Carolina Siding: Natural Edge Rustic Siding

Carolina Siding is pretty popular around here for rustic, cabin style houses. It might be the least expensive way to cover the outside of a house. Local lumberyards have a stack of it and will sell it pretty cheap. What is Carolina Siding and where can you buy it?

This siding is called a lot of things. Carolina Siding, Waney Edge, Wavy Edge, Live Edge, Skirl Siding, Live Edge Clapboard… it all means the same sort of thing.

The cabin above uses the first cuts from the logs for the gable ends.

Waney Edge might be the oldest word for this type of wood. Merriam-Webster dictionary says;

waney adjective

of sawed timber : cut so near the outside of the log that there is no square edge

[Middle English, defect, from Old English wana; akin to Old English wan deficient] : a defect in lumber characterized by bark or a lack of wood at a corner or edge

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

This cabin in Scotland has Waney Edge boards as the siding.

Waney Edge lumber has been used for siding or cladding for a long time. You can see preserved cabins hundreds of years old with the visible edge showing the outside of the tree.

Cabins in Prince William Forest Park, Virginia have dark stained live edge siding.

This National Park cabin has vertical rough edge siding on the bottom with horizontal lap rustic edge siding above.

This National Park cabin has lap Rustic Edge siding above rock work.

This rustic cabin has lapped rough sawn rustic siding.

The Visitor Center at Ohiopyle State Park in Pennsylvania has Waney Edge siding and trim.

Live edge rough cut lumber can be used indoors, as well, for a very rustic look.

The boards attached to the wall have both sides covered. The double waney edge boards over them have both sides showing.

You can find waney edge cut wood in a lot of variations.

• Single waney edge is straight on one side, rough on the other.
• Double waney edge siding has two waney edges.

Some waney edge siding is very, very uneven, showing where branches came off the tree. Some still has the bark on it. Other wavey edge planks are just slightly off even on the side, not cut to a straight line, just left natural.

Carolina Siding is usually made by just running the tree through the mill just as it comes in. The branches are cut off for transportation, then lumber is cut directly from the logs at the sawmill.

It is often sold green or wet, instead of air-dried. But you can find it air dried or you can stack and store it on your land until it’s drier.

Carolina siding is usually pine because it is inexpensive. You can also find waney edge siding cut from larch, cedar, oak or elm.

You can have your own trees cut and milled into natural siding. Local sawmills are advertising that they will cut your trees toppled by Hurricane Helene into lumber for you.

You can find local sawmills on Facebook Marketplace. You can find salvaged live edge siding there, too.

This guy has a portable sawmill he can mill your trees on your land for $110 an hour. He has all of tools, log hooks, chainsaws and chains and a skid loader if you need it.

Usually Carolina siding is put on horizontally, lapped, like clapboard. They leave the natural edge visible at the bottom of each board for a rustic look.

Sometimes people buy rough sawn because it is cheaper and put the straight edge out, with the curvy edge hidden under the board above it. It doesn’t look any different than any other siding that way.

It is often installed over battens, with one nail per batten. Battens are vertical wood installed to give the siding something to attach to.

Natural edge siding can be used vertically, too. One way is to overlap it it, with the natural edge visible on both sides of the outside board.

You can finish live edge siding with translucent stain, semi-transparent or solid stain. Solid stain will make the siding last longest.

Featured Image
Rustic Live Edge Siding from Alto, GA on Facebook Marketplace
Rough Cut Lumber from Casar, NC on Facebook Marketplace