I will soon put horizontal beveled siding on an addition to a 1922 bungalow, and the siding for the original part of the house is pine beveled “German” siding, painted. The house is in North Carolina. On the old part of the house the original boards are in pretty good shape and had been under aluminum for many years. They will be prepped and repainted. For the addition I can use cedar, cypress, or Hardiplank and get the same reveal with any of these choices. I want to use the cypress which I can get with a smooth face, but I am worried it will look different from the old pine once painted. Any thoughts on what will look best and how these different materials will take paint compared to the old boards? Are there other siding choices that might look closer to the old pine once painted?
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Not sure what 'German' siding is, but here is my one and only experience with matching old pine siding: We have 30 year old pine siding on our main house with 8 to 9" varying reveal and 5/4" on the thick end of the bevel. The only thing we could get anywhere near this for our addition was some clear cedar beveled with 4/4" on the thick end. Backprimed, primed (oil primer for cedar) and painted (latex) and you can't tell it from the painted pine - even on the inside corner where they meet. I take that back, the couple of pine boards that are rotting and need replacing, you can tell they aren't new. It's been on about 2 years now and was worth every penny.
I believe German siding refers to the mitered outside corners, but I might be wrong. I appreciate the thoughts you had on the match. Would you presume the cypress (clear), and the cedar (clear) would be similar in appearance once painted? I can get the cypress pre-primed all sides (cabot brand finish). The two materials are within $0.10 per SF of same price and I was told the cypress is more rot resistant.
Kieth,
Go with the cypress. There is a graveyard in Charleston S.C. where a cabinetmaker from the 1700's used a cypress plank instead of stone for his wife's grave marker. It is still there and is not rotted out. For only 10 cents a foot it is a no-brainer. Good luck.
Mark
dark green paint on that old , distressed , beat-up, once coverered with aluminum, termite munched, painted peeled, wood siding,
You'll see that color in any historic 'hood.
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