The Psychology of Wood Siding

Have you ever lived with wood siding? I have, and it pushed me in two ways.

On the one hand, wood seems so right. That’s because it is, at least on a philosophical level, authentic. It’s solid. It looks right. You’ll never see a manufacturer try to make real wood siding look like vinyl. The fact that it happens the other way around is proof. But then there’s the reality of dealing with wood - of stopping it from reverting to barn board on the side of your house.

Several decades of dealing with the wood siding in my life soured me on our relationship, at least until recently. The painting and repainting was one thing, but worse is the nagging thoughts that I “really need to get that siding repainted”. Then something happened - I crossed the border to visit a small town in central Michigan with Mary and our kids.  

The place we visited has exterior wood everywhere, and I mean everywhere - on siding, posts, beams, signs, porches, and railings . And all of it looks great! If these folks choose to maintain so much wood so well, what do I have to feel bitter about?

All of this crossed my mind yesterday as I put the last coat of my favourite translucent outdoor wood finish on some white cedar at my place. The whole experience put me on auto-pilot as my brush dipped and spread, dipped and spread. I was done before I knew it and not entirely happy that the work was finished, either.

Tags

Rating

Average (0 Votes)