History of T1-11
While originally being developed as a temporary solution before intended to be replaced or having siding added on top of it, some homeowners report having left it as their main siding for 30 years. The material was especially popular from the 60’s through the 80’s, while a lot of other materials have now entered the market place and become much more popular, including vinyl siding, metal siding and and others. These materials offer benefits not available to T1-11. Despite its declining popularity, it’s still a material that you’re able to go out and buy today.
What is T1-11 Siding Made of – Different Types of Wood
The types of tree that commonly go into the production of T1-11 include southern yellow pine and Douglas fir, with the first one being a very affordable option. It’s also commonly made with vertical grooves and to increase its strength, the ends are lapped.
In the pursuit of the answer to the question of what T1-11 siding is, is that it’s an engineered wood siding product that can help add protection to your structure and given its natural characteristics is often used on sheds and barns. It’s still a type of siding that is made of wood, which is why you should study the maintenance sectio closely.
Maintenance – The Best Protection You can Get for Your T1-11
While not originally intended as the main siding material, it does require maintenance the same way other types of wood siding will. What that includes is painting or staining to keep the material protected. Stains usually need to be renewed every 3-5 years, while a good paint job will last longer, meaning you might only have to repaint every 15 years while 10 is probably more common. The stain or paint is what provides the protection for the T1-11, and making sure you choose the right paint or stain is crucial.
How Long Will it Last?
It’s important to remember what was previously mentioned in the maintenance section – you’re dealing with a wooden product, meaning how long your T1-11 will last vastly depends on the maintenance. With proper maintenance, it’s not making the material last in excess of 20 years.
Pros
Cons
The mentioned benefits are not limited to T1-11 or siding, but more commonly advantages with plywood use in general.
- Plywood can look great – as the main outer layer is in fact what you will be looking at, plywood can look great. T1-11 has a traditional look to it so if you like the look of it, great. If not, your best bet is to go ahead and choose a different type of material.
- Lighter than solid wood – one of the advantages that this material has relative to solid wood is the weight, which also makes it easier to install for DIYers.
- Their big boards are convenient for an easy installation – since the boards come in big sizes, the installation will end up being easier than if you were installing many and smaller wooden shingles, for instance.
- Solid wood tends to split along the grain – plywood doesn’t split as easily as solid wood does, and that’s an advantage since putting nails through wooden siding can cause splits. Well, with T1-11 that’s less likely to happen. This is caused by its cross-layered structure.
- Plywood siding is great for curved surfaces – if your home naturally curves, plywood can be a great alternative as it can be made to accommodate for that in a way that is difficult to do with solid wood.
- Easy transportation and low cost – its weight and manufacturing means it’s both easy to transport and is very cheap too.
- Eco-friendly – going green is becoming more and more important to consumers. With plywood, you’re helping that since your choice is very green.
- Plywood is stronger than Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) – while MDF also looks like wood, plywood is better in terms of strength.
- Several thicknesses available to best suit your needs – depending on your needs, you can get the T1-11 thickness that best suits your needs.
- Plywood accepts stain and paint relatively well – some other materials may not be quite as good in terms of accepting the paint or stain that you’re trying to add to it, but plywood will do that extremely well in comparison.
- Resists shrinking and cracking pretty well – the material is pretty good in terms of dealing with some of the issues that are otherwise likely to be problems for other wood materials.
Plywood isn’t without cons and to better understand your options, we encourage you to also get a better understanding of these.
- MDF is cheaper – if you’re comparing plywood to either MDF or OSB, you will notice that plywood is a more expensive option, although still very affordable.
- Splinters on the edges are not uncommon
- Cutting it is not easy – while we mentioned that it is relatively easy to install, an aspect that isn’t easy is the associated cutting process.
- VOC’s are an issue – volatile organic compound or VOC’s is a problem with plywood and that can be irritating to you and is something that some homeowners take great measure to help avoid.
- Finding out the type of wood involved can be hard – the type of wood veneer used in the process may not be too easy if you’re not a pro, and it doesn’t say where you’re buying it from. A home improvement store should know but it’s otherwise difficult to tell simply from looking at it.
- Can get infected by termites – termites love wood products and plywood is no different, so if you live in an area where termites is a big issue, be aware of this.
- It doesn’t work equally well in all types of environments – while the higher grade materials are better in terms of being moisture-resistant, there are other types of material that are still better options in climates that have a lot of moisture, such as premium vinyl siding.