How Often Do You Have To Treat Wood Siding

Wood siding likely has some joints that could potentially let water in behind it.

How often do you have to treat wood siding. A house with wood siding is most vulnerable to water infiltration where siding butts against windows doors and corner moldings says frank lesh. These materials act as a barrier preventing water from coming into direct contact with the wood. Any exposed wood is susceptible to the elements that cause mildew swelling splitting and cracking. Cedar siding is very durable against the elements but still requires regular maintenance and depending on the climate should be restained every few years.

Which finish you choose is mostly an aesthetic choice. Unless you have the skills hire a professional carpenter or siding contractor. When used indoors cedar is most often used to line. If you want to enjoy the aroma of varieties such as western red cedar and incense cedar leave the wood unsealed.

How to clean wood siding. Cedar offers a durable option for exterior and interior building projects with natural resistance to rot and decay so a protective finish is optional. If you re using cedar for an outdoor project give it a light seal coat to guard against moisture and sunlight. How to treat cedar interiors.

Cedar is a versatile wood often used in exterior applications such as decking siding and outdoor furniture. Bear in mind also that because the material naturally expands and contracts throughout the year homeowners with wood siding often need to redo the caulking around exterior window and door trim. To prevent leaks use a quality 50 year exterior caulk made from silicone or polyurethane and fill in each of those gaps before you do any painting. The design of the structure has a lot to do with how often you need to recoat as well.

To prevent rot and prolong the life of your wood siding you can treat it with oil stain or paint. Oil a clear finish is absorbed into the wood filling. The most damaging element to cedar siding is moisture. Cedar treatments should last 5 7 years high quality paint or stain properly applied should last five to seven years and as many as 10 depending on weather conditions and if you maintain the siding.

Painting requires a base coat of exterior oil based wood primer followed by a latex based exterior wood finish coat. With a new installation of cedar shake siding which can cost around 5 a square foot you shouldn t need to do any prep work before staining or painting. You may only need to treat every 3 7 years on more protected area s of the building.