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Hardwood Siding

Exterior siding is the outermost protective material of a house and as such, siding protects the house against the elements and adds aesthetic value to the structure. If properly selected and maintained, it also provides both durability and longevity to the home.

While it isn’t as common in recent years, wood siding was used on houses for hundreds of years. While siding used to be made of raw hardwood such as yellow poplar, red oak, hickory, beech, sycamore and soft maple, when compared with other products, especially treated ones, hardwood was harder to season and was difficult to nail into compared to softwoods. Common softwoods that lend well to being used as siding include cedar and redwood.

When tested by the U.S. Forestry Service in 1967 in a special study of nine hardwoods, yellow poplar siding cut into tongue in groove (versus board and batten) boards performed better than any other traditional hardwood siding. Ipé Brazilian hardwood siding is an exotic imported wood that has proven be more durable than most hardwoods.

Nowadays, wood siding is commonly “specially engineered” to improve it in many ways, including making it more durable over longer periods of time. In fact, hardwood siding is primarily made from wood chips, cooked with pressurized steam and refined into fibers. Resins are added to bind the fibers and make the product stronger and wax is added to make the product water repellent. Engineered siding is an improvement on traditional siding as it allows us to make the most of our natural resources.

If you still want the best exterior natural wood siding, look for wood that contains natural preservatives and has vertical grain. A contractor who specializes in installing natural hardwood siding will probably prime new hardboard siding be primed with one coat of a top quality alkyd primer and two coats of a top quality finish paint.