Clapboard Questions

jdjd · 07-31-2012, 09:26 AM

I live in New England and will be painting my house soon, but first need to replace rotted and split clapboard; I'll use pre-primed red cedar.

I'll need ~850 linear feet which will cost $500+ dependent on where I buy it. I know there are different grades of clapboard so a few questions on where to buy it.

- Home Depot or Lowes charge $0.625 a linear foot. Local lumber yards charge ~$0.79 a linear foot. From a quality perspective, is there any reason to pay more at a local lumber yard? For example, will the Home Depot or Lowes one tend to curl up along its length or not last as long for some reason?

- I might need to mix bundles from a few places to get the quantity I need. Is there any issue with doing this?

- For boards that will be cut, what primer is best for the now unprimed cut end? The house will be stained, so I do not want to use caulking on the ends.

Thanks

joecaption · 07-31-2012, 09:33 AM

If you just going to paint it you would not use any primer, just prestain the cut ends with two coats of the same stain your going to be using.

Where is it rotting? Is it at the bottom of the wall?
Post a picture, there may be some way to prevent it from happening again.

woody4249 · 07-31-2012, 06:59 PM

Quote
" I might need to mix bundles from a few places to get the quantity I need.
Is there any issue with doing this?"

ooooooooo...me thinks you need to check apples for apples. Every time I've come up short and bought from two or more different sources, I've had issues not only with quality but with profile match.