Regarding white pine clapboards versus vinyl siding on the University of Southern Maine’s 1821 Greek Revival building in Gorham:

Go ahead and use white pine. It looks much better, and if it’s stained instead of painted, it will not have to be repainted every five years.

I replaced original siding on our 1817 house with stained white pine clapboards 15 years ago and note that it still looks good. There’s been no peeling at all.

Also, in your Aug. 4 article (“USM heeds pleas for pine siding, not vinyl, on 193-year-old art gallery”), a USM official is summarized as stating that the white pine available today “will not last as long as the 19th-century version.”

I believe that the white pine today is every bit as durable as what was available 200 years ago. Ask Hancock Lumber of Casco, where Maine trees are milled into fine clapboards that can be stained.

Bill Ambrose

North Yarmouth


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