"remuddler" wrote in message
ups.com...
I will be building a garage for my daughter this summer. The siding
that is on the house is 10 X 3/4 cedar clapboard, and of course we
would like to match the look. That was the 60's, this is now and the
price of that stock in my area is $4.40/lin ft., making the cost of the
siding about $1000 for one wall of the garage. My daughter located a
supply of pine clapboard that would cost $2.50/lin ft. Can someone
tell me if there is a real downside to using the pine? Will it need to
be treated differently? There will be a good roof overhang plus
gutters to keep water away.


I wouldn't rule out Hardiplank fiber cement siding. I faced a similar cost
problem... I had repair a badly done addition and match it to the rest of
the house. I ended up ripping the 3/4X10 clear, vertical grain, cedar off
the whole house and redoing the entire thing--soffits, gutters, corner
boards, window trim, rake boards, paint, fasteners, etc.--for a little more
than half what the cedar siding alone would have cost for the addition.
While I was at it I put in new windows (not replacement windows) and doors.
Solved all kinds of problems and cut the drafts (heat loss and gain)
significantly. Doing the doors and windows got me to about 125-130% of the
cost of the cedar for the addition.

In your situation, if the garage is not right next to the house, and the
exposure, trim and paint are matched to the house, few would notice the
difference in the siding. Your daughter would be way ahead in terms of money
and maintenance.

John