Wood siding for new barn or something else?

[RCW]

There is a HUGE difference in eastern and western Hemlock.
Here hemlock is very HIGH value tree and they are BIG, up to 200 foot tall big.
Hemlock lumber is twice as expensive.
It does not make good siding or exterior trim to soft and absorbs too much moisture.
Hemlock is the #1 choice for fine trim and doors.
All of my doors, casing, trim is done in hemlock.
Really nice wood to work with.

Cedar is the #1 real wood exterior siding or if you want to really break the bank go with redwood!

LP make 2 kinds of siding, pressed OSB and cement.
The cement will hold up to any weather, critters, bugs, and birds but it's heavy and tough to work with.
It's very tough, but it does not hold up to impacts like a tractor hitting it... don't even ask!

LP smart siding (OSB) is cheap to install But I'm not a fan of the cheap final look of it.
It hold up ok if painted and caulked, but falls apart in nothing flat if it get wet.

I managed to buy 100+ sheets of Cedar plywood siding (you can get it in grooved and smooth) I picked the smooth for a killer price and it finishes out really nice!

Correct - - probably big difference between the species, financial value, and their uses. Don't know that much about your western version of hemlock off the top of my head, but a lot of western trees get pretty big....

Around here, eastern hemlock is a normal part of a mature forest stand. They like certain damp (?) site characteristics, and can get to be very old and large diameter breast height but don't typically get much beyond 80 feet or so.

I've felled a few that were in the 36" ballpark.

Must be NY Hemlock is different than New England Hemlock because around here, lots of Hemlock is harvested and used. Hemlock and White Pine are a big component in the lumber industry and used a lot in building. Many of the old barns built in the 17, 18 and early 1900’s in New England were sided with White Pine or Hemlock board and battens. Many were never painted and still stand today. Unless you plan on living for another 100 years, the barn will probably outlive you whatever you do

BAP - - same hemlock trees here. Difference is down here our market is driven more toward hardwoods. There was a softwood small commercial softwood mill here nearby, but it's gone out of business.

There's lots of hemlock harvested here as well, but it's often mixed in a hardwood sale.

For years, hemlock has brought ~$100-200/mbf. Doesn't pay its way out of the woods for a commercial timber company/logger looking to buy a stand.

Years ago, we used to figure it cost $100/mbf just to get logs to a landing. I'm sure it's more now.

Nowadays how hemlock commonly gets used are by landowners cutting/skidding their own stuff to mill on a portable mill or selling to Amish loggers or similar small outfits.

All that said, NYSDEC owns A LOT of Reforestation Land in my area (Region 7). A lot of that is Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) plantations in softwoods from the Depression Era and a little later (1930-1950 +/-). Have 80,000 acres in my county.

Red Pine and Norway Spruce are two common CCC plantation species. I used to cut Norway Spruce for pulpwood in the 1980's, but that market is gone. Red Pine is great for telephone poles and landscape timbers. Some of the Norways are sold as timber now. Seen some sales are almost 1M board feet. A decent softwood mill in the Adirondacks used to do ~ 1,000,000 board feet per year.

They've been getting BIG $$ for softwoods. Not sure why or where the product is going. There's a couple other foresters here on OTT. Maybe they know more.

I see their site is down for maintenance tonight, but if the links work, here's NYSDEC's links to their Price Reports and their recent Timber Sales.

I see in their Winter Report Hemlock Stumpage is $100-125.

Stumpage Price Report Winter 2024 #104

Timber Sales on State Forests - NYSDEC

I’ve taken @trackman23 thread on a tangent. My apologies and back to your regularly scheduled program…..

 

[mikester]

Being in tobacco country in NC as well, I'd avoid cedar. We've had plenty of issues with bees boring holes, woodpeckers, and in the past 5-10 years, the damn squirrels have found it wonderful to gnaw on to keep their teeth sharp, really tearing it up.
If the budget allows, I'd consider EverLog siding as it'll give the right look with no maintenance. Not an easy install though. https://www.everlogs.com/

Cool link, thanks! Have you used the stuff? How well does it take up stain for matching to an existing building?

 

[Speed25]

Cool link, thanks! Have you used the stuff? How well does it take up stain for matching to an existing building?

I haven't used it personally, but a few of my local builders have, and they love the resulting look. Being pre-finished pieces, I don't have a clue how they'd take stain or paint. Might be worth reaching out to them for a sample to try out if the pricing makes sense for your project.

 

[Workerbee]

I haven't used it personally, but a few of my local builders have, and they love the resulting look. Being pre-finished pieces, I don't have a clue how they'd take stain or paint. Might be worth reaching out to them for a sample to try out if the pricing makes sense for your project.

What are the typical downsides? Cracking, I suppose? It seems everything under the sun has some.
And whats a typical price per square? Im sure its not cheap by any means, but neither is ongoing maintenance. I put Cedar siding on around 25 years ago, and sure wish I would have went with steel or fibre cement board due to the maintenance.

 

[Speed25]

What are the typical downsides? Cracking, I suppose? It seems everything under the sun has some.
And whats a typical price per square? Im sure its not cheap by any means, but neither is ongoing maintenance. I put Cedar siding on around 25 years ago, and sure wish I would have went with steel or fibre cement board due to the maintenance.

So far, price seems to be the big one, but the pieces are MUCH thicker than fiber cement siding, so I doubt cracking is an issue. Window and door casing might be an issue as I didn't see any trim boards for those applications, and if you're having to use wood there, there will be the inevitable maintenance. Otherwise, for the sidings that need chinking, I suspect some touch-up will be needed down the road like a regular log home, but the cement siding will be a lot more stable and less prone to expansion and contraction like logs or wood siding. More than anything, installation error for guys unfamiliar with a different product will likely be the biggest failure point, like most new products.

I try to avoid fiber cement siding (Hardie, etc) for anything around here since the maintenance is so high. Locally, it's recommended to recaulk EVERY joint, horizontal and vertical, every two years or so, and repainting all of it every 7-8 years (though the factory-finished Hardie seems to be good for 10 years from the initial installation).

 

[trackman23]

So far, price seems to be the big one, but the pieces are MUCH thicker than fiber cement siding, so I doubt cracking is an issue. Window and door casing might be an issue as I didn't see any trim boards for those applications, and if you're having to use wood there, there will be the inevitable maintenance. Otherwise, for the sidings that need chinking, I suspect some touch-up will be needed down the road like a regular log home, but the cement siding will be a lot more stable and less prone to expansion and contraction like logs or wood siding. More than anything, installation error for guys unfamiliar with a different product will likely be the biggest failure point, like most new products.

I try to avoid fiber cement siding (Hardie, etc) for anything around here since the maintenance is so high. Locally, it's recommended to recaulk EVERY joint, horizontal and vertical, every two years or so, and repainting all of it every 7-8 years (though the factory-finished Hardie seems to be good for 10 years from the initial installation).

What area are you in? I don't know that I love fiber cement but I have had it on my house for 15 years now and I am still on the original application (2 proper coats) of paint and have never had a caulk joint open up. Overall, it is probably time for a pressure wash and repainting but the material seems to be holding up well. There are a few spots where the crew didn't give enough gap between the bottom of the siding and the roof shingles and that area needs to be replaced but that has been the one area of concern.

 

[Speed25]

What area are you in? I don't know that I love fiber cement but I have had it on my house for 15 years now and I am still on the original application (2 proper coats) of paint and have never had a caulk joint open up. Overall, it is probably time for a pressure wash and repainting but the material seems to be holding up well. There are a few spots where the crew didn't give enough gap between the bottom of the siding and the roof shingles and that area needs to be replaced but that has been the one area of concern.

Just north of the Triad. You seem to be the outlier on fiber cement from what I've seen, but your note of "proper coats" of paint is important since I see so many crappy installs. Out of curiosity, are you mostly wooded around the house, or mostly open and exposed to the sun?

 

[GreensvilleJay]

curious...
why do you caulk cement joints and not wooden joints ?

 

[Speed25]

curious...
why do you caulk cement joints and not wooden joints ?

Because the manufacturer says so, and if that's what they say, that's what the building inspectors want to see. Beyond that, I have no clue! I'm guessing it has to do with moisture, condensation and humidity, but that's beyond my pay grade.