Mark5
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# Posted: 6 Jan 2010 10:14am - Edited by: Mark5
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I didn't know what t1-11 is, so I looked it up. Here it is, just so others (like me) know:
T1-11 and Smartside are not alike except in exterior appearance. T1-11 is simply plywood which receives a rough sawn appearance and vertical grooves.
Smartside, however, is made from OSB and has a rough sawn appearance and vertical grooves. But while Smartside is made from an OSB back, it has a hardboard face over the top which protects it in ways that T1-11 could never dream.
The main problem with T1-11 is that because it is only plywood which gets painted (which must be painted very very well because of its terrible painting properties) if any moisture gets through that paint down to the wood, it starts to shrink, swell, or warp. When it does, the paint cracks and chips, then your siding begins to rot. Also, T1-11 has a terrible habit of licking water, which will also lead to rot problems.
Smartside, however, is covered in a thick hardboard face. Which basically means that the manufacturer takes a piece of OSB plywood and coats it in a mixture of wood pulps and resin, and then they bake it with a thin film coating of linseed oil. This process results in a surface which is very hard, rigid, and nearly moisture proof. Because moisture cannot penetrate through the hardboard surface of Smartside is does not have many of the common problems which T1-11 has.
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