Pawlownia?

[Larry Edgerton]

I just picked up a job restoring a 130 year old home and part of the job will be all new bevel siding. The yard I use gave me some Paulownia samples to look at instead of clear cedar. I am not familiar with this product, and am inclined to go with cedar or redwood, but I would like to hear your actual experiances if you have actually used it. How long has it been in use here? Is it the same Pawlownia that is on the endangered species list? Anything you can add will be appreciated.

Hope to hear from you, Larry

[David Christopher]

Larry, its also called a princess tree...its a fast growing tree and not endangered..actually its a nuisance tree..I did read that since its a fast growing tree they are trying to start harvesting the wood...its says its a medium hard wood I would imagine similar to poplar...I have one in my front yard

[Ted Calver]

Grows wild along the roads here in Virginia. Here's a link if permitted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulownia_tomentosa

[Alan Schwabacher]

I've read that it's highly prized in Japan. It is quite soft and very light, but has the highest strength to weight ratio of any wood, according to an article a couple of years ago in Fine Woodworking.

Where did you find it in Michigan? I checked the woodfinder, and the closest source to Wisconsin it found was in Tennessee. I was thinking it might make good light woodstrip canoes.

According to this website, the wood is highly decay resistant under non-ground contact conditions:
http://www.panampro.com/index_archivos/lumber.htm

[Larry Edgerton]

The stuff I am looking at is imported from China, is fingerjointed, not a plus for me, and has only been used locally for seven years. They have had no problems in seven years, but that means nothing when dealing with a house of this nature, being as the siding that is on there has lasted 130 years, and will be expected to last in a comparable manner.

But, I like to check all the possibilities......

They want the original trim recreated in Azak, something I don't really like to do but in this economy I am happy to have interesting work.

The job is 250 miles from home, but there is nothing going on here. We had 10 building permits pulled in this county as of June when I pulled one for a barn. 10 permits in six months! Scary times.

[John Stevens]

Hi, Larry. Pauwlonia is supposed to be very stable. I'd never heard that it was rot resistant, but that's good to know, especially if you're going to use it for cladding. The Pauwlonia I've used is so soft--like styrofoam--that I would hesitate to use it for anything that might take a ding or dent. The Pauwlonia from my local supplier is locally grown, so it may differ from your Chinese Pauwlonia. For example, I've been told by a flute maker that bamboo from tropical regions is harder than bamboo from North America.

If yours seems hard enough to serve as cladding, then you may have a good thing going. It's ridiculously easy to mill, cut and machine.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

John

[David W Morris]

:) Larry for centuries they have been using paulownia on the Pacific Rim for construction. It is highly fire resistant and light weight. For information and specifications of paulownia you might refer to the two following web sites www. panampro.com (http://www.panampro.com) or www.paulownianow.org (http://www.paulownianow.org)

[Caspar Hauser]

I just finished wrapping some columns in FJP Pawlonia (clients choice) it's like a cross between White pine and Balsa, if seemed to rip furry, though I could have used a sharper blade, and needs a sharp edge in your plane. It did sand quite well, when the painters finally get a round tuit I'll let you know how the raw wood takes paint. I did find that after ripping the exposed finger joints seemed a bit gappy and uncovered some large knot/voids. It is light, was straight and the priming smooth and even, it was also smooth on both faces unlike some pine fjp available here which is deeply stamped on one face. I didn't know it was available as claps, it looks as if it would be a bit of a sponge but thats just from looking at it not actual knowledge.


Ch

[Larry Edgerton]

Here is a picture of the house. It is on the national register of historic buildings, and to give you a clue to the scale, the downstairs doublehung windows are 8'6" tall.

I will be reproducing all of the original trim in Azak after covering the whole house with Sturdy R foam sheathing and replacing all the windows with custom thermopane units. I am pretty much set on redwood siding at this point. I do not trust the Chinese to do the fingerjoints correctly, nor do I trust that the stain they apply before shipping is correct and non toxic. This house will hopefully be here another hundred years and I stake my reputation on my work, and I do not make compromises that I feel will not stand the test of time.

I am excited about this project. I love to preserve beautiful things from our past. It is better to me than building the same thing new, although new is easier and generally more profitable. I like learning from the old timers, both what and what not to do. And.... In this economy I am very happy to have work I can enjoy.

[John Daugherty]

If it was me I would go with what I knew and trusted. This isn't the kind of project to be experimenting on IMHO.