Using Bark As Siding

Barkclad based in the southern appalachian mountains of western north carolina is a bark siding and building supply company.

Using bark as siding.

Depending on the grade standard or premium bark siding shingles will be 3 4 inch to 1 1 2 inches thick. Are poplar bark shingles and tiles a rustic modern or a high design product. A natural poplar tree bark is removed from the tree in layers. Most customers show a 16 revel face.

The thickness varies from 5 8 1 x 18 tall x random widths from 6 32 wide. Modern use of bark dates to the 1800s in several areas but was noticeably very popular in the early 1900s in the banner elk and linville areas of north carolina. Bark siding is exactly what the name implies. Average width is about 16.

The bark is kiln dried flattened out and cut to specs to be used for siding. Individual bark shingles are 18 inches or 26 inches long and the random widths range from 4 inches to 4 feet. To harvest the bark a kerf or groove is cut down the length of a newly cut log and the bark is actually pried and peeled off. They head into the woods every summer for a few weeks to harvest the bark of the southern tulip poplar a hearty and abundant tree whose characteristic to grow straight and tall makes it an ideal source for natural siding.

North american indians used the bark siding more than 500 years ago. The bark is squared kiln dried and the quality is checked to ensure a top shelf siding product. The curved bark is then stacked flattened and air dried. The bark which is historically a waste product in lumber operations is harvested to become siding and wall tiles before the logs reach the mill.