T+G Species ID Assistance Request

[techbiker]

Thank you for all of your help with my floor wood ID request topic.

I have been working to re-seat the tongue and groove soffit boards that are falling out on my 1913 bungalow in the Denison, TX area. One board had been hanging out at an angle for so long it developed a severe warp. I decided it made sense to pull the board to determine a course of action. Not sure I can cure the warp completely so I am looking at replacement options. Please see attached pictures of the back side of this T+G board. The lighter area was covered while the darker area was exposed to the interior of my attic for 105 years. The board appears to me to be a good grade of pine but is this sap wood or heart wood? Old growth or new growth?

Thank you again!

[Tom King]

New growth.   Whether sapwood, or heartwood is a little hard to tell, and doesn't really matter for a soffit, or ceiling.  Even the lighter grain of Yellow Pine will darken with age, and the heartwood gets lighter as you get higher up the log.  For a soffit, or ceiling, and to be painted, I wouldn't even worry about sticking with the same type of wood.  Cypress, or Poplar would work fine, and hold paint better. 

Yellow Pine is kiln dried so fast these days, that there is a tremendous amount of stress in most of it, so high possibility of it moving later.  

You might be able to pull those back up with face screws.

[techbiker]

7 hours ago, Tom King said:

New growth.   Whether sapwood, or heartwood is a little hard to tell, and doesn't really matter for a soffit, or ceiling.  Even the lighter grain of Yellow Pine will darken with age, and the heartwood gets lighter as you get higher up the log.  For a soffit, or ceiling, and to be painted, I wouldn't even worry about sticking with the same type of wood.  Cypress, or Poplar would work fine, and hold paint better. 

Yellow Pine is kiln dried so fast these days, that there is a tremendous amount of stress in most of it, so high possibility of it moving later.  

You might be able to pull those back up with face screws.

Thank you very much. Would western red cedar work for this application too? I will see what high quality, rot resistant wood is available locally (will look for poplar or cypress). I will also try to pull the other boards back up with face screws and unwarp this one. While the dimensions appear to match standard 1x4 T+G, the bevel on the tongue side is definitely smaller than anything I can find online. Will plan to hand sand the bevels on any replacements. 

Do you think it worth securing other loose soffit boards with SS trim screws to keep this from happening in the future? A good condition 1x4 nailer board runs along the edge of the soffit above the T+G. 

I'm also debating whether it's worth removing the old failing caulk from the boards now. Most of it pulls out incredibly easily. Should the seams between these soffit T+G boards be caulked? Since the attic is unvented, I'm wondering if the home originally relied on the gaps between the T+G boards for some ventilation. 

Thanks again

[Tom King]

If they are loose, screws should help.  I'd pull all the caulking out, and leave it out.