There are many different siding types for your home. Wood is just one of these. Even within the category of wood siding, there is wide range. You often will see cedar or cypress used for soffits and fascia boards. Generally, wood siding is painted so it can be pine, spruce, or fir which are generally less expensive.
The first line of defense for keeping the moisture from damaging your wood siding is large roof overhangs. If you are building a custom home, this may be something you want to consider. It is a little more expensive upfront because you increase the square footage of your roof slightly, but in my opinion, the long-term benefits far outweigh the initial cost.
However, if you move into an existing home, then there isn’t much you can do about the roof overhangs. They are what they are.
Regardless of which of the above scenarios you have, there are some things you need to know about wood siding. It takes a little more effort and attention to ensure it is in good maintenance than some other sidings such as brick or fiber cement board.
My home has painted wood siding (some type of plywood or engineered wood). My house was built in 1980, and when I walked it with the building inspector prior to purchasing, he said the wood siding is in some of the best shape he’s seen on a house this age. I intend to keep it that way.
Wood Siding
Wood siding (as well as wood soffits, fascia boards, etc.) should be inspected regularly (I suggest every couple of months). If they are painted, areas of rot may not be noticeable to the eye. You will need to tap and feel all areas of the wood, looking for soft spots. Pay special attention to areas where HVAC condensate drains, hose bibs, etc. penetrate.
I also suggest keeping bushes, etc. trimmed away so they are not touching your siding. Anything that can hold in moisture to your siding is not your friend. You also want to keep mulch, grass, etc. pulled back and not touching the bottom of the wood siding. Ideally, you should have around a 4″ gap between the bottom of your wood siding and the ground.
Keep Ground-Cover at Least 4″ From Bottom of Wood Siding
Now, ready for my number one tip for making your wood siding last? Drumrooooolll please……..paint the bottom ends of the boards. Say what? You heard me, paint the ends. This is often not done, or overlooked during the building process. Paint is considered an aesthetic step often times, but used for exterior applications, it is also a sealant. The ends of the wood will absorb much more water than the sides…..the grain will draw it up like a straw, and you can end up with your siding rotting from the inside out.
Painting Wood Siding End Grain
End Grain Not Painted
It’s just like flowers…..you trim the ends and place them in water and they draw the water up from the bottom. As you can see by the photos above and below, my siding was not painted properly.
End Grain Not Painted
Remember the experiment from when you were a kid where you cut the end of a piece of celery and put it in a glass with food coloring in it? After a day or so of sitting in the glass, you would see the dye of the food coloring dye the celery all the way up to the top?
This is exactly what happens to your wood siding if the ends aren’t painted. If you have a house with wood siding, go check those ends now! If they aren’t painted, what are you waiting for? Get those paint brushes out and get to work. Make sure you are using an exterior grade paint appropriate for this application.
The Exterior Paint Which Came with My House
I find it helpful to Use a Mirror While Painting to See What I’m Doing
Painting the Underside End Grain
What Your Siding End Grain Should Look Like!
***Steel Toed Stilettos, LLC and its sole owner, Amanda Miller cannot be held responsible for your safety, your use of power tools, or outcome of any home improvement/DIY projects you choose to undertake and/or complete. Amanda Miller is not a licensed engineer and therefore all designs are what she has found to work for her personal use and neither she nor Steel Toed Stilettos LLC will be held responsible for any injury, illness, or other claims associated with her designs, plans, or projects.***
