You love reclaimed wood and are going to side your home with it.  You are interested in a wedgelap siding configuration.  Should you have a rabbet added to your antique wood wedgelap siding?

The above left drawing illustrates a wedgelap siding configuration.  The above right photo shows an installed barnwood wedgelap siding with an added rabbet.  What are the advantages and disadvantages of adding the rabbet to the wedgelap?  

The main disadvantage of adding a rabbet to antique wood wedgelap siding is cost.  Producing a wedgelap with rabbet is quite a bit more complicated than producing a straight wedgelap siding and is, therefore, more expensive.  

Advantages of the wedgelap with rabbet likely include (we say likely because Trestlewood does not get involved in the installation of its products and is not an installation expert):

1. Easier Installation - slide one edge into the slot created by the rabbet and the spacing becomes largely automatic.

2. Somewhat Wider Faces - the amount of difference would depend on the details (including the amount by which the wedgelap boards are overlapped,) but the amount of coverage per board would generally be greater for the wedgelap with rabbet.

3. Better Long Term Performance - the wedgelap with rabbet sits flatter on the wall than the wedgelap.  Our guess would be that this would tend to reduce the amount of cupping and/or splitting over time (especially with wide boards.)

Of course, personal taste also comes into play when deciding between a wedgelap siding and a wedgelap with rabbet siding - i.e., which look do you like the best?