[Greenbuilding] sustainable siding?

[RONALD CASCIO]

Tom's right about red oak, I'd stay away from it.

White oak? That's another story.


Ron



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert Tom" <ArchiLogic at yahoo.ca>
To: "GB REPP" <greenbuilding at listserv.repp.org>
Sent: Monday, February 25, 2008 3:44 PM
Subject: [Greenbuilding] re: sustainable siding?


> On Mon, 25 Feb 2008 09:28:36 -0500, Alan Abrams
> <alan at abramsdesignbuild.com> wrote:
>
>> some local mills where I can get rough sawn, un-seasoned, tulip poplar
>> and red oak--suitable for board and batten
>
> Ehhh, maybe it's a regional thing but I think I'd think twice, thrice or
> even six times about using unseasoned Red Oak for siding.
>
> First of all, from a performance perspective...
>
> The structure of Red Oak is very porous. You can take a stick of it, place
> it in a glass of water, blow on the end and bubbles will appear in the
> glass of water.
>
> What this should tell you is that Red Oak will be very "athletic" -- very
> susceptible to dimensional changes in response to changes in atmospheric
> humidity. This may not be a problem if it is anticipated in the detailing
> around doors and windows but could wreak havoc otherwise.
>
> Another side to the athleticism is that wide boards will experience enough
> movement at the edges that if fasteners are installed improperly (ie
> restraining the edges from movement) the boards will split and split
> badly, usually prompting someone to whack even more fasteners into the
> board in a misguided attempt to fix it, further exacerbating the problem.
>
> And green oak... Oy! {see above and multiply by 2). And if there are any
> knots in the boards, as the board dries, the board is almost sure to
> distort severely in the vicinity of the knot with self-destruction being
> the most likely result. And if there are no knots, wouldn't the lumber be
> cabinet or millwork grade lumber that would be better used as such ?
>
> And bugs seem to love devouring green Red Oak.
>
> And there will likely be nice long black streaks bleeding down from any
> point where a metallic fastener is used. And if that's not enough, rot
> will likely occur around that fastener (see above re: porosity and
> hydrophilia)
>
> And Red Oak isn't particularly rot-resistant. White Oak is.
>
> I won't bother chewing on the other aspect, as to whether it's prudent to
> be using the "King of North American Hardwoods" a lumber that is sought
> out and prized for cabinetry and millwork, in an exterior application
> where it's not likely to do very well.
>
> As for the Tulip Poplar, we don't have any of that around here so I know
> nothing about it, nor One Lip Poplar for that matter but I don't think I'd
> want to use any of the poplar that grows around here, for siding. It's
> about as durable as corrugated cardboard if exposed to weather.
> But the beavers love to chomp on it.
> -- 
> === * ===
> Rob Tom
> Kanata, Ontario, Canada
> < A r c h i L o g i c  at chaffY a h o o  dot  c a >
> manually winnow the chaff from my edress in your reply
>
>
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