I was talking with a custom builder the other day. He was telling me that pine that is grown today rots in about 6 years when used for exterior siding. I'm not so sure I believe him.
He said that they (his company) does repairs on a lot of older homes in this area, and that older houses he is doing "spot" repairs on (I'm talking ~70+ year old houses with the original pine siding ), he said the new pine only lasts about 6 years, even when caulked well at the ends and painted well.
What say you? Have you observed, or heard, that the pine grown today has that short of a service life? I can't imagine. (I'm talking southern yellow pine, not ponderosa pine)
Todd