In an effort to be the best possible partner with the independent LBM dealer base, Boston Cedar happily announces the appointment of Paul Burke as a valued member of its Purchasing Department. In this role, Paul will apply his thirty-five years of industry experience, high integrity, good business judgment and impeccable organizational skills to ensure that Boston Cedar is out in front in offering the most innovative building materials products and programs available.

Paul began his building materials career in 1977 at Harbor Millwork in Hyde Park, MA and from there moved on to a variety of increasingly important capacities with Gerrity Lumber Company, Huttig Building Products, Rugby Building Products and for the last fourteen years, in the role of a Buyer and Product Manager with Abington, MA based Cape Cod Lumber Company.

Paul and his wife Susan have been long-term residents of Mansfield, MA and are the proud parents of three adult sons. Outside of work, Paul has a variety of interests that include “Wellness Living”, being an active supporter of “Homes For Our Troops”, a member of the Massachusetts chapter of “The Patriot Guard Riders” and as an owner of a Harley Davidson Electra Glide, he and Susan enjoy traveling the New England states in search of the ideal riding road.

Do you have a love-hate relationship with wood? As a construction material, some wood is easy to work with; and it is as beautiful and charming as it is viable. In the beginning, it looked great, but over time, things soured. Wood became high maintenance. It shrank one season and swelled up the next, causing ugly cracks and warps. Then it completely let itself go, becoming a moldy, rotting, and a decayed eyesore—an embarrassment at parties and a safety hazard to the guests.

Admittedly, you probably wanted to wander to a new fangled plastic or a composite material as a solution. Where’s the beauty and proven durability?

Introducing real wood made to endure
Fall in love with wood again. And this time, stay in love… with Perennial Wood™, a new product with an extraordinary resistance to the elements. With Perennial Wood, you’ll see reduced shrinking and swelling (with significantly less cracking, checking, warping, and bowing). It even comes with a 25-year limited warranty against rot, decay and movement.

Dimensional stability. Shrinking and swelling wreck havoc on all structures. When you lay down a deck of Perennial Wood, it stays flat … right where you wanted it.

Workability. You don’t need any special tools to work with Perennial Wood. It cuts like wood, shaves like wood, and acts like wood because IT IS REAL WOOD. It has the same forgiveness you expect in wood.

Hassle-free maintenance. Perennial Wood’s TruLast Technology changes the wood throughout so you don’t have to sand and re-sand, paint and repaint, stain and re-stain, seal and re-seal … build and rebuild every few years. Boards come expertly pre-stained directly from the factory and stay consistently straight. To maintain a Perennial Wood structure, simply clean it with a mild pH cleaner. No preserving required. If, however, you don’t like the color after years of enjoyment, you can strip it and re-finish it. This is a big advantage if you ever change your siding color; you don’t have to tear down your deck and start again with raw boards or with a wood want-to-be product.

Sustainability. Perennial Wood is made in the USA, is sourced from a sustainable resource and contains no toxic chemicals. But the greatest sustainability story is that it lasts—and lasts—requiring fewer resources over the long haul.

The Perennial Wood decking offering which is available through a select independent dealer base in the Boston Cedar network includes decking and all related components in standard sizes, as well as nominal-sized lumber. Additionally, through the Perennial Wood custom design program, trade professionals can submit special requests for their decking projects and can have CAD drawings and take-off lists provided for successful conversion from concept to reality.

So what’s not to love? To see if Perennial Wood is compatible with your next project, tell us what you’re working on and let’s see if Perennial Wood is your perfect match.

As the saying goes, “April showers bring May flowers. While there are certainly good thoughts about the emergence of abundant greenery, for the commercial and residential construction segment, rain and moisture can deliver immediate and future troubles. One of those concerns is keeping the sheathing dry behind the selected natural or synthetic cladding system.

Enter the importance of a properly installed rainscreen. In very basic terms, rainscreens can vary in design but their primary job is to effectively drain rain and developing moisture from behind the cladding. At the same time, rainscreens control the building wetting forces of gravity, capillary action, and wind pressure differences.

A rainscreen creates an air gap between the decorative façade and the sheathing of the building. This space allows for the circulation of air across a weather resistant barrier such as TYPAR and is critical to removing potential condensation or direct water infiltration. The all important weather resistant barrier helps to prevent water molecules from entering the insulated cavity which can create an ideal environment for damaging mold conditions to develop. By themselves, weather resistant barriers are not always adequate in keeping the complete wall cavity dry.

There are two major rainscreen design types that are usually used—a field built drainage plane or a drainage mat. The drainage plane and drainage mat products attempt to fill the same role which is the elimination of entrapped moisture from the building envelope through the creation of a permanent, predictable space between the veneer and the backup wall. Unlike our neighbor to the north, Canada, most US state and local building codes do not mandate the use of best practices which always incorporates a rainscreen system. In those instances where a rainscreen is used in residential construction, the method of choice in the Northeast US appears to be the drainage mat.

The benefits of using a rainscreen drainage mat are many:

• They provide drainage of excess moisture and ventilation all in one product
• They help keep the siding and entire wall cavity dry
• Rainscreen drainage mates are lightweight and easy to handle
• Most drainage mats are made from a polymer core that are resistant to most known corrosive chemicals, including solvents
• They do not absorb or release moisture
• Rainscreens are not a source for the promotion of mold, mildew or bacteria.

Recently Boston Cedar was named as the exclusive Northeast distributor for Keene Building Products which is an Ohio based manufacturer of 3-dimensional building envelope products for moisture control. Boston Cedar has two of the most popular drainage mats in stock and ready for immediate delivery:

Driwall™ Rainscreen 020-1
Thickness 0.25 Inches / 6 mm

DriwalI™ Rainscreen is a drainage mat for exterior wall systems. The entangled net product eliminates incidental moisture problems in most exterior veneer applications, including stucco, manufactured stone, and plank siding.

Driwall™ CDR Vent (Complete Drained Roof)
Thickness 0.30 Inches / 7.6 mm

Driwall™ CDR Vent is drainage and ventilation mat designed to eliminate moisture and moisture vapor in roofing and siding applications. It is useful in cedar shingle/shake roofing and siding where a clean airspace is desired for ventilation and drainage.

The building shown has a severely damaged wall cavity system due to lack of best practices being used during the cladding installation.

Boston Cedar is pleased to announce that the newly created position of Director of New Business Development has been filled by industry professional, Bethany Sawyer. In this key position, Bethany will act as a team contributor in a senior sales role and will be directly accountable for developing new business opportunities within existing as well as prospective channels. Bethany will play an integral part of the entire sale process; from prospecting to closing the deal along side the individual territory manager.

Prior to joining Boston Cedar, Sawyer most recently served as the Director of New Membership for Rensselaer, NY based Northeastern Retail Lumber Association. Today, the NRLA is the largest building material trade association in the United States with an 1,150 member association representing independent lumber and building material suppliers and associated businesses in New York and the six New England states. Before being appointed the NRLA Director of New Membership, Bethany served as regional director from 2003-09 and became a critical part of the state and local associations that she tirelessly served.

Bethany’s professional sales career began with Roto Frank of America of Chester, CT., a German manufacturer of high quality window hardware and skylights. Bethany quickly rose to the position of National Sales Manager and in that capacity; she oversaw all new product introductions, worked in concert with manufacturing, operations, and finance in bringing new products and programs to the US market.

Bethany is a graduate of University of Rhode Island with a BA in Communications and resides in Saunderstown, RI with her husband, Sandy and son Benjamin who is a freshman in high school. The couple also has an adult son Christopher who is an actor / pianist in NYC. When not immersed in her career, Bethany enjoys cooking for her family and friends, exercising including her favorites which are skiing, spinning and yoga.

The role of an Inside Sales Representative is a very critical function in the customer experience and for that reason Boston Cedar has beefed up this core department with the addition of Paul Carter. In this role, Paul will work directly in tandem with the entire field sales organization to provide dealer partners and prospects alike the attention and commitment they need to grow their business profitably.

For over twenty years Paul has worked in one facet or another in the construction industry. Early in his career he started out in the commercial flooring business as a warehouse helper and eventually earned his way to project manager. While working at McDonald Installation Corporation which is a large union based flooring contractor, Paul handled daily worker placement, payroll and job costing functions.

Before joining Boston Cedar, Paul served as an Inside Sales Representative for Stock Building Supply at their Lakeville, Massachusetts location. This branch of Stock was later acquired by New England Building Materials in August of 2009 and Paul successfully transitioned from Stock to NEBM in a key role with that organization. Paul served in a dual capacity as Inside Sales Representative as well as Inside Sales Manager and he also spent a good portion of his time working in the commercial sales arena acting as the Installed Sales Manager. Paul has clearly demonstrated success as a team-oriented player than can effectively multitask and for that reason, Boston Cedar is pleased to welcome him to the company.

Paul attended Westfield State College in Westfield, MA studying criminal justice and currently resides in Taunton, MA with his eleven year old daughter Danielle. In his spare time, Paul enjoys participating in activities with his daughter and actively supporting all of Boston’s professional sports teams.

AZEK Building products continues its product innovations by adding the 10-inch wide AZEK Universal Skirt Board to its current trim offering. Providing the perfect transition between the siding and trim, as well as assisting in water management, the wider profile allows more design flexibility and fits nicely into historic architectural styles that utilize wider trim.

The two-piece AZEK Universal Skirt Board includes a reversible trimboard (which can be used as Traditional smooth or Frontier texture) that is routed to accept a proprietary universal siding interface. It is “universal” in that it accepts fiber cement siding, vinyl, cedar shingles or wood.

The siding interface, with an integrated nailing flange and drip edge to assist with keeping water away from the foundation, includes a rigid pvc hook to accept vinyl siding and a flexible pvc flap to work with solid siding. Once the siding interface snaps into the trimboard, it stays securely in the board and cannot be removed after installation. With no need for starter strips, AZEK’s Universal Skirt Board saves time, labor and costs.

In addition to the new 5/4 X 10″ profile, the AZEK Universal Skirt Board is also available in 5/4 X 8″ and 5/4 x 6″-all in 18 ft. lengths, with a 1 ½ inch nailing flange and ¼ inch drip edge overhang.

Like all AZEK Trim products, AZEK Universal Skirt Board is designed to last beautifully, is impervious to moisture and insects, and is covered by a 25-year Limited Warranty.

For more information about all AZEK Trim products, including the new AZEK Universal Skirt Board, visit www.AZEK.com.

Modified with Permission from Building Products Digest, March 2012

Richly aromatic, highly decay resistant, and all beauties to behold, North American cedars grow from coast to coast. But each type has its own strengths, making it best suited for certain applications and markets.

Western red cedar is the most abundant cedar available in the U.S. and Canada. Primarily grown in British Columbia, it also can be found in western Washington and Oregon. Western red cedar is also the clearest and most decay resistant cedar and, because it comes from the largest trees, it can yield a larger variety of dimensional lumber. Its sapwood is nearly white, its heartwood fragrant reddish or pinkish brown to dull brown.
Its abundance and properties make the species popular across the country. Western Red cedar is the dominant choice in the Northeast due to natural characteristics of the product that make it very stable, durable and weather resistant. WRC is twice as stable as other softwood species. The natural oils are resistant to insects and decay. Best of all, it looks great even when left natural. Today’s high-tech coatings, when used properly, will provide the best looking and performing exterior wood products on the market. WRC is perfect for clear products—siding, decking, paneling, fascia, trim, shakes and shingles, and appearance grade timbers. Due to its superior qualities, coastal western red cedar is the only type of cedar sold by some distributors, including Boston Cedar.

Inland red cedar is the same botanical species as western red cedar, but hails from the interior slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Idaho, Montana, and into eastern B.C. and Alberta. Grown in drier, higher-elevation forests, Inland red cedar trees are small and their wood lighter, more striped, and with less clarity and color variation than coastal-grown western red cedar.
Because the Inland red cedar trees grow farther inland, are slower growing, and develop tighter fiber with small tight knots, the resultant log is a nice choice for narrow tight-knot boards and profiles. One main difference between coastal western red cedar and Inland red cedar is the color of the board. There is less iron in the soil where IRC trees are grown. As a result, the color of the board is blonder in nature than coastal western red cedar and it has more of a creamy-caramel hue to it.

Incense cedar is native to the mountains from western Oregon to southern California and the northern Baja Peninsula of Mexico. Its sapwood is creamy white, its heartwood light brown to light reddish brown. Decay resistance and dimensional stability are high, yet strength, shock resistance, stiffness and hardness are moderately low.
Incense cedar however provides virtually splinter free versatility. It can be used in many applications such as decking, pergolas, T&G paneling, and timbers. When properly and slowly dried to less than 19%, it is very stable and durable and has excellent stain-holding properties.
While Incense cedar has performance properties that are very similar to WRC, it is a less expensive option for a customer desiring cedar qualities on a budget.

Port Orford cedar is found in a compact zone near the Pacific coast, from southwest Oregon to northwest California. It’s one of the easiest cedars to identify, due to the distinctive yellow tone of its sapwood and the hints of yellow in its browning heartwood. Decay resistance is high, the texture fine and even and the substrate has a bitter ginger smell. The wood is also somewhat lightweight and shock resistant, and will shrink slightly when dried. Port Orford is one of the strongest of all cedars and an excellent choice for both interior and exterior use. Historically, it has been a popular wood for fine boat building, beams and decking because of its strength and natural oils that make it rot and decay resistant.

Alaskan yellow cedar, which is also known as Pacific yellow cedar and Sitka cypress, grows slowly along a coastal patch from southern Alaska to southern Oregon, limiting its availability. Tight supply is unfortunate considering that Alaskan yellow cedar is the hardest of all cedars while boasting easy workability, exceptional resistance to weather, decay, disease and insects. Popular applications are boat building, shingles, sauna boards, trim, fascia and paneling.

Eastern white cedar, also known as Northern white cedar, grows in eastern Canada and the North Central and eastern forests of the U.S. In part because most of the tallest trees were harvested over a century ago, eastern whites are typically not as prized as the larger cedars in the West. Yet the wood is still naturally resistant to rot and insect infestation and yet lightweight and easy to work with. The sapwood is white and tinged with hints of yellow. The heartwood is light brown and occasionally possesses a red hue.
The wood is soft and light weight with low mechanical properties and since it has the lowest density of any commercial domestic wood, it a natural choice for canoe building and log home construction.

Atlantic cedar has similar properties to eastern white cedar, though is less porous and is found along the coastal plain of the eastern U.S. The sapwood is narrow and white, the heartwood light brown with a hint of red.
Applications for Atlantic cedar include siding, paneling, boat planks, fencing, decking and shingles.

Southern red cedar grows along the East Coast, from northeast North Carolina to central Florida and west to southeast Texas. With dull-red heartwood, it is lightweight, soft and weak, but highly durable and works and finishes well. Southern red cedar is ideal for aromatic paneling for use as closet lining.

“Cedars” are also imported from overseas, most notably Chinese cedar (a fast-growing wood popular for fencing, but structurally closer to fir) and Spanish cedar (a mahogany-like hardwood used in cigar boxes and humidors). Both species are attractive and highly aromatic, explaining why exporters are happy to trade on the reputation of authentic cedar.

Primed and Unprimed Western Red Cedar

As the winter months abate, there usually is a spiked incidence of reported extractives bleeding from exterior siding and trim materials. The reasons are many but there is one commonality amongst all “claims” and that is summed up on one word; moisture.

Many wood species have natural decay fighting extractives in them that cause concern when and if they surface. Western Red Cedar and Redwood are two woods well known for their extractives content and to a lesser extent; other common building material species also contain some extractives. Since wood extractives are water-soluble, when wood absorbs moisture, the moisture migrates to the surface and carries the extractives with it. The moisture then evaporates and leaves the extractives on the surface as a stain or discoloration.

Many high quality primers are specifically designed to block extractive bleeding, but they are not always successful and manufacturers, as a rule, do not carry a warranty for this purpose. If gently cleaned off the surface in a reasonable amount of time, extractives bleeding stains do not affect the integrity of the coating or the wood itself. Extractives usually are only an issue of appearance.

Considerations to Help Avoid Extractive Bleeding

1. Proper storage of wood before installation
If stored outside, place a heavy poly vapor barrier under the wood, raise off the ground and allow for plenty of air ventilation while keeping it loosely covered. If stored inside, put a poly vapor barrier under the wood and raise off the floor. This step is especially important when wood is placed on top of new or damp concrete. Allow enough time for the substrate to reach the equilibrium of the surrounding environment.

2. Always install over dry framing and sheathing
Wood siding and trim must be installed over dry framing and sheathing – less than 19% moisture content. Exterior housewraps such as TYPAR by themselves do not prevent moisture from building up in a wall. In fact, they can actually slow the drying process so it is important to check the moisture level in the framing and sheathing with a good quality moisture meter before installing the trim and siding. It is also very important to install the housewrap as a complete “system” utilizing proper tapes and flashings while also making sure to follow specific installation instructions described by the manufacturer.

3. Use construction techniques to prevent moisture from penetrating from the exterior
Caulk all joints, hammer nails flush with the siding or trim and do not over-nail. Though it is not always fully practical, avoid installing during periods of rain and high humidity. Coat all wood cuts with a color matched oil primer before installation.

4. Allow moisture inside the building to ventilate.
Allow for ventilation from inside the building to outside by utilizing complete soffit vents, ridge vents, etc. Avoid excessive moisture sources in the building such as an over-functioning humidity system or from plaster that is drying in a sealed-up house.

5. For siding, a rainscreen can be an effective reducer of trapped moisture.
A rainscreen is a layer of air between the sheathing and the siding. “Furring” out the siding and leaving gaps at the bottom and top of the siding to allow air flow is a great way to help keep moisture from passing through the siding. Products such as TYPAR Plus Home Slicker™ are designed just for this purpose and work even better than wood strips because the air space is free of blockages.

What to Do If Extractive Bleeding Occurs

The most important thing to do is not act too quickly: observe and methodically test for a solution.

1. Do not apply a topcoat
Current topcoats are usually latex (water based) and have no ability to stop extractives. In fact, the water in latex paints actually activates the stains and brings them once again to the surface of the coating.

2. Wait and see if discoloration washes off when it rains
Sometimes, if the stains are not “locked” into the coating, rain will carry them away over time.

3. Try washing the stains with a cleaner or Wood Brightener (active ingredient: oxalic acid)
Again, if the stains are not “locked” into the coating, most times they can be successfully washed off. Gentle brush washing with a cleaner works much faster than waiting for rain.

4. If bleeding disappears with washing, wait a few weeks to make sure it does not return
If the source of the moisture has not been abated, more discoloration might appear as additional extractives work their way to the substrate surface. At this point, it is a good idea to test the sheathing behind the siding for moisture. A “deep-prong” moisture meter will allow for reading the moisture level in the sheathing without removing the siding.

5. If discoloration does not return, paint a small “test area” with the selected topcoat and see if bleeding reappears
If after a few days or weeks the test area does not show a sign of staining then it is usually okay to topcoat the building. Try to choose an area that previously showed significant stains as this is probably an area that was particularly moist. If extractives bleed persists and will not wash off, wait until the bleeding stabilizes.

6. For severe cases, once bleeding has stabilized, re-prime a small test area with a stain-blocking oil primer after the moisture source has been determined and corrected
Tinting the oil prime color toward the finish color will help make final topcoating easier. Wait a few days to ensure that this new prime coat stops continued bleeding. Again, choose an area that is particularly stained.

7. Apply topcoat to the test area before priming the whole affected area of the house.
For best durability and coating elasticity, the topcoat should be 100% acrylic latex paint or stain. Apply this topcoat over the test primer and wait again to see if any staining emerges.

8. If the stains do not reappear, the approach above that worked can be applied to the entire building.
Again, important to solving extractives bleeding problems is testing and observing and correcting the source of consistent moisture. With proper building design, care before installation and diligence both during and after installation, the selected substrate should provide many years of low-maintenance beauty.

This information is designed to help you understand and work with extractives bleeding but does not guarantee any specific result. All cases of extractive bleeding are different and have to be handled on a case by case basis.

What happens when lumberjacks and seriously gifted scientists collaborate? They transform real wood into a more stable, rot-resistant wood without sacrificing the natural beauty and character that people desire over man-made products.

Can you imagine the potential?

No need to imagine. Now you can see it for yourself. Boston Cedar is pleased to be the exclusive Northeast U.S. pro distributor of Perennial Wood™, the next generation of wood for outdoor applications. Made possible through TruLast™ Technology, a proprietary process from Eastman Chemical, Perennial Wood is real wood that’s been modified to resist changes from moisture for decades. It is three times more stable than unmodified wood, resulting in less shrinking and swelling that can cause cracking, cupping and warping.

Perennial Wood Features

• While Perennial Wood is able to better endure the elements, it’s still real wood, with real character. This means you can use Perennial Wood throughout your home, creating a genuine, consistent look that lasts.
• Permanently modified, providing a physical barrier throughout against rot and decay.
• Three times more stable than unmodified wood, minimizing warping, bowing and cupping.
• 25% greater surface hardness once modified with TruLast Technology.
• Works and machines like real wood with standard wood working tools because it is real wood.
• 25-year limited warranty against rot, decay and movement.
• Harvested and made in the USA.

Perennial Wood Decking

Perennial Wood decking, the first commercially available product, will be available for the professional channel exclusively through Boston Cedar during late March of 2012. All Perennial Wood deck boards and matching accessories come with a consistent, factory finish process that accentuates the wood’s natural grain patterns with rich color tones and results in a lasting finish. Since every component is made from Perennial Wood, you’ll get a perfectly complemented system that is strong, stable and will last for decades. Components include:  Deck boards, railing kits, balusters, fascia, posts and stair treads which are available in four desirable colors: Redwood, Mahogany, Cedar and Cape Cod Gray.

Green Building

The ability of Perennial Wood to endure is just one of its sustainable qualities. Because it lasts longer than unmodified species, some hardwoods and many composites, it needs to be replaced less often, resulting in less material disposal and a better value over the long haul. TruLast Technology leaves no toxic substances within the wood, delivering peace of mind about the efficacy of the product. Perennial Wood is also harvested, processed and finished in the United States, eliminating the need for shipping wood from offshore sources, lessening the environmental impact.

The durability is real. The applications are endless. The potential is revolutionary. This is the next generation of wood.

Perennial Wood with TruLast Technology has been developed and is backed by Eastman Chemical Company, a Fortune 500 company with more than 80 years of history in acetylating wood pulp. Eastman is actively engaged with Responsible Care® and is committed to continuously improving its sustainability performance through innovative, environmentally and socially responsible solutions.

By: Eric Thompson

The ThinkHouse is a freestanding study and reading space in the woods adjacent to a primary residence on Frost Pond in rural New Hampshire.

The unique design arose from the idea of a study as a place apart from the everyday world, a realm of tranquil introspection. Combined with the spectacular natural setting, the concept of ‘a place apart’ was the impetus for lifting the project off the ground and into the trees.

The get-away space is comprised of three parts that articulate and amplify the movement from daily life into the realm of deep thinking.  First, a long, gently rising and meandering Western Red Cedar entry ramp is carefully calibrated to the site specific conditions of the trees, granite boulders and land contours.

The second part of the sequence is the entry leg of the “L” shaped plan, a relatively closed and darkened space. The entry provides a transitional space, a moment which severs the connections to the outside world behind.

The ending point of the sequence, the study space and reading room itself, blossoms as one emerges from the hall, opening generously to natural daylight, the forest, and the clean lake water beyond.

The design was considered from the start with Real Cedar in mind due to its spectacular warm color and ability to harmonize with yet enhance the natural qualities of the wooded site.  Furthermore, the rich color variation of the Western Red Cedar siding provided a strong horizontal texture to the project and its exceptional weathering qualities, marking the passage of time were compelling reasons for its selection.