Trying to save an old barn - cheaper option for siding

[Dan Friedrichs]

Thanks for all the ideas. I don't want to go with T1-11 or anything like that, because it's just random boards, here-and-there, that are missing, and it'd be much easier to just replace missing boards than re-side the entire thing.

Good news, though - a local "barn preservation" trust has a program that will subsidize the cost of the siding and paint, to the point that it's very affordable. I think I'll use the proper cedar siding - with that and a thick coat of paint, I think it will be in much better shape.

[Larry Edgerton]

I always recommend a solid color stain rather than a painted finish. Paint will peel, its the law. Stain just wears away over a period of years and when it is time to recoat nothing more than a quick wash is necessary.

Again, I would not use anything on my own house that I did not think is the best, and my cedar siding has a base coat of Cabots oil stain on both sides followed by a coat of Cabots WB stain. Has been up 7 years now and still shows no sign of any kind of failure. I will probably recoat next year just to clean it up.

[Dan Friedrichs]

Interesting, Larry. My (perhaps silly) thought was that a thick coat of latex paint would provide some additional waterproofing. The ~100 year old siding is in rough shape - pretty brittle and thin, so I was thinking a thicker coat of paint might "stick" it together and fill in some small cracks, a bit. I'll have to look into the stain option, though, as this isn't a project I want to ever repeat

[Rick Malakoff]

Dan you're going to need "the structural paint"