Engineered Wood Siding: Tough and Durable While Beautiful as Wood

Engineered wood siding combines the beauty of natural wood, alongside the longevity and low maintenance of vinyl. It's relatively inexpensive compared to real wood siding, simple to install and comes in a variety of finishes to suit your shed project.

What is engineered wood siding?

Basically it's real wood that has been broken down into wood strands or fibres. These are then treated with anti-fungals before being glued back together to create real-looking, strong and durable wooden boards.

The major advantage of using this type of siding is that you're taking the natural defects out of wood, such as knots and splits. These are often the cause of waste and offcuts. Also, you're left with a material that is naturally very strong, durable and resistant to any kind of insect damage.

Many manufacturers of engineered wood siding also claim that it's a much greener product to use. That's because they can use the wood from small, fast growing trees instead of plants that have taken many years to grow. Also due to the fact they are grinding up the wood they can use the whole log. Finally, they claim there is less waste because imperfections are removed and less wood needs to be discarded.

Quick Installation

Engineered wood comes in many different forms - shingles, lock lap, shakes or panels. Usually they are pre-primed, often embossed with a natural looking wood finish which you can order in any colour you choose. Or you can paint or varnish yourself, which is a quick job because the siding has been pre-primed.

The installation process is basically the same as using real wood siding. Once you've installed a good quality underlay, simply follow the manufacturer's instructions. Although this kind of siding is very strong, it's easy to nail through. Boards are also usually supplied in lengths up to 16', which means less time cutting and a quicker installation.

Some companies, such as TruWood, also make siding that conceals the nails and allows the boards to be quickly and easily locked together.

Manufacturers of Engineered Wood Siding

• LP SmartSide: this engineered siding is made by LP and is put together using wood strands. These are coated with a low emitting tough resin binder, before being heat and pressure compressed into boards. Each piece is then embossed with a natural looking cedar finish, alongside a unique zinc borate treatment to make them fully resistant against termites and rot. LP SmartSide siding comes with a 50 year warranty and is supplied in lengths of 20', making them very easy to install.

• Catawba: made by Georgia-Pacific Corp, these half inch boards also come with a 30 year guarantee. Pre-primed and finished in whatever colour and style you choose, these boards add a very natural finish to any shed. One particular style that's very popular is the narrow colonial boards.
• TruWood: made by Collins, this engineered wood siding is supplied in a variety of different styles including shingles, shakes, lock lap and panel. You can also choose from four different surface textures, including Old Mill, Cedar Shake, Adobe and Saw textured. Their siding has the natural look of wood, combined with supreme durability that's guaranteed for 30 years.