Repairing cracked wood siding

[jpdx]

I have an old house with beveled cedar siding. Quite a few pieces have horizontal cracks that need repair, usually at the ends of the board (the worst offenders will be replaced with new cedar). What is the best material to make the repair?

Caulk? This aught to allow the most expansion and contraction, but might not be the prettiest.
Ext wood glue? This sounds a strong repair, assuming I can nail or somehow clamp the board while it dries.
Wood filler? Something like MH Ready Patch would sand smooth and hide the best, but will it just crack again?

[lthenderson]

I would fill with a good quality exterior acrylic latex caulk and repaint. Wood filler just doesn't do very well in situations where large amounts of expansion and contraction occur such as in exterior siding. A waterproof wood glue might repair the split but you have several issues with the application. How do you work it into the joint completely so that it seals all along the split and wood glue needs pressure applied and you can't really do that with siding already in place. Finally, if the glue doesn't fill the cavity of the split all the way to the exterior surface, it will leave a place for water to collect and future rot to occur.

I don't find caulking to be a permanent fix though either. It does pretty well when hidden from direct exposure to the elements. Painting helps but painting also cracks on flexible surfaces. When I do caulking repairs like that, I put it on my mental list to check every few years and do touch-up work as needed until a permanent fix of replacing that area of the board is done.

[Fishindude]

Is this painted cedar siding?

I have painted cedar sif=ding on my home and it requires repainting about every 7-8 years or so.   When I repaint, we always clean and prep it real good, then keep a caulking gun of latex caulk on hand the whole time while painting, to fill any cracks like mentioned as we go, then paint right over everything.

If stained or sealed siding with a natural wood finish, I'd probably use a brown or tan latex caulk to match color as close as I could.

Cedar siding just requires routine upkeep, but it looks so nice it's worth it.

[jpdx]

Yep, it's painted siding.

I usually use Quad Max caulk for exterior work. It's difficult to work with but performs really well outside. However, I'm not sure Quad is the right choice for these horizontal cracks. You guys mentioned exterior acrylic latex caulk -- would that be a better option?

[Fishindude]

You guys mentioned exterior acrylic latex caulk -- would that be a better option?

I don't know that it's any better than the Quad Max you mention, but it works and it's cheap.

[lthenderson]

Yep, it's painted siding.

I usually use Quad Max caulk for exterior work. It's difficult to work with but performs really well outside. However, I'm not sure Quad is the right choice for these horizontal cracks. You guys mentioned exterior acrylic latex caulk -- would that be a better option?

The Quad Max should work just fine as long as you get the paintable kind.