Best wood for house exterior

[ls02]

What's the best wood for house outside exterior: trims, fascia, etc. assuming all wood will be painted by exterior grade paint?

[Eric in North TX]

Hardie Board. While it isn't wood, it is still what I recommend. A bit hard to work with, but once in place, it holds paint well & doesn't rot.

[terry]

On Jan 25, 10:09=A0am, Eric in North TX wrote:

Presuming that is the cement type Hardie board? Which we understand comes in various horizontal and vertical styles. Including trim boards. Using it here in this very wet, windy climate has not been completely successful. Problems have been blamed on improper storage i.e. storing it outside, even while still wrapped, before installation! Also, once installed, problems have been blamed on our location and climate. Most eastern Canada. Wet then freezing/thaw etc. Was initially impressed; but my neighbour who used the lap siding variety on the two ends of his A frame cabin, located in the woods but miles not adjacent to the ocean had to remove it when it started delaminating; he received compensation for the material and a certain amount to cover the reinstallation of conventional wood-lap. A Hardie company representative visited this zone and as we understand settled a number of similar (delaminating/crumbling) 'claims'. Our experience with 10* inch pine 'clap-board' stained dark red-brown, with plain wood (spruce,fir or pine etc.) trim painted white, over the last 40 years has been fully satisfactory. We have avoided the use of roof gutters; a wide overhang taking roof run off some two feet away from the house.And have therfore had relatively minor problems roof edge problems. That often being a problem due to with gutters, which fill up and or hold ice/snow. On both this and our first house we used stain; not paint (paint for trim only) and have had no problems with blistering/bubbling. Whereas those who have 'painted' their siding have. Our first house (very windy exposed location) had stained cedar clapboard which a later owner covered up with vinyl' ugh!

*Eight inch reveal, two inch overlap. If I was building a cabin I might use 'narrow' clapboard, that may still be available here, sawn from the smaller trees that grow in this area. Personally I would now, based on my neighbours experience avoid any form of cement board but in a suitable climate it may be OK? For trim only?.

[ransley]

Wood from big Fir-pine trees

[Joe]

Dictated by where you live. Cedar siding has lasted for centuries in new England, other areas. So find a very old house nearby and inspect the materials that seem to be well preserved and attempt to replicate those in your project.

Joe

[h]

I'm in upstate NY, in a nearly 200-year-old house. I've got cedar on everything, and it really lasts. One tip - don't use exterior paint, use alkyd stain.

[terry]

BTW just to repeat if it's an older house there is probably no vapour barrier on the warm (inner) side of the walls? So acreful choice of paint needed; some neighbours in older homes had ongoing problems with paint blistering and lifting. Not helped by fact they they used heavy impermeable marine style paint outside; while the wives were inside painting with permeable latex style paint. result; house moisture finding its way out through the walls! Our house a short distance away with a carefully applied and sealed vapor barrier and using permeable stain outside had no blistering or paint bubbling.