ERC Live Edge Siding

stickframer · July 07, 2015, 01:48:08 PM

Well, I don't know if this is the place to post this topic

I am getting ready to side my home and I am wanting to use live edge ERC (since it's local and rot resistant).

My question is when you install it, do you just pop a line up and use whatever reveal you want? I have a pretty good idea how to do it, but I have seen several places that say you can't blind nail it. I figured if you did a 1 1/2'' lap and blind nailed it only it would be fine. I am all ears on this one.

Also, what is a good sealer for it? I want to try and keep as much color as possible, but I know the clear stuff requires more maintenance. The millwright recommended a spar urethane, but I am worried about blisterin. I was just going to go with a water based urethane or thompsons. Please feel free to correct me, as I am here for learning :P

LittleJohn · July 07, 2015, 02:34:35 PM

Can't wait for pictures.

If ERC is rot resistant, why are you worrying about a sealant?? ...to help maintain a specific color?

MattJ · July 07, 2015, 08:29:20 PM

I've posted a few times on my great experience with cabots Australian timber oil and ERC. Don't use water based with the oily ERC unless you enjoy watching it peel. Thompsons was my first attempt and its worthless with ERC.

scsmith42 · July 07, 2015, 08:33:47 PM

Quote from: LittleJohn on July 07, 2015, 02:34:35 PM
Can't wait for pictures.

If ERC is rot resistant, why are you worrying about a sealant?? ...to help maintain a specific color?

ERC sapwood is not rot resistant - only the heartwood. If he uses live edge boards, they will have sapwood in them.

S.Hyland · July 08, 2015, 01:51:45 PM

I would worry about those boards cupping if they are only blind nailed. Also, it's pretty hard to replace a damaged board in the future if all the nails are inaccessible.
I wouldn't use spar urethane. I think it will be a big mess in a few years and hard to redo without lots of scraping. Like MattJ said, oil based finish will be your friend.

Carpenter · July 09, 2015, 12:02:40 AM

Spar Urethane won't work. I know that through a lot of trial and error failures. It does look really nice when first applied, but it flakes off and then you are left with a cracked plastic looking skin on the wood and the cedar turns grey anyway. On the upside, even with three coats in a few years it all tends to flake off, so you don't have to sand it off. This was on things that were constantly outdoors as well, like your siding will be. So, I've switched to Penofin Marine, which is an oil with some varnish resin in it. It claims to block 99.9% of the UV rays. So far I've had really good results with it, but I haven't been using it long enough to really tell. Although I talked to a guy who built a ERC dock and finished it with Penofin and he claims 3 years later he couldn't see any signs of turning grey. So, we'll see. I've used it for a year and a half, some of what I've built is outdoor furniture so it is usually stored inside during the winter. It still looks new though for what it's worth. I just built a deck with a pergola over it with a lot of Eastern red cedar and finished it with penofin. Right now it looks great of course, I just finished it last week. I did tell the owners to keep an eye on the finish, it will probably need additional coats over the years to keep its color, but that is one advantage of an oil finish, you can usually just apply more oil without stripping the old finish. Also, you can restore some of the color with an oil.
On the outdoor furniture if I want a more finished look, I apply 3 coats of penofin and let them dry a week, then a few coats of spar varnish, my most recent experiment has been a spar varnish made by rustoleum. And, so far the results are good with that method. That was on a few adirondack chairs that have sat outside for a year and a half, except they were brought inside for the winter. I really don't know how well that method would hold up on siding. But, if you want a super finished look I would recomend spar varnish over spar urethane, even though urethane is one of the three main varnish resins it is the hardest of the varnish resins and I don't think it moves with the wood as well as some of the other varnish resins. And, as it is so hard, it is also a little brittle, which I think is what leads to the flaking. I plan to try Waterlox marine as a top coat experiment in the future, just haven't got around to it yet.
I don't think anything is a permanent solution for an outdoor wood finish.

stickframer · July 13, 2015, 12:59:12 PM

Thanks for the replies guys.

Carpenter, I was considering using Landark. Whats the cost for penofin?

Hyland, would you just nail in the center of the siding to prevent cupping? Also, would you use hot dipped or go with stainless?

S.Hyland · July 13, 2015, 09:15:08 PM

I would nail on the lower side, using a nail long enough to go through both layers. This will prevent the lap from cupping away from the lower piece. If it cups the other direction it shouldn't be noticeable since the lap will stay tight even if the middle lifts slightly. I would use stainless rink shanks all the way. You won't have to worry about them!

Carpenter · July 14, 2015, 02:56:54 AM

I've been paying $50/ gallon for the penofin. And it soaks up a lot. So, it may get rather expensive. I used 7 gallons to do two coats on the deck I mentioned. It is a 400 sq foot deck, but the decking is Trex. So, we just oiled the rim board, the stair stringer covers, the stair risers, the hand rail and hand rail posts, the 6x6 structural posts, and the pergola. I haven't added up the square footage of that. But, it seemed a little expensive to me. It's hard to find any finish for under $40/ gallon anymore though.