by Patrick
McCombe
Shingle Style
. If your customers
appreciate the appearance of cedar shingles but don't want to
deal with the inconvenience of periodic painting and scraping,
they might be interested in CertainTeed's Cedar Impressions.
The polymer shingle panels come in four styles and eight
colors; the manufacturer provides a lifetime warranty against
fading.
CertainTeed, 800/233-8990,
www.certainteed.com
PVC Claps
. Cellular PVC trim won't
rot, mold, or attract insects — which goes a long way
toward explaining its growing popularity. NuCedar Mills'
Classic Clapboard cellular PVC siding is an attractive option
for builders and clients who want the look of real clapboard
without the maintenance hassles. The product comes with either
a smooth or cedar-grained face and can be painted in any of 22
standard or 1,400 custom polyurethane colors. The company
offers matching rabbeted trim pieces meant to hide the siding's
cut ends while allowing for thermal expansion. Costs run
between $350 and $450 per square.
NuCedar Mills, 866/393-8883,
www.nucedar.com
The Real Deal
. Think Cypress Siding
is no longer available? Think again: Chapel Hill, N.C.-based
Buckley Lumber offers the clapboards in No. 2 and clear grades
in board-and-batten, bevel, and channel profiles. With a
minimum 1,000-board-foot order, the company will ship
nationwide. Its most popular siding — a
3/4-inch-by-8-inch clapboard that provides a 6-inch reveal
— runs about 80 cents per lineal foot in the No. 2 grade.
The company also offers S2S and S4S boards; prefinishing is an
option.
Buckley Lumber, 877/274-5685,
www.cypresssiding.com
Adhesives
Low-Foam Poly Wood Glu
e. For
years Gorilla has had a lock on the polyurethane wood glue
market — but now other manufacturers are trying hard to
get their share. One of the more recent introductions is Sumo
from Loctite. The maker claims that the new glue sets faster
than Gorilla — in 30 minutes on porous surfaces and in 90
minutes on nonporous ones. The company also says that Sumo
foams less and cures fully in 24 hours. An 8-ounce bottle costs
$13.
Loctite, 800/321-0253,
www.sumoglue.com
Cold-Weather Formula
. Compatible
with a wide range of materials, polyurethane-based construction
adhesives continue to get better and better. Case in point:
Titebond Premium Polyurethane Construction Adhesive is now
suitable for temperatures down to 35°F. With only 20 grams
of VOCs per liter, the 98-percent-solids formula complies with
the nation's most stringent air-quality standards. A 10.5-ounce
tube costs about $4.50.
Franklin Intl., 800/347-4583,
www.titebond.com
Two-Part Bond
. Conventional
woodworking glues and fillers don't work very well with PVC
trim, so the emergence of several better-performing specialty
products is good news. One that's received favorable reviews
from several carpenters I know is Bond & Fill Structural
Adhesive & Filler. It's waterproof, UV-resistant,
paintable, and sandable. Plus it has more body than traditional
PVC cement, so it's not as messy. A starter kit with applicator
gun, 1.6-ounce cartridge, mixing nozzles, and instructions
sells for about $54.
Bond & Fill, 877/822-7745,
www.bondfill.com