What is Hardboard Siding?
To begin with, Masonite is a manufacturer not the product. Hardboard siding is made by many manufactures although Masonite is the leading and most recognizable manufacturer. Hardboard siding is made from wood fiber, wax and resins and is made in both lap (board) and panel (sheet) applications with external textures designed to look like lumber siding. The different companies make hardboard in roughly the same way. Hardwood chips are heated with steam and hot water and then passed through two rotating discs to create the fiber that is eventually pressed into board stock. During this process an interested thing happens. When the wood fibers that were sheared apart are hot-pressed into boards, lignin normally found in wood cells begins to flow. In a sense the wood fibers are coated by their own lignin. Lignin is a naturally occurring “adhesive” that holds wood together. Brown rot fungus does not attack lignin. And many scientists believe that it is this fact that causes hardboard to be a
