The quality and distinctive look of a home's exterior has become a key focus among buyers as well as builders and remodelers looking to offer new features, benefits and durability to their customers. At the same time, homeowners and homebuyers are demanding low-maintenance from their new homes and remodels.

Take the classic look of painted, half-inch x 6-in. vertical grain Western red cedar clapboard. For 200 years it has set the standard for what exterior siding should look like. But it's a high-maintenance product that requires cleaning, refinishing and even repair and replacement if not consistently maintained.

While many of the durability problems have been solved by cedar siding imitators, the classic look of cedar clapboard that consumers love has been severely compromised. Vinyl siding, planks made from fiber cement and others may last, but they forsake the classic, beveled profile and myriad color choices that well-finished beveled Western red cedar has provided for the last two centuries.

Until now.

Introducing Classic Clapboard siding from NuCedar Mills (www.NuCedar.com). It's the first clapboard siding milled from solid boards of cellular PVC, the incredible material used to make low-maintenance trim, rake, cornerboard and moulding. Because NuCedar's Classic Clapboard is milled like beveled cedar, the siding matches the profile of the finest vertical-grain Western red cedar.

"Our proprietary MicroMilling Technology employs special cutters, milling and shaping machines, allowing us to precisely machine cellular PVC siding for the first time," said Tom Loper, President and CEO of NuCedar Mills. "It's the milling process that makes our siding look so much like beveled Western red cedar, but without the maintenance or repair worries." Because the milling process creates an interlocking matrix at the top and bottom of each clapboard, the siding is easier and faster to install, with extraordinary wind and weather resistance compared to other siding products. A nailing hem at the top of each clapboard allows for easy installation while hiding the fasteners.

Available in 4", 6" and 8" exposures and Smooth and CedarGrain surface textures, NuCedar's Classic Clapboard is coated in Polane® polyurethane from Sherwin-Williams. This factory applied, baked-on finish is available in 22 standard colors and 1,400 custom colors that match Sherwin-Williams' Duration paint line. The vast range of color choices and satin finish make NuCedar ideal for remodels where new siding must match original work.

"Polane, which is used on high-performance aircraft and military vehicles, is the most durable finish we could find," Loper said. "Our application process gives our siding a finish that is warranted against chipping, peeling and cracking for fifteen years." Classic Clapboard is also backed by a limited lifetime warranty against rotting, cracking, delaminating or damage by hail or insects.

Accompanying this revolutionary new siding are components that make for a complete siding system. For example, Classic Clapboard fits precisely into milled areas behind trimboard to allow for expansion and contraction while offering the authentic look of butted joinery. Other components include cellular PVC moulding profiles, beadboard and cornerboard. Best of all, virtually anything that has been made from wood can now be milled from cellular PVC stock and factory-finished with our complete line of Polane coordinated colors.

"This is the only siding system out there that combines the classic beauty of beveled cedar, the strength of cellular PVC and the ageless durability of a coating that has no compromise," Loper said.