Kent Mohler Exteriors (KME) of Kearney, MO has been involved in residential renovations for 34 years, concentrating primarily on siding and windows. For the past nine years the company has manufactured premium seamless metal siding using the NAMM Universal Siding Machine, manufactured by North American Machine Manufacturing Ltd. (NAMM) of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. KME’s signature panel is a modified vertical board and batten profile, which is widely accepted, though it also offers a number of other profiles, including 8” TruLog.
TruLog siding, available in either aluminum or steel, offers the look of real wood with the maintenance-free performance of metal. That appealed to the owner of a home located in Kearney, Missouri. On that project KME formed and installed 23 squares of TruLog siding, as well as soffit, fascia and window wraps. A crew of three worked for a total of 10 days to prep and side the house.
As part of the home’s renovation, the exterior was first covered with foil-backed insulation, followed by a preformed polystyrene foam backer to provide dent protection to the metal cladding. Installation of the siding was similar to other siding products, with each successive course interlocked into the nailing hem of the prior panel, and secured to the wall. Distortions along the wall are typically an issue when installing new exterior cladding. With TruLog, some distortion can actually help lend to the log look.
TruLog siding is manufactured at a rate up to 40 feet per minute. The siding machine readily accepts varying coil widths, depending on the profile desired. In this case, steel coil supplied by ABS (Advantage Building System) of Roberts, Wisconsin, was used. A 29-gauge steel product with an Akzo Nobel “Ceram-A-Star” coating in ‘Cedar’ was utilized. The siding was manufactured and cut to the exact length required, with no product waste.
Retooling the NAMM Universal Siding Machine to produce the TruLog profile takes about 30 minutes. The Tru Log tooling is a patented attachment designed and manufactured by R&B Siding of Loveland, Colorado, for use with the NAMM machine. It is used in conjunction with the adjustable features inherent to the machine, and allows the end user to offer an additional three profiles to the customer, along with the many siding profiles currently available. The forming action required to manufacture the log shape also provides the appearance of being hand shaped with a drawknife.
As the TruLog attachment is a new product offering, NAMM was interested in the feedback from both KME and its customer on the project. Kent Mohler said the ease with which the siding machine could be converted from one profile to another is a major benefit when working with customer requests, and allows KME to individualize a project easily. As part of the marketing efforts of KME, an open house and BBQ took place in June to showcase the completed project. Nearly 40 prospects attended, and in the words of one, “this siding, with the hand hewn look, is the closest to real log I’ve ever seen”
For more information about the NAMM Universal Siding Machine, contact the company at (306) 242-8456, email knelson@namm.ca, or visit www.namm.ca.