LESLIE: Leslie in Illinois, you’ve got The Money Pit. How can we help you today?
LESLIE IN ILLINOIS: I am getting ready to put log-cabin siding on the outside of my house and I’m trying to decipher whether I’m going to use pine or cedar.
TOM: OK.
LESLIE IN ILLINOIS: And I wanted to see what you guys thought about that and what the advantages and disadvantages were to both.
LESLIE: Are there any differences in the process that they put or the sort of weatherproofing that they use on either of the lumber?
LESLIE IN ILLINOIS: No.
TOM: Well, you know, cedar is more naturally disease and decay and insect-resistant.
LESLIE: Insect, as well.
TOM: So cedar would definitely be the optimum choice. Is the cedar more expensive than the pine?
LESLIE IN ILLINOIS: It’s double the cost.
LESLIE: Of course.
TOM: Yeah, yeah, of course.
LESLIE: And the pine is just going to be …
LESLIE IN ILLINOIS: That’s why I’m leaning towards the pine but …
TOM: Yeah.
LESLIE IN ILLINOIS: And I just wonder, if I keep up on it and keep it stained, is that going to …?
TOM: Yeah, it’ll protect it, sure. Yeah, it’ll protect it. There’s plenty of pine siding and Douglas-fir siding out there but what you’re going to want to do is use a solid-color stain. So, the proper way to do this would be to prime it – use an oil-based primer – and then on top of that, you would use a solid-color stain. And a properly-applied primer and stain combination can last you 8 to 10 years in between coats.
LESLIE IN ILLINOIS: OK, OK.
LESLIE: Just double-check, Leslie, with the folks that you’re getting the siding from. Find out what length of time do they recommend for that lumber to sort of season or sort of dry out from whatever weatherproofing solvent that they use on the lumber. Because if you don’t wait that proper amount of time, whatever you apply on it isn’t really going to stick very well. So just make sure you allow it whatever that timeframe is, to sort of get ready to be prepped.
LESLIE IN ILLINOIS: OK. Makes sense. Alright. Well, I appreciate your guys’ help and I appreciate the information.
TOM: You’re welcome. Alright. Good luck with that project, Leslie. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
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