Tackling the Downsides of Wood Siding
TruExterior, like many siding products on the market, is designed to emulate the look of painted wood, once the dominant siding material in the U.S. Wood hit its peak market share 44% in 1981 and 1982, but those numbers decreased drastically as homebuyers developed a distaste for the maintenance and rot often associated with the material. A new generation of wood products hopes to address those issues.
Wood products from companies such as Thermory USA, which offers a heat-treated product, or modified wood products from Lignia and Kebony, promise updated and enhanced performance attributes.
Thermory says its ash, pine, and spruce products undergo a heat-treatment process that modifies each board to the core, “leading to unequaled durability and stability without sacrificing the natural qualities of real wood.” Thermory promises 20 to 25-plus years of rot resistance.