It's actually reclaimed snow fence from Wyoming - Centennial Wood Products - and it is installed as a rain screen. We have done nothing to "preserve" the wood so rely on it being able to dry quickly and completely, hence the rain screen installation.

It's a great look. I absolutely love the use of natural materials. I guess my question is, were you able to add an air gap (rain screen) behind the wood to enable it to dry quickly and completely? If so, what product did you use?

The wood is installed over furring strips at 16" o.c. that hold the back of the siding 3/4" off the face of the sheathing. We used a VaproShield weather barrier behind that. The wood siding was milled to have chamfered top and bottom edges and was slightly gapped to allow expansion/contraction and air movement. The siding was fastened using stainless steel trim screws (10,000 of them!). I would recommend installing a mesh over the furring to keep bugs down. Even though we haven't had issues with insects over the past 4 years - I'm thinking it would have been prudent.

I've been very satisfied with the siding. We took 40 year old wood, pulled some nails and installed them (many were quite twisted and cupped, etc) on the furring using levers and cheaters to straighten them when installing them. We've put nothing on the wood to try and preserve it and it's only getting better looking with time. I have discussed with Centennial Wood Products about suggestions for preservatives, etc. and have decided that I'll just leave it as I don't want anything to darken the finish. I'm one who contends that wood is not an evil exterior material. It wears well and lasts a long time if it's allowed to dry properly; if this wood were attached direct to the face of the sheathing, I'd be much more concerned about rot, etc.. Time will tell if I'm right!

Great work. It's absolutely gorgeous. And thank you so much for the detailed explanation. It's very helpful. I'm also a big proponent of wood for use as an exterior material and I (like yourself) prefer the unfinished look. I'm looking at doing the same thing myself, but have been debating what material to use for the furring strip. I'm considering using a U-shaped metal channel, but I'm unsure/undecided on how to fasten the wood siding to the metal strip. I know there are special fastening guns for this purpose, but I'm not sure if it's worth the effort and cost.

Anyway, I don't think that you have anything to worry about. Wood installed correctly will certainly outlast both of us. There's a barn not to far from where I live that has been standing for over 100 years. And that barn is certainly not the exception.

The mix of materials is truly so cool. I love it. I especially love the use of siding. I would love to have a home that looks like this. https://www.alexanderexteriorsmn.com/siding-gallery