Josh Oduin is back at his personal cabin project to talk about the siding products he chose to stand up to the harsh elements in Washington’s Cascade Mountains. Josh explains the benefits of the corrugated corten steel he installed on the bottom of the walls, which will get a natural rusty patina over time and need no protective finish. He also describes the finishing process that helps the Shou Sugi Ban cypress siding last for decades with no maintenance, and he shows how the Tamlyn anodized aluminum corners and black stainless siding nails make for a sleek installation of the cypress tongue-and-groove boards.
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Josh Oduin is a remodeler based in Portland, Oregon.
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6 Comments
Very nice video and has great finishes. Lovely Sunday morning viewing!
That detail/tip of pre painting the siding nails black is a keeper, TY
As a woodworker, I question the statements about the siding shrinking and their mitigation. Wood expands and contracts very little along its length. However, if it is a factor, nailing the board directly adjacent to where they want the expansion/contraction to occur isn't likely to work very well. Those nails aren't going to allow the movement on the long side to transfer to the short side, where the board goes under the corner trim. The proper way would have been to rout an elongated hole in that end of the board, and hand nail into the center of that hole. However, none of this is really necessary, as wood generally moves less than 0.02% along its long axis. Unless those boards are over 50' long, you'll never see expansion or contraction of even 1/16" over the whole length, let alone at one end.
The claim of hundreds of years durability with no maintenance for Shou Sugi Ban is also way out there. Even proponents of the product, who may be a little biased, generally only claim over 80 years with the caveat, " when properly maintained".
Trevor,
Both good points.
Eric Whitzel's blog had an excellent overview of Shou Shugi Ban: https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/urban-rustic-charred-cedar-siding
I wish the video had dealt with some of the make or break flashing details at the deck ledger, window head, roof brackets, and bottom of rain-screen.
Nakamoto Forestry has some nice info about Shou Sugi Ban (or Yakisugi as it is apparently supposed to be called). In particular, I find their gallery of historical examples of how it weather to be instructive: https://nakamotoforestry.com/what-is-shou-sugi-ban-yakisugi/
The sell the stuff, so obviously they like it, but their descriptions of its virtues seem fair and measured to my eye.
The FAQ also has some commentary on maintenance and weathering.
I think people hear durable and assume that that means it will look the way it looks when you install it for a long time. I think what it really means is that it will continue to perform its function as cladding for a long long time, but it can (and likely will) change fairly dramatically in appearance, which is a surprise to a lot of people.
I'm using Corten on my new project in a couple of places .... makes a nice wall when doing a stone or other masonry would take up too much room. Edging at steps. Siding as in this project -- have never used anything but flat sheets.
I like the "no caulk" ... when you rip apart old buildings the rot is always with caulk. All building leak --the key is let them drain and dry.
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