poplar siding

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we are going to put poplar siding on our house. we are having it cut at a local sawmill. we were told that we should let it dry for a month or so (it is 5/8 inch thick) then install it and let it dry for another two months before sealing. then seal only the front side so that the wood can "breathe" on the back side... should we do that, or should we allow it to dry more thoroughly and seal both sides before installing?

also, we would like to try to find a good oil based uv/water protectant sealer that is really clear so that the color of the poplar shows through...any suggestions on that? thanks for any suggestions. john

-- john houser (farmrjon@juno.com), May 29, 2000

Answers

The house we bought last year, has yellow poplar siding on it. The guy we bought it from owns a saw mill and he said it was one of the best woods to side a house with. I don't know anything about wood types, but I figured he did. He had sided the 100 year old house about 2 years ago. He didn't put any sealer on it that I can tell. The wood still looks brand new (like it was just cut last week). We decided that the work involved in sealing the wood, would not be worth the trouble, as sealing has to be done every couple of years. We decided to just let the place "go grey". The way I look at it the time and money we save over the years will more than pay for re- siding the house in 40 or 50 years. Plus I really like the grey look on an old house.

-- Peggy Adkins (adkinsonthefarm@hotmail.com), May 29, 2000.

My friends' husband put up a wood siding (log type) shed for them and only sealed one side. It turned gray within 3 yrs.. I had a barn built out of the same stuff and sealed BOTH sides. It hasn't been over a yr. and a half but I was told that it would hold longer if we sealed both sides. Why does the wood need to breathe? I was told that if you don't seal the back side, then it will pick up the moisture and turn your wood gray regardless if you've sealed the front or not.

-- Pat (pmikul@pcpros.net), May 29, 2000.

I built a cabin on my first homestead 35 years ago and all my lumber came from a saw mill, it went up green. The roof over the kitchen was full cut 1x10 Poplar butted tight, it shrunk up so much from the wood heat the first winter that it ripped the roof felt and I had leaks, the joints opened up 1/2-3/4 of an inch.

-- Hendo (redgate@echoweb.net), May 30, 2000.

In 1996 we built a new home the old fashioned way and used 1x10 rough cut, hand milled, poplar siding. It went up green with a small space between each board. A batton went over this space and the nail went through the batton and into the space. I guess what I'm saying is that the main board wasn't actually nailed onto the wall, just held in place by the batton. This allowed the boards to draw up as they dried. It worked beautifully. We allowed the boards to dry for one year (while on the house). They did turn grey but this didn't matter to us because we planned to paint it anyway. After about one year we chose a solid color stain, water based, and painted away. The man we bought the wood from was very wise in how to use it. He grew up working at the mill and has been at it for over 30 years. He said that wood which is not kilned dried will never have a low moisture content. If you seal it, it will dry rot. Guaranteed in my climate. If you can find a clear stain that should work fine. The idea is to choose something that the wood can absorb and not something that will coat and seal the surface. Our paint store will sell you the base stain which is the stain before the pigment is added. Some of it is clear. A friend of mine found a clear stain and used it on her cedar siding but she has to reapply it every two years (it was sprayed on which is always a very, very thin way to apply-I don't recommend spraying unless you enjoy doing it often). I would go to your local paint store and start asking questions. Plan to buy a lot because rough cut lumber soaks it up like a giant sponge! Good Luck!

-- Yesteryear Cottage (oberg@watervalley.net), June 01, 2000.

Hubby just walked in and corrected me on the poplar siding application technique. He said he nailed the 1x10 up along one edge only, left a small crack between boards, and then nailed the batton over the crack. The 1x10 was actually nailed to the wall but only along one edge which allowed it to shrink without cracking. He also said it was important to stack it where air can circulate around it. Each layer is stacked on top of spacers (1x2 waste strips the mill supplied) and each board has a space between the next. If you don't get enough air in there, the wet boards will get a terrible black mold on them.

-- Yesteryear Cottage (oberg@watervalley.net), June 01, 2000.


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