Painted Siding

We Are CEDAR Believers!

Buffalo Lumber quotes only CEDAR WOOD for exterior painted wood applications

Our Factory Finish process protects the wood and handles 99% of the coating. You will only have to coat the ends on the job site. What a time, labor and cost saver! With up to 30 year warranty.  Now you can have real wood siding primed, painted and ready to install! 

Historic renovation architect and Buffalo Lumber Customer Barry Weinstein won an award from the Highland Park Historical Society for his rehabilitation of a home in Highland Park IL using our CLEAR Western Red Cedar Finger Joint (FJ) Cedar bevel siding.    

Why you should NOT use cheaper wood for your Painted Siding

CEDAR is definitely more expensive and it is just going to be hidden under the paint. So why pay more for cedar? Why not get the cheapest wood possible? Why not Pine?

The Pine of today is NOT your grandfather's pine. Today's pine siding is milled from fast growth timber, is highly susceptible to rot, prone to cupping and worst of all - it is pervasive in lumber yards. 

Some of today's Cedar is also milled from new growth trees BUT cedar has a natural resistance to rot and reacts better as a painted siding substrate because it is less inclined to cup and bow when milled. Factory primed and painted cedar siding is the right way to go. 

Take Bart for instance - He went to the local lumber yard and talked to the guy there and was told that pine would work fine - especially if painted. He bought a bunch of 1x6" Dutch Lap Pine Siding STK grade. He even back primed the pine himself before he let them install it. It took him a month of his own time! But even though he had done everything right the PINE siding started showing signs of problems within 6 years.  

Right way vs. the Cheapest Possible way The cheapest possible way to paint exterior wood siding is to buy knotty pine, tack it up on the wall and paint just the face. That is also the worst thing you can possibly do! This is a total siding replacement needed less than 5 years after original install because it rotted out.

It also took out some of the sheathing and studs too! He had to replace the entire wall in some areas. The cost of this fix was over $40,000. THAT AINT CHEAP! In reality the cheapest possible way long term is to do the job right in the first place. While it may cost double what unfinished pine costs, factory finished cedar is the only way to go!

STK Mill Select Cedar Painted Siding Option

Mill Select (knotty) Painted Cedar is the lowest grade point you would want to use for a painted wood application. In other words this is the least expensive way to do painted wood siding the right way. 

Fact: By the time we apply 2 coats at the factory and you do a final coat in the field the knots are only visible when you get up close. 

Our customer in Kentucky Factory Primed & Painted his 1x10" Channel Lap Mill Select (STK) Cedar Siding  "Barn Red". Even up close the knots blend in with the natural wood character.

This was our 1x8 "Mill Select" Bevel Siding with 2 coat Cabot's "Mulberry" Solid Stain applied at the factory and a final coat was done by our customer in the field after installation. As you can see from the pictures the knots are not a factor in the final appearance outcome.

Mill Select STK Grade Description

Our knotty cedar bevel options are only available sawn textured face out. But by the time you have prime plus 2 coats of paint applied the "rough" texture is not the most prominent feature. What is prominent is a very nice looking painted wood finished product.  Our LAP and Tongue & Groove cedar patterns are available for prime and paint on the smooth face. 

CLEAR Cedar Finger Joint Painted Siding Option

When the design calls for wood with zero knots or you need to use a smooth face bevel we quote clear finger joint cedar.  Here is a shot of the face of our unfinished clear finger joint cedar board.

Most finger jointed bevel and trim products carry a 50 year warranty against rot, de-lamination and joint telescoping. That is better protection than any wood product out there. (Warranty may not apply to custom milled patterns).

Finger Joint (FJ) has 2 major advantages 

COST: CLEAR Cedar Boards are very expensive. With Finger Joint engineering you can have CLEAR no knot cedar for a lot less $$$.

BOARD LENGTH:  CLEAR Cedar is in such limited supply that longer lengths are expensive. Finger joint CLEAR cedar is 90% 16 and 20 foot length

Finger Joint (FJ) Clear Grade Description

PRICES: PAINTED TONGUE & GROOVE

Our Quarter Log and Wavy Edge Painted Siding is only available in MILL SELECT (STK) Grade

Dimensional stability is the resistance of wood to swelling and shrinkage when it gains or loses moisture. Light, low-density woods such as Western Red Cedar shrink less than higher density woods. Its excellent dimensional stability is an important factor responsible for the longer life of paints on Western Red Cedar in comparison to other woods.

Pitch or resin which can interfere with the bonding or penetration of a finish can be found in most softwoods but are absent in Western Red Cedar. 

Surface Texture: Western Red Cedar products are available with a smooth (planed) or a textured (sawn or rough sanded) surface. As a rule, textured surfaces provide the best mechanical adhesion of the finish to the wood; for smooth surfaced Western Red Cedar, a two coat paint system is recommended.

There are no exceptions to this rule! Forest Products Laboratory has been assessing paint durability by watching siding weather. 

A study published in 1994 found that Western Red Cedar Siding boards that were not exposed to weather prior to being painted and sealed on all sides were in almost-perfect condition after 20 years of exposure. 25 Years of Worry Free Performance If we prime + do 1 top coat of paint at the factory and you do a final face coat in the field after installation you should get up to 25 years without having to worry about painting again. 

Our Cedar is Kiln Dried to the level that will prevail during the lifetime of your siding. In North America this is approximately 12% moisture content. Kiln Drying is necessary or else the moisture inside the wood can push out the paint causing it to peel and blister.

Twigs Bugs and Dirt! Our factory provides an optimal environment for finishing. Almost every variable that can affect the quality of site applied finish is eliminated at the factory level. Humidity and temperature levels are controlled and the siding is kept out of direct sunlight. 

Finish application is measured to the millimeter. Quite simply put, humans in the field cannot possibly do it as well as our factory machines and rack drying system. Factory applied primer + 1 top coat of paint allows you to install and wait for optimal weather to apply final coat of paint in the field. 

If we just prime it you have to apply a paint coat within 2 weeks of install in most cases. This makes primer + 1 at the factory and a final coat in the field after installation the best possible bang for your hard earned buck.

1x6 CLEAR Vertical Grain CVG Finger Joint Bevel Siding 8500 Square Feet (21,000 LFT) Primed and Painted for customer in Utah

TOP QUALITY, LONG LIFE - READY TO INSTALL - Just touch up the nail holes and go.  10 to 30 YEAR WARRANTY - Our primed or painted wood siding (cladding), soffit and trim is guaranteed 10 years primed and up to 30 years painted depending on number of paint coats and manufacturer warranty. 

A Factory Flood Finish prime coat penetrates the wood surface on all four sides creating a barrier to the elements. Spray coatings do not penetrate the wood. Only the patented flood coating process gives you the penetration necessary to protect soft wood from the pounding Mother Nature gives it. 

UNMATCHED SERVICE - We offer one more thing - service. We don't just talk about service - we do it! We go over all the details and measurements with you to make sure the wood coverage matches your project needs. At Buffalo Lumber we realize that you need the right material at the right time. You won't get better service - guaranteed!

Buffalo Lumber - Mill Direct to your Door! National & International Delivery