Hello Group,
Before I begin an internet search on artificial lumber I wanted to ask
you if any have used it and what your impressions are. Specifically, I
want to replace the cedar facia boards on my 17 year old log home.
They are not rotting, but many of them have suffered numerous attacks
by wood boring bees. The combination of bee tunnels, woodpeckers
probing for bees, and wood gnawing squirrels(I really hate them!)have
left many of the boards looking like they've been eaten by squirrels.
I can't think of any clever comment there, just the facts.
So, does anyone know about artificial replacements for facia boards?
Thanks in advance,
Marc

Hi Marc,

Although I have not used it, I have seen and considered
using the Trek brand stuff at the local HD to replace
the planking on our deck.

It is heavier & more expensive that PT wood. That said,
I think it looks "artificial" ( probably because it is).
SWMBO doesn't like it - 'nough said there.

OTOH, I can't think of any living creature that would
want to gnaw at/through the stuff - and if you use it at a
distance (i.e. facia) it may serve your purpose.

FWIW

Lou



In article .com,
marc rosen wrote:

Hello Group,
Before I begin an internet search on artificial lumber I wanted to ask
you if any have used it and what your impressions are. Specifically, I
want to replace the cedar facia boards on my 17 year old log home.
They are not rotting, but many of them have suffered numerous attacks
by wood boring bees. The combination of bee tunnels, woodpeckers
probing for bees, and wood gnawing squirrels(I really hate them!)have
left many of the boards looking like they've been eaten by squirrels.
I can't think of any clever comment there, just the facts.
So, does anyone know about artificial replacements for facia boards?
Thanks in advance,
Marc

I recently used ChoiceDel sold by Lowes, but made by Weyerhauser. The mfr
claim is that this material has more wood then competitors, e.g., Trex. The
wood chips are cedar.

The ChoiceDek is meant to be stainable. I have not tried. I used this for
a walkway that goes from my drive over my garages and wraps around the other
side of the house. It is west facing and so in my eastern PA location gets
the brunt of the prevailing wind/rain/snow.

This has been in place for about 18 months. It has gone the grey colour due
to not being stained, but holds up really well against the elements.

I am afraid all of the "artificial" lumber does not have the look of the
real deal, due to not really having any grain pattern.

I can recommend one of the brands of artifical lumber if you want to install
and forget.

The price is rediculously high, but the lack of maintenance and stability in
use is great. It is so easy to cut, screw, and does not split or chip.

The ChoiceDek is claimed to be stronger than Trex. They do make facia
boards.

Dave Paine.


"marc rosen" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello Group,
Before I begin an internet search on artificial lumber I wanted to ask
you if any have used it and what your impressions are. Specifically, I
want to replace the cedar facia boards on my 17 year old log home.
They are not rotting, but many of them have suffered numerous attacks
by wood boring bees. The combination of bee tunnels, woodpeckers
probing for bees, and wood gnawing squirrels(I really hate them!)have
left many of the boards looking like they've been eaten by squirrels.
I can't think of any clever comment there, just the facts.
So, does anyone know about artificial replacements for facia boards?
Thanks in advance,
Marc

"marc rosen" wrote in
oups.com:

Hello Group,
Before I begin an internet search on artificial lumber I wanted to
ask
you if any have used it and what your impressions are.
Specifically, I
want to replace the cedar facia boards on my 17 year old log home.

Those bees are a real pain; we had them in a house in Indiana and
they did a lot of damage before I got rid of them. On the composite
lumber, I'd recommend Certainteed Weatherboard (see about 3/4 of the
way down this page:
http://www.certainteed.com/CertainTe...ner/Siding/pro
dindex/fibercement/Shapes-Lap-Vertical.htm) I resided our garage
with their lap siding product this summer and it looks great-- unlike
some other composites, the wood grain looks real (like cedar in our
case). It carries a 50 year warranty, and you can work the trim
boards with regular tools. I can't imagine bees or anything else
would be interested in eating it either.

Regards,

Derek

Since this is fascia, why not use Hardy trim. The stuff is made of cement,
water proof and bug proof. Supposed to hold paint real well also.

--

Roger Shoaf

About the time I had mastered getting the toothpaste back in the tube, then
they come up with this striped stuff.
"marc rosen" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello Group,
Before I begin an internet search on artificial lumber I wanted to ask
you if any have used it and what your impressions are. Specifically, I
want to replace the cedar facia boards on my 17 year old log home.
They are not rotting, but many of them have suffered numerous attacks
by wood boring bees. The combination of bee tunnels, woodpeckers
probing for bees, and wood gnawing squirrels(I really hate them!)have
left many of the boards looking like they've been eaten by squirrels.
I can't think of any clever comment there, just the facts.
So, does anyone know about artificial replacements for facia boards?
Thanks in advance,
Marc

Sun, Jan 9, 2005, 4:09pm (EST-3) (marc=A0rosen) says:
snip many of them have suffered numerous attacks by wood boring bees.
snip

I've read that painting boards will keep those bees away.
Especially if you drill some hole in a chunk of 2X4 and hang it
reasonably near by. I've not tried either yet.

If I was one of those bees, I'd want to get out of paintng too.



JOAT
Success is getting what you want.
Happiness is wanting what you get.
- =A0Dale Carnegie

On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 23:06:48 -0800, "Roger Shoaf"
wrote:

Since this is fascia, why not use Hardy trim. The stuff is made of cement,
water proof and bug proof. Supposed to hold paint real well also.

I use some UK stuff (Viroc) which is probably similar.

Although it paints well, it's fussy about the paint you use. All of
these cement boards are highly alkaline and you must use a paint
that's happy with that. Most external masonry paints are OK with it,
but the glossy paints you'd use on the rest of your wood trim aren't.
If you're trying to match woodowrk, you may need a barrier coat of
masonry paint on the cement board before you paint it to match the
timber.

It's bug, bee and critter proof though

--
Smert' spamionam

On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 23:06:48 -0800, "Roger Shoaf"
wrote:

Since this is fascia, why not use Hardy trim. The stuff is made of cement,
water proof and bug proof. Supposed to hold paint real well also.

Woodpecker-proof also? That may be the ticket for problems I'm having
with woodpeckers taking apart my storage shed.




+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Now we'll just use some glue to hold things in place until the brads dry

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 20:17:57 -0700, Mark & Juanita
wrote:

Woodpecker-proof also?

Woodpeckers aren't stupid. If you can fix the underlying bug problem,
they'll likely give up anyway.
--
Smert' spamionam

On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 03:47:05 +0000, Andy Dingley
wrote:

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 20:17:57 -0700, Mark & Juanita
wrote:

Woodpecker-proof also?

Woodpeckers aren't stupid. If you can fix the underlying bug problem,
they'll likely give up anyway.

In my case, there were no underlying bugs -- they have been pecking
through single-thickness siding with *nothing* on the other side.


+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Now we'll just use some glue to hold things in place until the brads dry

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

writes:
On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 03:47:05 +0000, Andy Dingley
wrote:

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 20:17:57 -0700, Mark & Juanita
wrote:

Woodpecker-proof also?

Woodpeckers aren't stupid. If you can fix the underlying bug problem,
they'll likely give up anyway.

In my case, there were no underlying bugs -- they have been pecking
through single-thickness siding with *nothing* on the other side.

From what bird folks say about woodpeckers, they only work where there are
bugs. They go strictly by the sound of the critters' movement inside the
wood. Perhaps your bugs aren't yet, only larvae at the point you checked.
I've heard people say before there were no bugs there and found later the
woodpeckers were right after all. They are good bug detectors from all
accounts.

Glenna

"Mark & Juanita" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 9 Jan 2005 23:06:48 -0800, "Roger Shoaf"
wrote:

Since this is fascia, why not use Hardy trim. The stuff is made of
cement,
water proof and bug proof. Supposed to hold paint real well also.

Woodpecker-proof also? That may be the ticket for problems I'm having
with woodpeckers taking apart my storage shed.


Stucco. put it right over your siding. Tar paper, metal lath and some
edging and start swinging the trowel.

--

Roger Shoaf

About the time I had mastered getting the toothpaste back in the tube, then
they come up with this striped stuff.

Mark & Juanita wrote in
:

In my case, there were no underlying bugs -- they have been pecking
through single-thickness siding with *nothing* on the other side.

Some of the hammering woodpeckers do is analogous to those guys in the
funky cars with loud, bass-loudest "music" on their car radios, slowly
driving down the street where the chicks line up.

"See how I can peck wood?"

--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid

"Glenna Rose" wrote in message
news:fc.003d094101e08c833b9aca0015b50eb3.1e08c94@p mug.org...
writes:
On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 03:47:05 +0000, Andy Dingley
wrote:

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 20:17:57 -0700, Mark & Juanita
wrote:

Woodpecker-proof also?

Woodpeckers aren't stupid. If you can fix the underlying bug problem,
they'll likely give up anyway.

In my case, there were no underlying bugs -- they have been pecking
through single-thickness siding with *nothing* on the other side.

From what bird folks say about woodpeckers, they only work where there are
bugs. They go strictly by the sound of the critters' movement inside the
wood. Perhaps your bugs aren't yet, only larvae at the point you checked.
I've heard people say before there were no bugs there and found later the
woodpeckers were right after all. They are good bug detectors from all
accounts.

Glenna

would that explain why they're hammering on my metal chimney flue? at 6am
usually?

the other explanation is that they're hammering to attract female attention.

writes:

the other explanation is that they're hammering to attract female
attention.

Well, that's working, isn't it? I'll bet your S.O. is ready to fry it for
dinner.

Glenna

Charles Spitzer wrote:


"Glenna Rose" wrote in message
news:fc.003d094101e08c833b9aca0015b50eb3.1e08c94@p mug.org...
writes:
On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 03:47:05 +0000, Andy Dingley
wrote:

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 20:17:57 -0700, Mark & Juanita
wrote:

Woodpecker-proof also?

Woodpeckers aren't stupid. If you can fix the underlying bug problem,
they'll likely give up anyway.

In my case, there were no underlying bugs -- they have been pecking
through single-thickness siding with *nothing* on the other side.

From what bird folks say about woodpeckers, they only work where there
are
bugs. They go strictly by the sound of the critters' movement inside the
wood. Perhaps your bugs aren't yet, only larvae at the point you
checked. I've heard people say before there were no bugs there and found
later the
woodpeckers were right after all. They are good bug detectors from all
accounts.

Glenna

would that explain why they're hammering on my metal chimney flue? at 6am
usually?

the other explanation is that they're hammering to attract female
attention.

I remember seeing one hammer a squirrel once--they were having a debate over
who got to eat a bunch of sunflower seeds at the time.

--
--John
Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

Mon, Jan 10, 2005, 10:34pm (EST-3) (Glenna=A0Rose)
claims:
From what bird folks say about woodpeckers, they only work where there
are bugs. They go strictly by the sound of the critters' movement inside
the wood. Perhaps your bugs aren't yet, only larvae at the point you
checked.
=A0=A0I've heard people say before there were no bugs there and found
later the woodpeckers were right after all. They are good bug detectors
from all accounts.

We're talking about a bird, with a brain about the size of a pea,
that spends it's days beading it's head on wood looking for bugs.
That's ought to be a clue they aren't the brightest creatures in the
world.

They periodically knock on the eaves of my house. And, there's
never been any evidence anywhere that there are/were insects there. To
top that, they've even been known to peck on metal siding - admitted
there "could" be a bug on the other side, but even they should get the
hint after a minute or two.



JOAT
Success is getting what you want.
Happiness is wanting what you get.
- =A0Dale Carnegie

Woodpeckers obey the three calls of natu food, shelter and sex. They
drum for all three reasons. In particular, re your post, they establish a
territory which is defined and defended by drumming. Anything that really
booms out is desirable. Sorry.

Steve

"J T" wrote in message
...
Mon, Jan 10, 2005, 10:34pm (EST-3) (Glenna Rose)
claims:
From what bird folks say about woodpeckers, they only work where there
are bugs. They go strictly by the sound of the critters' movement inside
the wood. Perhaps your bugs aren't yet, only larvae at the point you
checked.
I've heard people say before there were no bugs there and found
later the woodpeckers were right after all. They are good bug detectors
from all accounts.

We're talking about a bird, with a brain about the size of a pea,
that spends it's days beading it's head on wood looking for bugs.
That's ought to be a clue they aren't the brightest creatures in the
world.

They periodically knock on the eaves of my house. And, there's
never been any evidence anywhere that there are/were insects there. To
top that, they've even been known to peck on metal siding - admitted
there "could" be a bug on the other side, but even they should get the
hint after a minute or two.



JOAT
Success is getting what you want.
Happiness is wanting what you get.
- Dale Carnegie

Tue, Jan 11, 2005, 11:24pm (EST+5)
(Steven=A0and=A0Gail=A0Peterson) claims:
snip they establish a territory which is defined and defended by
drumming. Anything that really booms out is desirable. Sorry.

Who's on guitar then?



JOAT
Success is getting what you want.
Happiness is wanting what you get.
- =A0Dale Carnegie

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 22:34:23 -0800, (Glenna Rose) wrote:

writes:
On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 03:47:05 +0000, Andy Dingley
wrote:

On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 20:17:57 -0700, Mark & Juanita
wrote:

Woodpecker-proof also?

Woodpeckers aren't stupid. If you can fix the underlying bug problem,
they'll likely give up anyway.

In my case, there were no underlying bugs -- they have been pecking
through single-thickness siding with *nothing* on the other side.

From what bird folks say about woodpeckers, they only work where there are
bugs. They go strictly by the sound of the critters' movement inside the
wood. Perhaps your bugs aren't yet, only larvae at the point you checked.
I've heard people say before there were no bugs there and found later the
woodpeckers were right after all. They are good bug detectors from all
accounts.

Glenna

Not sure where bugs would be in 5/8" termite-puke siding with nothing but
studs on the other side. ... and in a storage building that gets
exterminated on a regular basis. My opinion is that they were using the
shed as a good spot for hammering to attract mates when the metal chimney
flue was being used by a bigger woodpecker.



+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

Now we'll just use some glue to hold things in place until the brads dry

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+