the siding and a pressure washer to rinse it off and the siding looked brand new afterwards.