The Case for Factory Pre-Stained Wood Sidings

A much overlooked asset to contractors, builders, architects and homeowners is the use of pre-finished wood sidings. Those sidings benefit greatly from the factory finish process and, thus help the contractor and homeowner save time and money.

A standard wood siding, such as cedar, pine or cypress endures a lot of abuse with driving rains, sun, extreme heat and cold; so most builders will extend the life and appearance with a quality exterior stain applied by a painting sub-contractor. This gives the wood protection but it can add a substantial cost to the project. On mountain or lake side homes, quite often the home may be built on steep terrain and scaffolding must be used. The painting contractor figures the added costs of scaffolding high sides of the house to his bottom line and, whether the contractor owns the scaffolds or is renting them, those figures are also added.

The home had scaffolding when the siding was applied. So, with factory finished sidings, that would be the last time the scaffolds would be needed. The siding is already stained as it is being installed. With only a few touch ups, there is no need for a second time to scaffold the high sides of the home - thus saving time and money.

Another advantage to having wood sidings stained by an authorized factory finish process is the coating itself. In the factory process, all sides and edges receive the coating of exterior stain. That means back, edges and the front of the siding. So the area of the siding hidden is as protected as the exposed side. And, with just a little time and effort at the job site, a quick brush stroke with some extra stain covers the exposed sawed areas making the stained siding uniform around windows, doors and corners.

Still another positive reason to have sidings professionally factory stained is the uniformity of the finish. If wood siding is applied and the material is stained afterward by a painting contractor, weather can change from day to day. If the job is started on a sunny day and rain sets in for another two or three days, the process can be delayed and the siding affected. During those rainy days, moisture may have penetrated the wood and when the stain is applied later, there could be darker and lighter areas based upon the dry parts of the wood and the moist sections.

Wood moves. No matter what the type, between heat and cold, sunlight and darkness, any wood will shrink and expand. Even western red cedar, probably the most stable type of siding in use, will expand and contract. So, often, when the exterior stain is applied after the siding is installed, there is movement. This can cause a thin line to appear, particularly in horizontal lap siding, where raw, unstained wood is exposed. On the south side, especially, the sun's rays may shrink the wood and there are thin lines appearing where the painters brush didn't reach. The contractor will then have to call the painter back a few weeks or months later to take care of the unstained lines, thus incurring additional and unplanned expense. This would never be the case with siding which has been completely stained on all four sides at a factory finish location.

So the reasons for using a factory staining facility are myriad. Only a few basic money and time saving reasons have been mentioned here. Pre-stained wood sidings in an environmentally controlled setting allows the technicians to control the moisture content of the material and the uniformity of the staining. Both semi-transparent stains (which lightly color but don't hide the grain of the wood) and solid stains (which are more opaque) can be applied.

Using a good quality exterior stain greatly enhances the life of wood sidings. Using those stains in a humidity and temperature controlled factory finish setting simple accentuates the great qualities of the exterior stain being used extending the life and beauty of the wood.

The curb appeal and warmth of true wood siding on a mountain or lake or seaside home can be had and well protected by using the services of a factory finish stain facility. It will give better protection for a longer period and many offer warranties on the finish. Consider the process for either building or remodeling. It is well worth investigating.