Gypress carves out its own distinctive niches

D UILDERS, architects and homeowners increasingly are Llselecting cypress for a host of interior and exterior applications, including siding, flooring, paneling, mouldings and window panes.

"Cypress is an extraordinary wood," says Lyman Shipley, vice president of marketing services, Coastal Lumber Co., Weldon, N.C. "It machines very, very well. Really, it just can't be beat, especially for millwork."

Cypress also has fewer knots and knotholes than western red cedar. "You can achieve a smooth, even finish with cypress," explains Wayne Graham, cypress sales representative for Georgia-Pacific, Atlanta, Ga. "Cedar, meanwhile, can sometimes be a little rough. Cypress takes paints and stains extremely well."

Consistent color is another hallmark of southern cypress. Its almost uniformly sandy color varies little from sapwood to heartwood. The almost neutral color is another reason why it finishes so well. Indeed, cypress is unparalleled in how evenly it finishes.

Cypress is available in such a large selection of lengths and patterns that it has come to be viewed as a "custom" lumber. And because cypress is graded according to National Hardwood Lumber Association standards, lumber quality is consistent.

As a southeastern wood available at a stable price, cypress can offer building material users east of the Mississippi River a distinct cost advantage over western products.

Perhaps what is most appealing about cypress is its heritage. An extremely durable wood that has charmed artisans and craftsmen as far back as Ancient Egypt, cypress has a history that strikes a chord with traditional American tastes.

Cypress can offer building material users east of the Mississippi

River a distinct cost advantage over western products.

Cypress's physical characteristics, workability and color consistency, combine to distinguish it from another popular softwood: western red cedar. And cypress's availability in the eastern half of the U.S. makes it especially attractive to builders, architects and homeowners in that part of the country.

Used in the past for such rustic and demanding applications as the constuction of water towers, cypress reportedly is both harder and denser than western red cedar. These advantages give cypress excellent machining and finishing characteristics.

"Cypress has been around such a long time, and has such a great reputation for durability, that the very name 'cypress' evokes quality," says George Riley of Williams Lumber Co., Rocky Mount, N.C. "It has definite name recognition."

- For more information on cypness, contact the Southem Cypress Manufacturers Association, 400 Penn Center Blvd., Suite 530, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15235, or call (412) 829-0770.