The problem is finding cedar these days in any large size, this has become harder and harder, there just aren't overly large cedar trees anymore to create the siding sizes that people want. Because of this cedar has become a premium product and with a premium product comes a premium price tag.
There are a lot of alternatives to having to pay a premium price for cedar siding;
- Maibec/CapeCod. These are the two main manufactures in Ontario of pre-painted wood siding. The siding is actually Quebec pine and it comes painted in almost any colour you want. It also comes with a paint warranty that is long enough that you shouldn't have to worry about repainting the siding on your cottage for the next two or three decades. The installation is quiet simple and the end product looks wonderful. You don't have to stick with painted siding, they do offer a natural finish on their siding, the finishing products are usually UV resistant and as long as the siding is installed properly you shouldn't have any problems with rodents or bugs wanting to eat into the siding.
- Pine. If you are just looking for siding or board and batten that you can install and allow to go grey overtime then you could buy the rough sawn pine that is sold in very lumber yard in the province. As long as it is installed properly then it should last as long as cedar siding would and weather naturally like you want it too.
- Vinyl siding. Vinyl siding has come along way in look and in quality. Good quality vinyl siding lasts longer and looks closer to wood siding to the point were some people cant tell the difference. The price of vinyl siding is a lot less then wood.
Whatever you do know that you have options now and you don't have to break the bank by buying cedar siding for your cottage.
Rob Abbott
Great Lakes Custom Homes Inc.
