Yet that's what we Americans have been doing ever since we began building in this land of abundant wood. And so the straight lines of clapboards and the sensual texture of shingles have become part of our collective idea of home, as have the rituals of scraping, painting and residing. Since the late 1980s, however, a product has been gaining acceptance that gives the look of wood but has few if any of its problems. Mixed with water and cured in an autoclave, these ingredients yield planks, panels, and shingles that will not rot, burn, or serve as lunch for insects. One of the siding's few drawbacks is its installation.
Contractors find it heavy and dusty.
The shingle panels on the garage are less eye-fooling, because the spaces between them are far more regular than one would find between cedar shingles. These panels are, however, a new product, and the company expects to address the spacing issue in later iterations. We're using clapboards on the main house in Billerica, shingle panels on the garage, and corner boards and window trim made of built-up planks on both buildings. Silva Brothers carpenters, a traditional lot, find fault in the heavy weight of the product, and in the dust it kicks up when cut with a circular saw. Masks help, as do the dust-collecting attachments that have been developed for saws.