Paulownia Siding Problems

Produces clusters of light purple fragrant flowers in the spring.

Paulownia siding problems.

A locust or grasshopper might chew its leaves but it grows so fast that doesn t matter. Paulownia tree wood is somewhat brittle. Have you heard of any quality issues with clapboard siding from a species of wood called paulownia. The branches are susceptible to wind damage and can easily crack or break off completely at the crotch.

It may go under the brand name of duraprime or e prime. Paulownia is a highly competitive invasive ornamental tree that grows rapidly. Two years later mold started appearing on surface. It is easy to plane sand saw rip route and carve.

Paulownia has machining and woodworking characteristics similar to red cedar and is not affected by humidity and moisture. And paulownia right now doesn t seem to have any disease or insect problems. Paulownia air dries in 30 to 60 days without cupping warping cracking or splitting. Kiln drying takes 36 to 60 hours depending on dry kiln configuration horsepower and dimension of lumber.

Maybe i get something different that we call paulownia but what my supplier sells as paulownia is a finger joint primed cedar board available in 1x and 5 4x. Paulownia wood machines and works well it is very dimensionally stable and is not subject to warping cupping or splitting even when exposed to outdoor elements. See the articles wood allergies and toxicity and wood dust safety for more information. Still need to seal all cut edges though.

Paulownia is resistant to decay and rotting provided it is not in permanent contact with the ground. Strength modus of rupture mor psi of paulownia is 5740. It easily absorbs glue paint and stains. This pre primed glued up siding was installed on our house in 2007.

Small to medium tree that reaches a height of 30 60 ft. During quick processing there is not danger of splitting or chipping. Paulownia is almost 1 3 the weight of oak 44 lbs p cubic ft and half the weight of pine 30 lbs p cubic ft. Strength paulownia has one of the highest strength to weight ratios of any wood.

It s much softer than the finger joint primed pine. They often droop as well requiring removal to allow. Paulownia trimboard siding paulownia is easy to work using hand or machine tools. The specific gravity of paulownia ranges between 0 23 to 0 30 23 to 30 of the density of water.