Q: What's the difference between GemThane® Siding and other products?
I'm confused. Aren't they all about the same?
The underlying technology is completly different. All other pre-finished siding on the market uses latex (water-soluble) paint, whereas GemThane® Siding uses a marine-grade polyurethane resin. Paints simply dry, that is to say, the finished film results simply by evaporation. Our polymer formulations cure by a chemical reaction, resulting in a tough shell that looks ordinary but has extraordinary performance properties. It is extremely resistant to erosion, impact, driven rain and climatic extremes. The coatings used in the manufacture of GemThane® Siding are so waterproof, they could be used to line your swimming pool! The coating resists unsightly knot bleed-through. The impervious surface is easy to clean and can be aggressively power washed year after year. Everything from dirt to unpleasant spider webbing washes right off because the surface is so non-absorbent.
The formula also contains ceramic nanospheres, yielding a phenomenal difference in protection against impact, abrasion and erosion. We’ve been using nano-technology since 1999 and it is just now being adopted by the auto industry to make exterior clear coats more chip and abrasion resistant.
Another difference: note that the coating on the back is very thick. The trade name of that amber clearcoat is ArborSeal®. On our top-of-the-line siding product, (called the Performance Plus grade), ArborSeal® is about twice as thick as the coating on an airplane or automobile. This eliminates the need for strapping and reduces installation costs dramatically. Our economy grade siding, Value Plus, is available when you are strapping regardless for some reason (see section “What is strapping and why is it necessary with other products but not GemThane® Siding?”, below).
Q: How else are you different from the competition?
We're local: as we expand our network of manufacturing sites, most of our customers will be within a two hours drive of the plant where their siding is being manufactured. Thus, our labour and management are part of the community, which means that all of us – GemThane® and customer alike – are contributing to the local economy.
We’re fast: our turnaround time is about half of the competition.
We’re colourful: we have more standard colours than any other pre-finished wood siding in the industry, which removes the guesswork of trying to visualize what a small sample will look like in a large area. Each of our colours is carefully chosen with that in mind. If one of our approximately 20 standard colours doesn’t suit, our colour matching capabilities are superior because the work is performed by a graduate polymer chemist using the latest computer technology.
We’re flexible: we’ll coat just about anything to match your siding - soffits and fascia, for example.
We’ll help you match other surfaces: our top-coat, a product named Cottage Coat®, is available to you in kit form. Yes, it is a resin and not a paint, but the handling characteristics are surprisingly paint-like. If you can apply oil-based paint, you can apply Cottage Coat®. Thus you can match your new siding to anything else perfectly.
Q: Sounds expensive. Is it?
Surprisingly, on an installed basis, GemThane® Siding costs less than old paint-based pre-finished siding. On the one hand, you can expect to pay about 50 cents more per lineal foot for the Performance Plus version of GemThane® Siding. However, your contractor will save more than this during the installation process because the building doesn’t need to be strapped; this results in a significant labour saving. You get vastly better technology and a comprehensive lifetime warranty for the same applied cost. If you are going to strap anyway, use our lower cost “Value Plus” version (see “What if I’m strapping the building anyway?” below); GemThane® Value Plus Siding sells for about the same price as paint-based products.
Q: The lifetime warranty seems ironclad, but will you be around to honour it?
As mentioned, GemThane® is a division of Madison Chemical Industries Inc., which has been in business since 1973 and is well-established. In addition, you are protected by a $2 million warranty insurance policy. A small percentage of GemThane® Siding revenues is used to fund this insurance, thus making sure you are protected in the unlikely event that you will need to make a claim.
Q: Where can I buy GemThane® Siding products?
GemThane Siding is available exclusively through authorized dealers. Most are independently-owned lumber and building supply retailers. Our network is rapidly growing. If there is not a dealer in your area, we will make the necessary arrangements to set one up. Just give us a call and we will take it from here.
Q: What is the lead time when I order?
We can get you started within about 2 weeks. Depending on the wood pattern you choose and the size of your project, the balance will follow as your contractor needs it. Competitive siding manufacturers typically offer 4-6 week delivery (sometimes even longer on custom colours) because they are servicing a huge geographical area from a single plant whereas GemThane® Siding is manufactured locally.
Q: What Patterns are available?
We have 9 patterns altogether. All of them are illustrated on our website. 6 of the patterns are installed horizontally, 2 can be installed either horizontally or vertically and one is intended for vertical installation.
Q: What kind of wood do you use?
We purchase carefully selected Eastern White Pine, graded to our specifications, directly from the mill.
The wood is kiln dried to 10% moisture in a multi-stage process designed to
provide greater stability.
Q: What about all the accessories?
Touch-Up kits as well as colour-coded trims and nails
are supplied at a very reasonable cost. The touch-up kits are required so
that your installer can protect the ends of the boards as the siding is
installed.
Q: What if I want to customize the wood species or the pattern or the trim?
We can accommodate just about any request. If you want cedar, for example (our standard species is pine), we’ll work with your local building supply store. They will supply the wood and we’ll simply charge a processing fee. The same applies for unusual trim items, fascia, soffits and other products. The result is a customized result for a very reasonable cost.
Q: I haven’t heard of this product or your company. Are they new?
We’re not new and neither is the product. It simply has not been available as a consumer product until now. GemThane® Siding was developed by Madison Chemical Industries Inc., which has been creating and marketing high performance coatings for various industrial markets since 1973. The GemThane® Division was formed in 1983 to target markets that require paint-like application methods, markets we refer to as “mission critical maintenance”. The GemThane® motto is “Where Paint Just Isn’t Good Enough”.
The two products used in the production of GemThane® Siding - ArborSeal and Cottage Coat - are simply variations of formulations that have been around for years, modified as appropriate to give the appearance expected in a consumer application such as siding.
Q: What about maintenance and cleaning?
Over the long term no product is totally
maintenance-free. However, your part is very simple: all you do on an annual
basis is inspect for damage and touch-up. Your GemThane® coating will resist
erosion for three to five times longer than traditional paint-based finish,
when required a light refresher coat can be applied. This requirement is not
because the coating will be “worn out” at that point. No matter how well
protected, wood will tend to shrink and crack over the years, so the
refresher coat seals these potential problem areas and, as well, restores
the original as-new appearance. You can apply this refresher coat yourself
or we can arrange for a contractor to do the work at a very reasonable cost.
Periodic washing is optional. GemThane® Siding does not absorb dirt, so it
is easier to clean than most siding products. The finish will withstand
repeated pressure washing.
Q: Does GemThane® Siding fade?
Paint-based siding systems will “fade away”; in other words, they will erode when exposed to the elements because the finish is simply latex paint. This will not happen with GemThane® Siding because our polymer, Cottage Coat, is more than 10 times more abrasion-resistant than paint and is totally waterproof.
In terms of colour and gloss retention, you can expect about the same result as you would get from an automotive finish under the same conditions. Visualize parking your car on the dock 24/7 and expect about the same longevity.
GemThane® Coating will resist fading and erosion for three to five times
longer than traditional paint-based finishes. Nothing else even comes close.
Q: If GemThane® Siding is so waterproof, how does it breathe?
The coatings used for GemThane® siding are classed as semi-permeable membranes. Water cannot readily penetrate but water vapour can pass through the film. Thus, the moisture content of your siding changes slowly with the seasons but it will not become saturated in wet weather nor parched during dry spells. The latex paints used on other sidings are quite porous, so dramatic swings in water content occur; this permits bacterial growth, makes the wood susceptible to freeze/thaw damage and encourages cracking and splintering.
Q: Can I buy the liquid product?
Yes you can. The top coat, namely Cottage Coat® is a two-part aliphatic polyurethane polymer (which sounds complicated), but it is supplied in a very user-friendly format that handles and applies very much like a high quality oil-based paint. You can use ordinary paint brushes and paint rollers or a sprayer if you prefer. If you are applying Cottage Coat® over an existing finish, the surface preparation is straight forward. First you power wash the surface, then you scrape off any loose paint and lightly sand the area to be coated. Then apply GemThane Cottage Coat® like paint. No primer is required. Specific instructions are supplied with each kit.
Q: Can I put GemThane® Siding over my old siding?
Yes you can, but check with your builder. In some cases, It might be better to remove the old siding before applying the GemThane® Siding System. Example, for vinyl siding, it is common practice to remove the vinyl product before installing GemThane® Siding.
Q: If I am re-coating an existing building with GemThane Cottage Coat®,
how long will it last and is there a warranty?
As a finished system, GemThane® Siding has a lifetime warranty. When GemThane Cottage Coat® (the topcoat used in the manufacture of GemThane® Siding) is applied on-site over an existing substrate, it is difficult to predict the exact life expectancy. However, we do guarantee that GemThane Cottage Coat® will last twice as long as the finish previously used by you or we will replace it.
Q: What is strapping and why is it necessary with other products but not GemThane® Siding?
Strapping involves applying strips of wood (typically 1” x 3” nominal) over your vapour barrier during construction so as to create an air space behind the siding when it is installed. The reason? Up until now, all wood siding has been porous on the back, making it susceptible to rot from trapped moisture. Much of the cost of strapping lies in building out window and door frames so that they project beyond the siding, which of course has been forced outward by virtue of the strapping beneath. Some of this cost can be avoided on new buildings by specifying extra thick door and window frames, but this incurs some degree of cost as well. All in all, strapping costs about 70 cents to a dollar per lineal foot.
GemThane® siding has a thick clear coat of polymer on the reverse side, in fact about twice as thick as the paint on your automobile. This polymer, named ArborSeal®, is completely impervious to water making it unnecessary to strap the building. The result is savings that more than offset the additional cost of the product itself.
Q: What if I’m strapping the building anyway?
As detailed above, the attractiveness of GemThane® Siding is enhanced because it is not necessary to strap the building. But what happens if your builder is strapping the building anyway? An example of this is some brands of concrete-filled foam wall forms (known as ICF construction) which require strapping in order to provide a nailable surface for the siding; some brands have a nailing strip built in, while others don’t. Another example is that a few communities across the country require strapping as part of the local municipal building code. In any case where the building is going to be strapped for some such reason, we offer the “Value Plus” version of GemThane® pre-finished siding. This alternative version has a thinner coating on the reverse side, thereby bringing the cost down so that, foot-for-foot, it costs about the same as ordinary paint-based sidings. The coating on the front of the siding is the same, whether you specify Value Plus or Performance Plus.
