Our GC is planning on using an exterior wood for the trim on our house that is marketed under the name”E Prime”…(might have been marketed under the name “Duraprime” at one time. It is made from Paulownia wood from china… finger jointed with 2 coats of primer. I’m not aware of this product and was looking for any comments or experiences others may be able to share. Thanks.
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If it comes from China, it has three strikes against it going in. Add finger jointed for exterior and it has a foul ball on the count.
Have you tried running a google search under those names?
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yes, I've tried to find information on the interweb.... by my post, I'm trying to find someone who's got some real world, first hand experience with it. Thanks for the reply.
With one broad stroke, you denigrate any and all products made by the Chinese?
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No, I just said it has three strikes against it. Wanna know what they are?1 - It means you are sending money abroad hurting balance of payments for the country and taking jobs away from Americans.2 - It means you are buying from a source with a reputation for inferior products - ie. tire failures, lead paint, china plywood, bad drywall, melamine in food............3 - It means you are wasting energy to ship product halfway around the globe when there is perfectly fine lumber growing here in the USA.I have used some good finger jointed product, but most of the siding I've used that was this well painted, turned out to be junk. The paint was what was holding it together you might say. And the warrantee turned out to be #### too.
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I thought I remember you talking about a piece of Windsor One in a puddle or something. I don't have a problem with finger jointed wood for exterior as long as its painted properly. Chinese paulownia sounds shady though.
I have had good luck with the Windsor one stuff. Think highly of it.
It was older type GP Primetrim that spent time on wet ground though. I do have some Winsor that spent time outside and as a yard sale sign with no other finish on it for a few years and no sign of degradation.A lot of my skepticism on this stuff is the way they describe the chinese pine in such glowing terms, and alternate between referring to it as hardwood and as softwood both in implications. Either somebody was careless proofreading, or extremely crafty in structuring sentences to imply more than is true.
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Pawlonia is a deciduous tree (hardwood by definition) but is a very lightweight, rather porous wood - traditionally used for hope chests.
It grows almost unbelievably fast, so might be a renewable resource - but I don't think it would be so great for exterior trim - and some other folks here have already commented on the FJ issue.
I had one of the trees in my yard, so have some experience with it.
Paulownia is also a very popular wood for surfboards being as it's light weight.
http://www.holbrooklumber.com/Boards/EPRIMEBoards.aspx
Thought I would try to educate myself on it a bit.
They make it sound like magic wood.
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Yes... that site is what I found. BetterBrand is a Distribution Company wholesaler that distributes the E Prime product. I like the fact the product has 2 coats of oil based primer.... don't like the finger jointed feature... although I've used other finger jointed products for exterior applications in the past (painted the boards prior to installation) and haven't had a problem (we're in a moist environment, also)..... Also looking for a little more info on the Paulownia wood.... from anyone who's used it......
thanks
As Piffen noted, finger jointed stuff is a bad idea for outdoor applications.
I would also question the use of Paulownia. Historically, this wood was used to make keepsake boxes, jewelry boxes, and such, and was generally highly prized.
I have no idea as to it's resistance to rot, but the historic use leaves me wondering. The stuff is probably much more aesthetically pleasing than it is structural or decay-resistant -- otherwise why would the historic use not be for bridges and such?
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I bought some Tuckernut ply. advertised as void free. Yes it was void free but it also had compressed cross plys and moved like a snake after ripping.I belive it was made out of the same wood. Planation grown a cross between poplar and birch. The sheets had a one piece face veneer that was nice. but as for rot resistance, fire resistance, higher insulation???? ' Jess it's just a piece of wood.If it was that good we should have had it stocked at the Borg buy now.
Perhaps for the same reason it's fingerjointed -- not many long, straight, knot-free pieces?Rebeccah
Where are you? Where are you getting it from?
E prime is a product of China the wood is Paulownia and is almost as light as balsa which should tell you something. The wood is highly processed meaning every knot and imperfection is filled. The "dimensional' E Prime is finger jointed like crazy. For instance a 10' piece may be made up of 14 individual pieces. Over time, even when properly painted the filler breaks down and so does the glue.
I have a 6,000 sq ft house that is 5 years old and the E Prime has completely failed on both sides that face the weather. I purchased the home after the initial owner built the house so the warranty does not transfer. The product is complete garbage. The finger joints seperate even if painted once a year, the filler dries and falls out of the siding, The real problem is that the individual pieces seperate. I dont know how it is made but it is possible to have a piece of E Prime that is 6' x 3' that looks good only to have a 1' x 2' rectangle that is somehow glued into the middle of it.
The E Prime gets moist from all the thousands of imperfections and falls apart.
Stay Away.
E prime is a product of China the wood is Paulownia and is almost as light as balsa which should tell you something. The wood is highly processed meaning every knot and imperfection is filled. The "dimensional' E Prime is finger jointed like crazy. For instance a 10' piece may be made up of 14 individual pieces. Over time, even when properly painted the filler breaks down and so does the glue.
I have a 6,000 sq ft house that is 5 years old and the E Prime has completely failed on both sides that face the weather. I purchased the home after the initial owner built the house so the warranty does not transfer. The product is complete garbage. The finger joints seperate even if painted once a year, the filler dries and falls out of the siding, The real problem is that the individual pieces seperate. I dont know how it is made but it is possible to have a piece of E Prime that is 6' x 3' that looks good only to have a 1' x 2' rectangle that is somehow glued into the middle of it.
The E Prime gets moist from all the thousands of imperfections and falls apart.
Stay Away.
E prime is a product of China the wood is Paulownia and is almost as light as balsa which should tell you something. The wood is highly processed meaning every knot and imperfection is filled. The "dimensional' E Prime is finger jointed like crazy. For instance a 10' piece may be made up of 14 individual pieces. Over time, even when properly painted the filler breaks down and so does the glue.
I have a 6,000 sq ft house that is 5 years old and the E Prime has completely failed on both sides that face the weather. I purchased the home after the initial owner built the house so the warranty does not transfer. The product is complete garbage. The finger joints seperate even if painted once a year, the filler dries and falls out of the siding, The real problem is that the individual pieces seperate. I dont know how it is made but it is possible to have a piece of E Prime that is 6' x 3' that looks good only to have a 1' x 2' rectangle that is somehow glued into the middle of it.
The E Prime gets moist from all the thousands of imperfections and falls apart.
Stay Away.