Poplar bark siding

[NC4TN]

Recently while working in Spruce Pine, NC, I saw a business called Highland Craftsmen, which purports to process and sell tulip poplar bark for shingle siding. Anybody on this forum know anything about the process?

As a child, I remember several old homes that were covered with bark siding, but I really had forgotten about them until I saw this place the other day.

I was wondering if anybody on this forum has any hands-on experience gathering this bark and what is the process that the buyers want?

Any info greatly appreciated.

 

[willt1981]

i sold some bark about 3-4 years ago. you need to see the buyer for specs on what needs cut. its about too late in the year to bark trees and with our recent lack of rain its getting harder. when i sold some it was 1.50 per square foot. if you have a 3' diameter tree this adds up fast - sometimes more money then the timber. when i cut they wanted pieces 18" or 24" long and whatever the diameter was. there could be no dirt on the bark which means you have to bark it where it falls. hope this helps.

 

[cuznguido]

You pretty much have to harvest the bark in spring or early summer when the sap is up real good. You cut it to length and press it flat until it drys and then it will retain the flat shape. There is not as much of it around as there used to be but about a year or so ago on the DIY Channel they built a cabin in NC (I think) that they called "Blog Cabin". Look that up and check it out. They used some of the poplar bark for siding the gables if I remember correctly.