Thickness for siding lumber

[reswire]

I recently milled siding for a neighbor of mine, and for the horizontal siding on his cabin he wanted 1/2" poplar boards.  The carpenter and I both wanted to cut the lumber at least 3/4" but he insisted on a 1/2" depth.  (At first he asked for 3/8", was able to bump it up to 1/2").  I went back to see the siding this week, and he complained that the siding was "curling" up on the bottom edge, but I quickly reminded him the wood was still partially green, and the depth of the lumber was his decision.  I also noticed that he had installed a woodstove inside his hunt cabin, and I believe the wood heat had dried the back of the wood faster than the front side, causing some of the trouble.  I never like to get in the middle of a carpenter/owner decision, I simply want to mill to the customer spec., however when a friend is involved, you hate to see them end up with a poor job.  My initial concern was with splitting and cracking, and I didn't offer any suggestions on the installation of the siding, one way or the other.  I did notice he wasn't nailing the boards close to the bottom edge, and I think this could have been part of the problem.   Anyone else have experience with cutting siding like this for a cabin?  I didn't have a siding adapter to cut an angle on the boards, so I guess 1/2" was  a good depth for an average.  Whatcha think?   ???

[Chuck White]

Any lap siding I've ever sawn has always been 1"x 8",  1/2" is too thin in my opinion.

The biggest obstacle in your case was the customer insisted on 1/2" thickness!

[Dave Shepard]

You just have to charge more for sawing less than 1". :D with the exception of some 1/2"x3" battens, I have never sawed thinner then 1".

[beenthere]

Am a thinking it is his problem now, not yours. You sawed it to his specs.

And if curling like you say, it likely is not because of wood heat on the backside, but more due to the exposed surface drying (and shrinking) while the backside stays wetter. Likely will not improve over time either.

Nailing is critical, and a catch-22 if trying to fight shrinkage of the wood and keeping it nailed flat without splitting out.

[ozarkgem]

I guess it depends on the species. I set my saw on 1/2 and made lap cedar(erc) siding.
Been on a yr and no problems. Use wood heat but very well insulated.

[Chuck White]

Cedar acts a lot different than Poplar!

I charge 1" price for everything 1" and thinner!

[thecfarm]

Are you saying all that he used was ½ boards against the studs?

[reswire]

That was all.  No insulation, with 1" boards on the inside.  Plenty of air gaps for sure. :D  I really think the woodstove played a role as well.  It was only supposed to be a cabin used during hunting season, but his wife spends a lot of time there with him, and of course she likes to stay warm.  It does look pretty good for what it is used for, but he didn't build it for a "live in" home.  I think that was the reason for the shortcuts. 

Most people, including myself sometimes, start off with meager plans that turn a little more extravagant as the project progresses.  It was only 12x20, with a small porch on the front.  His wife tagged along for deer season, and now he probably will make something larger and better built.  He has 30 acres to work with, and hopefully he won't run out of decent trees to mill... ;D

[thecfarm]

A Women Cave.



 

[reswire]

A Women Cave.



 

Would it happen to belong to your wife???

[thecfarm]

Yes it does.

[reswire]

Then that must be you on the roof! Do you use it often?  Sure looks nice.

[thecfarm]

That would be me.
What do you think.......



 

It's a very nice building to sit inside and enjoy the summer. Porch is a nice sitting area too.
This is the thread on it.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,69197.0.html

[Knute]

I sided my garage with 5/8 thick poplar and basswood about 13 years ago and it worked fine. I did sticker stack and dry the wood before installation. Also placed it over 1/2" plywood.

[drobertson]

there's no doubt that 1/2" is too thin for outside siding, no if ands or buts about it.  And to not nail up proper is an additional head ache for sure,   I've seen many of folks try to get the most coverage from there logs using thin stock only to have regrets after the fact.   I have an order of 3/4" coming up and cringe just a little on this one myself, but it's what they want.

[Peter Drouin]

I just got an order for 3000 lf of live edge siding I make it all 3/4" WPine
Looks like this


  

 

[Magicman]

½" is too thin for me, plus if he turned the pith side of the boards inward, he made it worse. 

[WDH]

Peter,

How do you remove the bark?

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Good job Peter.....I've always wanted to know....how long does a lapped Pine roof last?

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Peter,

How do you remove the bark?

I'll bet thats not GREEN pine. Sometimes I take tear old Pine logs and lift them up with the backhoe...drop them and all the barks peels off.
I may be wrong about Peters technic though....just guessing.

[reswire]

I had forgotten how good "live edge" siding could be.  That is one awesome little shed!

[Peter Drouin]

Peter,

How do you remove the bark?

Draw knife as they come off the mill, I made a jig to put them in.

Good job Peter.....I've always wanted to know....how long does a lapped Pine roof last?

Without putting a sealer on it 8 to 10 years.

Peter,

How do you remove the bark?

I'll bet thats not GREEN pine. Sometimes I take tear old Pine logs and lift them up with the backhoe...drop them and all the barks peels off.
I may be wrong about Peters technic though....just guessing.

The greener the better. I can't sell blue stain. :D :D :D :D :D

[WDH]

The jig is a good idea.  Can you post a pic of it?

[Peter Drouin]

I'm cutting some this week, I'll get one, It's not fancy.

[FarmingSawyer]

Are both edges live Peter? Or do you square up 3 sides and then slice the boards with 1 live edge? Either way it looks great!

[Peter Drouin]

Just one side

[Peter Drouin]

The jig is a good idea.  Can you post a pic of it?

  

 
If there's damage on the board I can fix it with a draw knife.
The edge cleans up ok it's the frozen sawdust that's a pith  :D :D

[WDH]

You are right.  It is not fancy  :D. 

[drobertson]

that will work all day long!  nice siding for sure,

[Brucer]

I sawed for another guy 11 years ago and my first job was to saw a whole whack of 5/8" x 8" WRC siding. The local service station installed it as lap siding. It still looks great. No checking or curling.

We stacked and stickered it straight off the mill, kept it outdoors for a week (in July), and then delivered it to the job site. They stained as many boards as they could and nailed them up the next day.

Since then I've sawed some 5/8" x 8" Douglas-Fir now and then, to be used for lap siding. Same approach -- air dry for a week in the summer and tell the customer it's ready. It always looks good.

No one who installs this stuff nails the bottom edge, and they always stain both sides of the boards before installing them.

There are some species (poplar, aspen) that I wouldn't use for this purpose.

[rimshot]

I cut some cedar logs into 1/2" X  4"pieces AND THEN usedhe rough cut boards as  as siding on my granddAughter's playhouse  I built.  Then I built a chicken coop out of the stuff.  I used a bostitch gun with 1 1/2"
galvanized staples and it worked fine.





"
I used it to side the playhouse  I built my granddaughter