Our Siding {In Detail}

The journey of selecting and installing siding for our addition has been a long one. You can see previous siding posts here, here, here and here.

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Initially we wanted to put up a clap board style cedar, to match the existing cedar found underneath the vinyl on the original part of our house. Unfortunately, our only option was to get something custom milled, because the bevel is actually rounded off on our siding. Back in the day, people worked with what they could find, and there wasn’t a “standard” profile. So, we decided to go a slightly different route. Cedar sidewall shingles {not shakes} are what we chose. They are quite common in the Eastern US, as well as in Western Canada. They are a less common choice in the Canadian prairies, but I simply love the look!

We did a lot of deliberating when it came to trim, belly band placement, and the color. We used a solid stain called Arbourcoat (by Benjamin Moore) and I really can not say enough about the product. What you see is one coat, and it has held up amazingly! I brought home 3 samples- and the final choice was a color match from Behr called Arrowhead Lake. It is the perfect lakehouse blue! When we refinish the original house I will be painting the front door red and all of the clapboard in blue, with natural cedar in the gables to tie it all together… can’t wait!I have to admit that we were a bit naive about the workload. Don’t get me wrong, we love the process and the look… but would you believe we hand painted/dipped every.single.shingle. before putting it on the wall? I know, we might be crazy. But we did. The thing that really got us though, was all of the trim work… the gable trim, all of the white banding between each section, the “crown moulding” on the non gable sides and the corner caps… let’s just say, we have done a lot of staining in our lives. And so has my mother in law!There are different ratings when it comes to Cedar Shingles. {I know, I want to call them shakes, but apparently thats what goes on the roof… you know where you would put Asphalt shingles?} Number 1’s and Number 2’s. The Number 1’s are a more clear variety, better grain, no saw marks, and more consistency in cut and quality… We ordered our shingles from a fellow in BC- we went with number 2’s for our solid stain, and the shingles on the back and East of the house. They don’t get much sun or weather… We used Number 1’s on the Front and East side. Truth be told, the fellow we bought from mixed in quite a few extra 1 bundles… which was really nice of him. These are Western Red Cedar… there are is also White Cedar- which are the ones that weather to a lovely grey.

Matt installed the sidewall shingles using narrow crown galvanized 1 inch staples, with a 6 inch reveal. Can you believe this was his first time doing cedar siding? And soffit… and building a house! #amazingmanthatIlove

I still have some filling and touch ups to do on trim, and the odd coat of blue touch ups. Story of my life baby! Honestly I don’t even care at this point, I am too busy planning my garden and dreaming about summer!The clear stain we used for the natural look… well, it isn’t my favorite. This fall will mark 2 years since those top shingles above went up, and I am not very impressed with how the stain is holding up. I did a lot of research- and unfortunately all of the oil based products that came recommended {like Sansin} had been phased out, and weren’t available due to environmental policies. Penofin was an oil based product still available- and came recommended over hybrid water based stains, but time will tell if we made the right choice.

To be honest, we had a very hard time finding anyone in our area with experience treating and installing cedar. It just isn’t too common anymore with the dawn of vinyl and hardi-board type products. So, you live and learn by trial and error. I’ll be back in another post to share the other sides of the house, as this is getting pretty long! Oopsy daisy. But here is a sneak peek of the bay window {with soffit and fascia!}- it’s one of my favorite details inside and out!

Let me know if you have any questions about installing cedar, and I will do my best to answer! Hope you are having a great week- it seems to just be flying by for us!

-Miss Ash