Siding in Gosnold, Massachusetts

Gosnold is in Eversource electric territory — an investor-owned utility, not a Municipal Light Plant — so homeowners technically qualify for the full Mass Save program. Siding 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. The practical wrinkle is logistics: Mass Save assessors and weatherization crews don't routinely visit the Elizabeth Islands, and arranging the assessment may take coordination with the program administrator. Where it can be done, the rebated wall work is valuable — island electricity is expensive and most older homes were built for summer.

Gosnold requires a building permit for residential re-siding through the town Building Inspector, and a reputable contractor pulls it. The Conservation Commission has broad jurisdiction under the Wetlands Protection Act on coastline, dune, and pond-edge parcels — which describes most of the island land area. Naushon, Pasque, and Nashawena have private ownership structures that add their own review. Pre-1978 housing on Cuttyhunk and the older island stock triggers the EPA RRP lead-safe rule. Materials and crews typically arrive on the freight or contracted boat from New Bedford or Falmouth.

Re-siding a typical Gosnold home with cedar shingle runs well above mainland norms — roughly $30,000–$80,000 or more depending on size, access, and how much the contractor has to bring across by boat. Materials, freight, contractor lodging, and weather-driven schedule loss all stack on top of normal labor. Vinyl is uncommon and rarely specified; where it's used, expect around $15,000–$30,000. Fiber-cement runs about $22,000–$50,000. Every Gosnold quote is project-specific because the logistics dominate.

Gosnold is the town that covers the Elizabeth Islands — Cuttyhunk, Naushon, Pasque, Nashawena, and the smaller islands — off the southwest tip of Cape Cod. Year-round population is about 38, with 186 housing units; the gap between them is the largest of any town in this batch because nearly every house is a seasonal or family-trust property used a few months a year.

The median home is around 66 years old. Cuttyhunk has the small village center; Naushon is privately held by the Forbes family trust; the rest are sparsely built and only reachable by boat. The dominant cladding is cedar shingle, weathered silver, exactly as the islands have specified it for generations. Siding work in Gosnold operates on a different model than anywhere else in Massachusetts — materials come over by boat, contractors lodge on the island, and projects are scheduled around the weather.