Preservation Purest

[JasonW]

I'm looking over a set of prints for another Preservation project. The old siding on this house was made out of local white Ceder. The Architect has specified the same species be used for replacement. While I understand the importance of keeping with tradition and making as little impact as possible on these Historic homes and places, I'm not sure if this material is the right choice.

Where do you draw the line when replacing "like with like" materials? In a case where exterior materials are being covered with paint, doesn't it make sense to offer a more robust solution?

In this case my suggestion would be to replace the clap boards that need to be done, with another species, one that has a much higher rot resistance. I just don't understand why they would invest in preserving a building and not use the best possible wood replacement.

When it comes to exteriors, I'll never be a purest.

[SLS-Construction]

Politics is one of the main reasons if there is a HRC

The best thing to try, is to bring in a piece of the old material (a nice sample showing the tight growth rings) and a cut from a new one - stated simply, even if you replace the cedar siding, you not replacing it with anything close to the original

Exteriors, flooring, etc... anything that will see a lot of abuse

[Silvertree]

Ha, I wish I had a dollar for every time I had that discussion.

Throw it out to the architect with the data to support your arguement.
A good architect will understand, a poser or "Hysterical" preservationist will insist on his way. After all, its not his money!

[nEighter]

I wish we had projects/history in this area that people would do more of this, preserving great historic architecture. Some AMAZING painted ladies are just going to waste :( And the owners can barely afford the mortgage. Sad. VERY SAD.

[naptownCr]

Jason
What are you proposng as an alternative?
I have seen EWC that is over 100 years old.
there are local companies to you that will radial saw claps for 100% vertical grain.

[Derek Stevens]

It always amazes me thae amount of left handed abuse I get in these threads as a decade long Chairman of as you guys call them, an HRC. Painting us all with the same brush is like my saying every contractor out there is trying to replace historic windows with vinyls.

Jason, as to the like material, SLS is correct about the growth rings. That which was used 100 + years ago is not possible today. I went through this with the stain grade windows in Fir I was making. I ended up with 40 growth rings per inch, compared to modern material at maybe 20 by getting salvaged timber from a railroad bridge. Read the code again, and see if there isn't a proviso that discusses paint grade material.