Not long after ENT Fort Worth at Clearfork was completed, its distinctive reclaimed Brazilian hardwood sections showed strain. Despite successful installations elsewhere across the country, the first six months of North Texas weather exacted a toll. Tight seams separated, and the wood discolored and warped, popping nails, and tilting and twisting out of its frame. That was before. Before, that is, the neighbors at Acme Brick suggested MAC Metal Architectural as a redeeming replacement solution.

MAC Metal offers the remarkable option of a wood appearance without the continual wood maintenance. Six different grain patterns and three different wood tones in each box ensure a variegated, natural look. Installers randomize the pattern, working with 12-foot long panels that have a 6 1/16” lap exposure. Fasteners are concealed, and the Harrywood profile can be installed horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Its 25-year fade warranty and 40-year product warranty rest on a PVDF paint system that includes a zinc primer, two paint primer coats, and three top coats on the exposed face.

Price is certainly a fair question. MAC Metal does have a higher material cost than wood, but then wood also requires trim, stain, paint/coatings, and labor to install. And with wood, the initial cost is only the beginning. A wood exterior requires regular maintenance, which gives MAC Metal a clear cost advantage over the span of a building‘s life cycle.