Construction Help - Materials

The material you use to build your True North design is up to you. There are a few options that are popular in North America. If you are purchasing a plan and you happen to be somewhere else, it’s perfectly fine to choose a material that’s easy for you to obtain.

Siding Materials

Western Red Cedar Siding

With its richness of grain, texture and color, Western Red Cedar siding is the perfect complement to your True North garden shed, cabin, pool cabana or any other building.

Notable features of western red cedar:

  • Natural oils that help resist decay, moisture and insect attacks

  • Subtle cedar fragrance

  • Lightweight but exceptionally stable

  • Cuts cleanly and easily

  • Lies flat and stays straight

  • Ages gracefully to endure for years

i) Cedar Channel Siding

Cedar channel siding is the most popular choice of siding for our structures. With channel siding, the profile of each board partially overlaps that of the board next to it, creating a channel that gives shadow line effects. This pattern provides excellent weather protection and allows for dimensional movement. Channel siding comes in different sizes. The channel siding seen in True North designs has a width of 8", a dressed width of 7 1/8", and an exposed width of 6 3/8".
Channel siding may be clad horizontally or vertically.

Sample Gallery

(Vertically Clad)
(Horizontally Clad)
ii) Cedar Shingle Siding

The natural color and grain of Western Red Cedar shingles transform a structure into a work of art. They give each angle drama and create an expression of unmatched quality and timeless appeal. Its cellular structure makes it an excellent insulator and allows for natural resistance to weather conditions ranging from severe summer heat to brutal winter storms. Cedar shingled siding is an excellent choice for a long lasting look of beauty. The cedar shingle siding seen in True North designs are 18" in length and 7/16" thick. There is usually 4" of standard exposure but you may choose a different dimension based on style preferences.

Sample Gallery

iii) Cedar Log Siding

To add a rustic touch to your True North design, choose the warm appeal of log siding, a siding option that packs a lot of style. Made from Western Red Cedar, it offers a look that's truly distinct. The True North designs we showcase use a log siding that is 2 x 8 and a grade of custom knotty and better. When milled, the knots create that special rustic effect.

Sample Gallery

Canexel Maintenance Free Siding

Tough, sturdy and maintenance-free are trademark qualities of Canexel wood fiber siding, a fine siding option. Man-made from compressed wood fibers and combined with natural or synthetic binders, Canexel siding contains five finishing coats that are individually baked at high temperatures.

Notable features of canexel maintenance siding:

  • Superior strength and durability

  • Virtually maintenance-free

  • Timeless beauty

  • Color choice

Pine Siding

Pine is a premier wood, honey toned or straw-like in color. Pine is suitable for any application that requires a strong, splinter free wood with minimal knots, resin or other unwanted characteristics.

Notable features of pine:

  • Attractive, strong, and easy to work with

  • Relatively unaffected by changes in humidity

Sample Gallery

Plywood Siding

There are a variety of plywood sidings that are perfectly acceptable as well. (See features below). Your local building supply store will advise you of the choices.

Vinyl Siding

There are many vinyl siding options that are relatively low cost and quite durable. Vinyl is also typically available in a variety of colors.

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Framing Materials

Spruce (studs, floor plates, roof joists, rafters, trusses)

Spruce is a wood with clear, uniform texture and straight grains. It is lightweight and moderately low in bending strength. For a light and easy to use wood, spruce rates high in strength properties. It takes nails without splitting and holds them well. It’s a good, serviceable, construction wood that is the standard in the building industry, an ideal framing material.

Notable features of spruce:

  • Low moisture content

  • Strong and easy to work with

  • Takes nails without splitting

Pressure Treated Wood (Floor joists, beams, and runners)

Pressure-treated wood is a safe, long-lasting building material that is ideally suited in situations where wood might be exposed to mold, insect attack or other forms of bio-deterioration (from direct contact with soil).

Depending on its exposure to soil and environmental conditions, untreated wood will generally rot or incur insect damage over time. Treated wood, on the other hand, is relatively strong and long lasting and often retains its structural integrity 10 to 20 times longer than untreated wood.

Notable features of pressure treated wood:

  • Renewable/Safe

  • Long-lasting building material

  • Ideal for structures where the wood might be exposed to mould, insect attack or other forms of bio-deterioration (i.e. from direct contact with soil)

Cedar (upgrade for studs and rafters).

The beauty and pleasant fragrance of Western Red Cedar also make it a popular choice for exposed studs and ceiling rafters).

See more under siding

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Floors & Roof Sheathing

Spruce or Fir Plywood

Plywood is an engineered wood product that is universally recognized for its superior strength-to-weight ratio as a building material. It provides excellent nail holding capabilities; important in the design of floor and roof systems. Plywood's cross-laminated construction makes it highly durable with exceptional dimensional stability.

Notable features of plywood:

  • Lightweight and long lasting

  • Superior dimensional stability

  • Exceptional two-way strength

  • High resistance to damage from impact

  • Excellent nail holding capabilities

  • Environmentally responsible

Oriented Strand Board - OSB (Roof sheathing only)

OSB is an engineered wood panel that delivers exceptional strength when it comes to a building material. It is a mat-formed panel made of wood strands, flakes or wafers sliced from small diameter, round logs and bonded under heat and pressure. Waterproof and boil proof resin binders are combined with the strands to provide internal strength, rigidity and moisture resistance. OSB provides superior performance for all your roofing needs.

Notable features of OSB:

  • Engineered for uniformity, strength, versatility and workability

  • Used in a variety of applications

  • Lightweight material

  • Made from a sustainable resource

Pine (Select roof boards, floor upgrades)

Pine is a premier wood, honey toned or straw-like in color. Pine is suitable for any application that requires a strong, splinter free wood with minimal knots, resin or other unwanted characteristics.

Notable features of pine:

  • Attractive, strong, and easy to work with

  • Relatively unaffected by changes in humidity

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Trim (fascia, soffit, doors & windows framing corner trim)

Cedar (Recommended)

The beauty and pleasant fragrance of Western Red Cedar also make it a popular choice for roof boards, and occasionally floors

See more under siding
Pine (Also works well)

Pine is a premier wood, honey toned or straw-like in color. Pine is suitable for any application that requires a strong, splinter free wood with minimal knots, resin or other unwanted characteristics.

See more under siding

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Other Upgrades

Whether you decide to run electricity to your building or choose to add plumbing or insulation, there are many other modifications and you may do to your structure. Information and materials for any of these are readily available at your local building supply store.