Siding in Aquinnah, Massachusetts

Aquinnah is in Eversource electric territory — an investor-owned utility, not a Municipal Light Plant — so homeowners qualify for the full Mass Save program. The siding panel itself isn't rebated, but the wall behind it is.

Mass Save typically covers weatherization at 75% or more after a free Home Energy Assessment, and the 0% HEAT Loan can finance qualifying envelope work. Many older Aquinnah homes were summer-only and never insulated for year-round occupancy; many newer second homes have spec-grade walls. With island electricity priced high and heating loads real in winter, dense-pack cellulose and exterior insulation during the re-side pay back fast — and Mass Save covers most of the cost.

Aquinnah requires a building permit for residential re-siding through the town Building Inspector, and a reputable contractor pulls it. The Martha's Vineyard Commission has Districts of Critical Planning Concern across the town, and the Conservation Commission has broad Wetlands Protection Act jurisdiction along the cliffs, ponds, and salt marsh. Tribal lands have their own review process. Pre-1978 housing in the older sections triggers the EPA RRP lead-safe rule. Cedar shingle replacement is the norm but specific siding choices may need design review where regulations restrict materials and colors.

Re-siding a typical Aquinnah single-family with cedar shingle runs roughly $25,000–$60,000 or more — Vineyard labor rates, ferry freight, and the cedar-shingle spec drive the bill well above mainland norms. Vinyl is uncommon and often discouraged by review, but where it's used, expect roughly $13,000–$26,000. Fiber-cement painted to match cedar tones runs about $20,000–$45,000. The Aquinnah-specific cost adders — ferry crossings for materials, contractor lodging, and design-review timelines — push every quote up.

Aquinnah sits at the far western tip of Martha's Vineyard — about 708 residents on the census, 563 housing units — with the Gay Head Cliffs, Aquinnah Cliffs Overlook, and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) tribal lands defining the town's identity. The housing-to-population ratio is striking because most homes here are second residences and summer rentals.

The median home is around 46 years old, but that number hides the real distribution: a small core of older homes around the cliffs and Lobsterville, a meaningful share of 1970s–1990s vacation builds, and a steady drip of high-end contemporary builds in recent decades. The dominant cladding is and always has been cedar shingle — both for the look and because nothing else weathers the saltwater, fog, and wind off Vineyard Sound and the Atlantic the same way.