Selecting the right tri m boardsc.nne,v

\ZOU'D think you were buy- I ing a car when you try to find the right trim board program for vour lumbervard.

How complicated can this be? Give me a board that looks great and performs in the field, period. Oh, yeah, and make sure the price is right. And, um, how's the supply? Are we going to run out'l I can't run out. Then I look foolish and the fill-in product probably won't match up right. And what is this new substrate anyway? I've never heard of it. You're treating the board with what chemicalt, again? CCA never hurt anyone and look what happened. How about tight grain, old growth, cold climate growth, plantations, dimensional stability, dollar exchange rates, turnaround time, time on the water, grading, defects, short lengths. glue types. coating system, VOCs, FSC, SFI, oil primer vs. latex. one coat vs. two coats vs. two passes vs. three passes, Gesso vs. exterior, "green" coatings?

Okaaaayyy! Can I go now? | need to relax a bit. I think I'll buy a car instead; it's easier.

How about breaking this problem down a bit? We'll talk about substrates, coating systems, and supply sources. Substrates first. There's pine, cedar, fir, spruce, mahogany, PVC, and "other." Pine breaks down into eastern white pine, Idaho white pine, ponderosa pine, Scots pine, radiata pine (Monterey), Elliotis pine (slash), taeda (loblolly). and parana pine (Araucaria Angustifulia, so it's not really pine, but it's a tall, straight conifer). The first three are from North America. Scots pine is often from Europe or Western Russia. Radiata is grown primarily in Chile and New Zealand. The last three are also from South America, usually Brazil or Argentina.

Of the bunch, eastern white pine has the most decay resistance, naturally inherent to the species. Radiata has the smoothest finish, as it is hard and dense. Most of the South American pines are not typically decay resistant. Primers and coatings that are technically formulated for these species combined with proper installation will help meet consumer expectations for durability.

In addition, some manufacturers have begun using treatments to help solve this shortcoming. The most common one is LOSP or Light Organic Solvent Preservative. It is increasingly common in the market today, but there appear to be a few issues looming with respect to the chemicals used. It is a growing story in New Zealand from where much of the treated products are coming. Since I am not a chemist, you can check out www.nzherald.co. nz yourself and type "LOSP" into the search box to see what's going on.

PVC (polyvinyl chloride or "vinyl") has been a huge success and appeals to certain builders willing to spend a lot of money to prevent rot. It's also great if you want to twist your trim board into a pretzel. As a wood guy, I'll give you my quick assessment: The bad thins about wood trim boards is that they could rot. The good thing about wood trim boards is that they will rot...if installed wrong. Since there are many examples of 100-year old wood trim that is not rotten, we know wood lasts. If it does rot, look to the installation. If PVC is installed wrong, you won't know until the house rots on the inside-a much bigger problem. If you intend to install it correctly, why not just use wood? Wow, am I biased! My house is 150 years old, and I'm a wood guy. What can I say? How about cedar? Expensive and

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