Natural Wood and its Characteristics

Natural Wood and its Characteristics

Natural Wood Characteristics – There are many advantages to using our natural wood siding products for your building projects. The most important is our tongue-n-groove and end-match design. Our tongue and groove wood siding is engineered to save you labor and time. The end-match design simply means that the boards are tongue and groove on the end of the boards, not just the sides of the boards. You will not need to butt end-matched paneling, siding, and decking on a stud. The only measuring necessary is on the last piece in a row. After you make the cut, you will use the leftover piece to start your next row. When nailing or screwing the boards to the studs, angle the nail down through the tongue on approximately a 45 degree angle. The following row will hide the nails with the tongue, locking the boards in place. Our tongue and groove wood siding products have been kiln dried to the following moisture content which will result in little or no product shrinkage: Paneling 6-8%, Quarter Log Siding and Decking 8-12%, Half Log Siding 10-14%. Our tongue and groove wood siding products have been sorted and inspected, with any defects removed, making certain that every piece of wood is a high quality, usable product. The results of all product advantages are 15-20% labor saving and up to 15% less waste.

The Nature of Designing with Wood…

How to achieve the best results from your Skyline Woods/Woodworkers Shoppe natural wood siding to enjoy long lasting beauty. All of Skyline Woods’ products are milled from top quality lumber. Natural Wood Characteristics – As with any natural wood product, there are considerations to be aware of to assure that your product will retain it’s natural beauty throughout the processes that occur when using real wood on the exterior of your home, such as pitch, fading and weathering. The following are a list of recommendations provided by Skyline Woods to help maintain our tongue and groove wood siding products’ natural appearance, reduce pitch, and having to reapply stain, with minimal maintenance.

Selecting Red Pine or Cedar…

The wood you select for your project is, of course, based on your personal preference. However, many of our customers feel that Red Pine’s knot and grain pattern are unmatched in natural beauty. If you agree and wish to work with Red Pine, it has characteristics you should consider. As well as being the most attractive of the pine species, it is also very durable and much more affordable. The major consideration in choosing our Red Pine (or other Pine species) over our Northern White Cedar is the chance of pitch bleeding around knots when exposed to prolonged direct sunlight. Especially if darker pigmented stains are used. Pitch is the resin derived from the sap of many types of trees, including pine. This substance is part of the tree’s naturally occurring process.

Skyline Woods & The Woodworkers Shoppe

take every step possible to reduce the possibility of pitch bleeding. During the kiln drying phase, we dry our lumber at a temperature of 180 degrees on a precise schedule. This process actually crystallizes the pine pitch and eliminates pitch bleeding under normal conditions. The exception is when the product is warmed and exposed to, most often, Southern and Western exposure sunlight. In this case, the heat from the sun will re-liquefy the pitch on those surfaces. Pitch will come to the surface and bleed at the knots and heartwood areas, especially when dark colored stains are used. The pitch bleeding can last a number of years before the wood runs it’s course. Cleaning up pitch can be achieved by using denatured alcohol or mineral spirits on a rag and applying to the area. Re-staining the area may be necessary. If Northern White Cedar is out of your budget and Red Pine may not be your choice, we do offer White Pine as an affordable optional pine product of less or no pitch bleed. Lead times on White Pine are extended.

Staining…

As all stain manufacturers will tell you, wood products exposed to direct south and west sunlight will need to be re-stained more often. This is true of any type of wood species. Solid color stains should not be used on any exterior Pine siding. If you choose to use solid stain on your home, you will need to use Cedar siding.
Semi-transparent wood tone stains are still one of the best and most common options for both pine and cedar. These stains bring out the natural beauty of the woods’ grain and knot character while changing the overall color of the natural wood to your desired tone. For the optimum in exterior stain protection on all of our tongue and groove wood siding products, choose a color of stain with red pigments or a darker variety of stain.

Site Location…

If you’re early enough in the design phase of your home, the following should be considered in your site planning:
• Situate your home so the south and west sides will have ample shade from any surrounding trees.
• If shading the south and west side is not an option, you may want to consider having covered porches on those sides of your home. We recommend a minimum of two foot overhangs and a two foot space between the ground and your siding.

Sorting your wood siding products…

If your home does not allow for the recommendations in the site location section, it is possible to sort our wood siding products in a way that will reduce pitch bleeding.
1.) Sort your siding by weight of the siding and size of the knots.
2.) Start on the south and west sides of your home with siding that is lightest and has the smallest knots.
3.) Use the heaviest siding with the most knots, on the north side and on the last two to three rows under the eaves.

Pitch Removal…

Generally, most customers will not experience noticeable pitch with our tongue and groove wood siding products. However, if bleeding does occur, it is easily removed.
• Allow the pitch to harden and it can then be taken off with a scraper or buffing brush.
• If you wish to remove the pitch while it is in liquid form, you can apply Denatured Alcohol or Acetone with a brush. As you apply, shortly afterward,  loosen and wipe away the pitch.

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