Sasaki-san just started installing it yesterday, but I am already delighted with the exterior material of the house. It’s Japanese cedar, sugi, just like most of the house. I am happy to be using the trees that cause me so much allergy drama every spring. I hope these were chopped down and not replanted.
The siding is beautiful. Striped red and white vertical grain interspersed with dark knots where branches used to be, it has a consistent look from a distance and is interesting to examine close-up. The fresh wood color is wonderful, but as I wrote a bit earlier, I don’t want it to weather grey so I will be coating it with kakishibu eventually.
The installation process is thorough. Each board is cut to length and checked for alignment, then removed and glue laid along the horizontal supports. The board is slotted back into place and fixed with air-gun staples (pink!) before the process is repeated.
