L-P Starts Over With Smart Siding

Louisiana-Pacific’s new SmartStart siding line, available in lap siding and 4’-wide (1.2 m) panels, is the result of an ongoing evolution from the ill-fated Inner-Seal siding. It’s still oriented-strand board (OSB), but both the process and the composition have changed. These positive changes reflect the widespread transformation that appears to have taken hold at L-P since the management team that had controlled the company for decades was forced out in 1995.

To improve the OSB siding, the company examined its procedures and quality control throughout the manufacturing process. Much more uniform wood strands are being produced from aspen logs at its four siding factories, all in the Upper Midwest. (L-P is now planning a new facility in the southeast that will use southern yellow pine.) In place of the phenol-formaldehyde binder that was used with Inner-Seal siding, the new SmartLap and SmartPanel siding products are made using polyurethane (MDI) binder. According to the company, the MDI binder is more resistant to moisture and swelling. MDI is more hazardous than other common binders at the manufacturing stage, however.