LP^® SmartGuard^® Process: How It's Made

With long-lasting durability and natural good looks, LP^® SmartSide^® products, including trim and siding, are an ideal choice for sheds because they incorporate our SmartGuard Treated Wood Strand Technology. LP^® ProStruct^® flooring is also constructed using this technology. Let’s take a step-by-step look at how these innovative materials are manufactured by Louisiana-Pacific (LP).

How It’s Made

1. LP products begin with wood obtained through processes certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). This helps ensure that our wood comes from sources that are sustainably managed on an ongoing basis.
2. After the logs arrive on-site at the LP plant, they are conditioned so that the bark can be removed. Each log is cut into precisely shaped strands of wood. Bark and wood by-products are used as fuel to heat the plant or are resold.
3. Special ingredients added during the next steps in the process play a crucial role in giving our engineered wood siding its strength, performance and protection. Each strand of wood is treated to the core with an advanced formula of adhesive resins and zinc borate. Zinc borate has long been recognized as a safe, effective wood preservative for engineered wood siding.
4. The cellulosic fibers of the wood are combined with a resin-saturated, water-resistant overlay.
5. The fibers and overlay are compressed under very high pressure and heat and embossed with a cedar-grain pattern. The result is a beautiful, durable, ready to paint chemically bonded substrate that resists decay and insect damage.
6. Sheets are then trimmed, cut to size and primed.

The SmartGuard process is the reason LP is able to offer a 5/50 limited warranty* unlike any other in the industry. See the LP manufacturing process for yourself!