I’m a DIY’er in southeastern Mass. who’s been a Breaktime lurker for a year or two and am now making the switch to actually exploiting all your expertise.
I’m about to build a 10×12 shed behind my house and am trying to figure out my options for siding. My house is clad in T1-11, which I don’t much care for, but I’d like to use some kind of vertical siding for the shed to keep it in character with the house. I’ve been calling around my local lumberyards for options and prices on 1×6 T&G and have been getting contradictory opinions. A couple of places have pine T&G boards at less than a dollar/LF, which seems a reasonable price to me, and one yard has cedar, which at $2.25/LF, which seems way beyond what I want to spend. (I figure I’ll need about 1200 LF.)
One of the salesmen at one of the lumberyards warned me off pine T&G because, he said, it’s really for interior use and would quickly rot outdoors. I know I’ll have to seal all four sides of each pine board before installing it, but this guy kind of scared me off pine.
Questions:
If I do spring for cedar (unlikely—I’m pretty cheap), do I still have to preprime or otherwise seal it before installing? If not, maybe the labor of sealing all those pine boards makes the expense of cedar not so unattractive.
Is the pine siding used outdoors the same as the one used for ceilings and other interior use? Also, I’ve never bought lumber I haven’t been able to pick out piece by piece before, but when you’re talking about 140 8-foot pieces, can I just trust the lumberyard to pick it for me?
Finally, are there other options I should consider? Any advantages to shiplap or board-and-batten?
Thanks for your help.
Norman
Replies
James Hardie makes a 4x8 sheet similar to T1-11. Around here it sales for about $30.
You forgot to tell him, Lowes stocks it!
I put the Hardie panels on my shed. The sheeting went down close to the ground so I wanted something bugs wouldn't eat or water wouldn't rot.
The sheets are heavy and a pain to cut.
One thing to watch for. When you cut the panel sometimes the layers in the panel want to delaminate.
I made sure I got paint wrapped around the ends I cut to seal it. "There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers
My personal favorite is rough sawn board-n-batten. 1x10 and 1x3 looks great and it is cheap. I have gotten it directly from the sawmill before and it was easy and cheap.
Could go with an erzatz board-n-batten. Plain (or rough-faced) exterior ply with either 1x2 or 1x4 battens around 16-24" OC over the plywood.
I figure I'll need about 1200 LF>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sure about that??
I'm calculating on using about 140 or so 8-ft pieces, about 30–35 per side, allowing for waste. You think I'm off?
Yep. 44'x12"=288/5=58 plus the gables
I used this on a shed:http://www.lpcorp.com/sidingtrim/lpsmartside/products/panel.aspxLooks like t1-11 but it is a composite product. A lot lighter, pretty thin, but much stronger than you would think. About $20 a sheet and not nearly as heavy as the Hardie product. Sheating and siding in one. The pre-primed held paint beautifully for 10 years until I tore the shed down. The pre-primed and textured surface resmebles t1-11, but MUCH easier to paint. I used the 3/8 " panel not the heavier and more expesnive 7/16". The 3/8 was hard to put a hammer through when I was tearing the shed down- it is pretty tough. Lowes stocks it in my area.
Edited 9/11/2009 6:12 pm ET by frontiercc2
Thank you all for your advice and insight. I've been at the lumberyards pricing and examining options. I think I've pretty much decided on either pine shiplap for something like the SmartSide panels. I like the shiplap because it is used on so many barns around here, and I like the look.Any advice on installing shiplap on a shed?Thanks,
Norman
Steel barn siding can be attractive in the right (pre-painted) color and profile, and would be consistent with the T1-11
IMO, cedar is overkill. If you have a mill nearby, rough sawn (rough one side) shiplap pine is probably your best buy. Furthermore, it's easier to install than T&G or board and batten. Around here, it's ~$1.00 bf. I've used it on many barns, sheds and chicken coops. As long as the bottom end of the boards are at least six or more inches away from the ground, and your roof has a decent overhang, it'll last for years, even without sealing or painting.
Generally speaking, pine is pine. No such thing as interior vs. exterior grades in solid pine boards.
Unlike T1-11, you need to include enough horizontal blocking in the frame for nailing any vertical siding.
I built a dog house not too long ago and wanted it to be cedar to match my house, but I didn't really want to pay full cedar prices.
My solution was to sheath the walls with OSB and tar paper then cover that with horizontal cedar fence boards. They are only 1/2" thick and 6' long but are still 5 1/2" wide and are much cheaper than 1x cedar. They come rough on both sides but I planed them for a smooth surface.
No t&g necessary, just nail one up then caulk the edge and put the next one on.
Might not fly for a human house, but you're talking about a shed.
In fact, I have a plan to build a shed soon and was going to use the fence board there myself. Of course they are only 6' long so I planned to use cedar shingles for the first 4' then a horizontal cedar 2x2 then the fence boards to the soffits.
You could do the same or maybe run the fence boards up 6' to a 2x2 then more fence board. The 2x2 would act as a frieze molding and I think would look very nice.
just remember it's a shed.
DC
I agree to avoid T-111. My garage had it and it rotted so badly it actually grew some of those shelf fungus things that grow on trees. Pine is not a good choice either. The U.S. Forest Service characterizes woods with regard to decay resistance, and pine is among the woods most prone to decay.
I'd vote for Hardie panels. We put it on some well pump houses at work. As you can imagine they are very damp, but the siding has held up great since it was installed in 2004.
T&G is a poor choice for exterior siding because it traps water in the joint.
That is why siding is run horizontally most of the time, with laps facing down - to shed water. Shiplap does that nicely.
B&B is acceptable if done right, but can also trap some water.
IMO, you are doing overkill for a shed. Just use T1-11 to match the house. You get siding and sheathing in one step and go on to enjoying life.
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I ran my Hardie claps vertically on my gables. 7.25" wide, so I nailed one up, left a 5.75" space and nailed the next, then applied the face board over those to make a board on board look.
I used 2" ss rs nails over the sheathing ( but he could with blocking, and felt) and don't mind the face nails up there. Didn't even have to caulk the edges or anything.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
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I'd avoid the T&G pine. I used it to build the garden cabinet pictured below earlier this year and had to rebuild the doors due to serious warping. You can see the warping if you look closely at the top and bottom of the doors, and run up and down the seam in between the doors. And this thing doesn't even get wet (it's under an elevated sun room). The warping was purely from humidity. Lord only knows what this stuff would have done if it actually got wet. The body of the cabinet seems OK, since it's secured to other sides, etc., but I'm worried about longevity.
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I also built a shed in my back yard earlier this year (also pictured below) and used 5/8 rough-sawn cedar plywood for the sheathing, with rough sawn 5/4x stock for vertical battens. I think it came out great, and has a pretty cool look. May not be the look you're going for, but another option.
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--MG
Wow, cool looking shed! Nice work.
That's a dandy looking shed. Never seen or even heard of cedar ply. Will need to look into that.
just looks like fir ply to me
Second what redford henry said about the importance of building design as in roof overhang, rainsplash at the bottom, etc. should go a long ways to deciding what is most practical. I have a shed with some hickory siding, another with sweetgum that are 20 and 10 years old with no end in sight for the siding. Not that I recomend such material but you get the drift.
I have had T-111 work fine for a shed. 5 years in the weather, and it looks as nice as the day I installed it.
First off, I used the thicker, maybe 3/4" type. Then, I painted all sides of each sheet with an oil-based penetrating primer; figure on each sheet soaking up at least a quart! Finally, I painted it with a proper exterior latex. Note that I painted the sheets before I hung them - then went back and sealed my cut edges.
IMO, proper design is what counts most when it comes to mold / rot prevention. You don't want it in contact with the earth, and you want air to be able to circulate. You want all edges and corners to be able to drain.
"...T-111...looks as nice as the day I installed it."IMO thats not saying a whole lot <g>DC