Oak Plank Siding

Hatfield · April 16, 2011, 05:48:00 AM

I would first like to say what a cool site this is. I have been a lurker for over a year and have decided to build a 12x16 cabin on a small piece of property. I have built the structure and am considering using 1/2 X 6 x12 foot white oak planks as the siding from the saw mill. The price is right, and I think it will give it the rustic look I am looking for. Anyone hear of this being a good idea or run into any issues? I know it iwll be heavy, but the structure is solid, and I am more than confident that it will hold up. Your thought would be greatly appreciated!

Don_P · April 16, 2011, 07:46:41 AM

Oak moves a fair amount while drying. If clapboard nail it so that the upper hidden edge can float and lap at least an inch. Keep the battery drill handy!

April 16, 2011, 08:30:12 AM

to the forum. Glad you have been enjoying it.

I have heard of entire houses being built with oak where they don't have to worry about authority figures, In Australia they use Eucalyptus which has some similar properties. It is cool for siding. Sometimes they even use it wavy edge.

I am currently logging a bunch of Oak and need to figure out things to do with it. Insurance job for storm damage and preventing future storm damage for the owner. Live oak to 3 1/2 feet dia. at the base.

rwanders · April 16, 2011, 10:11:09 AM

How are you planning to finish the oak?----might be beautiful with a clear nonyellowing poly or a light transparent stain. You can least least slow down the shrinkage by sealing all sides and edges before you nail it up plus it's easier than trying to finish it in place. If you run into splitting problems when nailing(a common problem with hardwoods) you may have to predrill small pilotholes.

Hatfield · April 16, 2011, 11:09:21 AM

I am planning on letting it weather a bit, then I am going to cover it with Thompsons or some other sealer. Thanks to everyone for your help. I am planning on trying it out in the next weekend or so. I will post the results!
Thanks again!

April 16, 2011, 12:40:46 PM

I've applied clapboard semi green a couple of times and have been generally kind of disappointed. The exposed face dries rapidly and is shrinking, the wall side dries more slowly and isn't shrinking as fast. By the time it has finally dried and taken a set it is usually curled some amount. Oak is denser than the poplar I've had experience with. As a generalization but pretty good indicator, higher density woods usually shrink more.

Oak is also considered to be "refractory", it is hard to keep from checking if it dries rapidly. The beautiful rays you see on quartersawn boards form weaker cleavage lines that wood splits easier on during the stresses of drying and shrinking unevenly. it likes to dry slow for best results.

If, early on, the shell of the wood is getting cooked in the sun and the core is still wet and swollen, the surface is more likely to develop checks. If you are putting it up green putting a finish of some kind on immediately has seemed to help for me. I believe it moderates the surface from getting cooked very dry before the center has had a chance to dry out and shrink somewhat.

Your expectations are a big part of it, that's all just basic wood tech. We all have different expectations.

Glenn,
I have a set of 4x12 WO stair treads that's been drying for about 4 years. White oak also has tyloses, occlusions in each cell that prevent the moisture from getting out easily. One description was that it dries at glacial speed. That's also why liquid casks are made from white oak. We lost the biggest white oak on the place over the winter. A chestnut oak... the only "leaky" white oak, they were passed over by the whiskey barrel and prime oak buyers in the past and when we stopped tanning and making charcoal they have gotten quite large in places. Its taken 8 tanks to get through the crown to the stem of the thing.

glenn kangiser · April 16, 2011, 01:44:42 PM

Thanks, Don. I have read about a year per inch thick for drying. Air dry then is best?

I am pretty sure this is Black Oak that I have - Red Oak family, rather than Live Oak as the owner stated.

What do you think about useful sizes and cutting methods, Don. Quarter sawn.. 1 inch thick .. more? or maybe varying. I trust your experience on this a lot more than mine.... I have no particular purpose except speculation and maybe 1 slab two to three inches thick x 11 feet long for a customer who wants to make a slab top desk.

Don_P · April 20, 2011, 08:33:11 PM

Hi Glenn,
Sorry to be slow, just getting back online after the latest round of weather. I usually plainsaw everything and select out the quarters and rifts if I want ray flecking on something. I like either grain in red oak. The flatsawn has a very pleasing grain and the rays, although smaller than those of white oak that craftsman style was noted for, are still quite striking in many trees. My red oak is predominantly northern red and I'm not sure that I've sawn a black so really can't say. I saw mostly 1" but like having some 2" around. A couple of years ago I did a set of stairs and rails using a good bit of 2" for the posts, pickets and rails and 1" for skirts and various trims. A few slabs are good to have around.

I air dry, or technically shelter dry, everything. Out of the weather under roof and out of the sun. Sun and wind on oak can check it in very short order, like over lunch, keep it in the shade if at all possible. One year per inch is a wives tale but isn't too far off. It really depends on relative humidity, airflow, species and desired final MC. I told the boss we had to wait 5 years for the kitchen cabinet stock that was stacked in the living room to acclimate. Luckily she is patient, I'm sure it was ready after the first winter's heating. I do like to let interior wood go through a good bit of a heating season inside if it is just air dried to drive off the last few % of moisture.

Powderpost beetles hit our oak hard, tiny ~1/16" holes and very fine, talcum powder, frass. I've taken to borating most of my wood and especially red oak. Solubor is a relatively cheap ag form of borate available at a real farm supply as a soil boron ammendment. Mixed at 1 to 1.5 lbs per gallon of water it is chemically identical to the much pricier Timbor. Add a healthy splash of anti freeze (ethylene glycol) and you have Bora-Care.

Hatfield · May 28, 2011, 05:04:08 PM

Well here is the oak siding. Whatcha think?

[imghttp://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1db09b3127ccefd6c00a2702600000030O00AZN2jhq3Zs2QPbz4e/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/[/img]http://[imghttp://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1db09b3127ccefd6d4017d1cf00000030O00AZN2jhq3Zs2QPbz4e/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/[/img]

May 28, 2011, 05:05:35 PM

Hatfield · May 28, 2011, 05:06:41 PM

Ah here we go..

ScottA · May 28, 2011, 05:20:28 PM

Looks nice. Call me nuts but I'd paint it if I where you.

Don_P · May 28, 2011, 06:26:43 PM

Sweet! How was it to work with? Keep us updated on how it acts as it dries. I spent the day grunting the little mill through 5 white oak logs for a couple that's building near the jobsite. Got 3 6x14x14' and some 2x stock for rustic benches and a countertop. At work we've been timberframing some porch posts, braces and bolsters for the top. I think I'm an inch shorter than when we started.

Hatfield · May 29, 2011, 06:21:34 AM

It really was not that bad to deal with and the price you could not go wrong. Each board you had to predrill a hole about an inch from the top about every 2'. Then I used 5/16 fender washers with a 1.5" screw. I have had noticed some shrinkage

width wise but very little length wise. which is fine for me. I am really happy the way it had turned out. Plan on putting a clear coat on it with a touch of stain. I will post again in the fall with how it is holding up.

May 30, 2011, 07:57:23 AM

What do you mean by 'clear coat'? Oak does not hold varnish or polyurethane worth a fig- it peels right off in a year or so in the sun. A clear wood preservative that soaks in will work.

Hatfield · May 31, 2011, 07:22:32 PM

I was thinking of a thompsons water seal like you would use on a deck. that would work right?

John_M · June 01, 2011, 09:01:25 AM

I don't think thompsons is oil-based? My wife worked in a paint store during college and said that thompsons it a terrible product....its what everyone buys because they advertise the most!!

Try a good oil based product like Sikkens or maybe even Cabot. It is expensive stuff but well worth it, especially if your looking at longevity!!

PEG688 · June 01, 2011, 10:47:36 PM

Quote from: Hatfield on May 31, 2011, 07:22:32 PM
I was thinking of a thompsons water seal like you would use on a deck. that would work right?

Drink some beer, then Pee on the siding , it will be money "better" spent than using Thompsons Water Seal , and just about as effective.

Follow John-M advise. But if that Oak is a Red Oak it will turn black in about 1 year if you finish it clear. The White Oaks can take some water but the Red's can't.

The Oak barrels you see at Home Depot and the like are White Oak the cut in half ones they sell as planter boxes , if you look at the same ones in the fall that's the gray color White Oak becomes , the Red Oaks go black.

Hatfield · June 02, 2011, 04:17:47 PM

Peg i like your idea best, at least the beer drinking part. Yea Thompsons used to be oil based but they discontinued it a few years back. I said thompsons by habit I am going to use a oil based product. Might even throw in a shot glass of stain for color, thats what I use on the front and back deck. What is on the house is white oak. Well that is what they told me. I guess I will find out! Thanks to all for the input, this is a great forum!