Product Options makes your fit and customization finish easy. Choose your thickness, height, and finish options. If you need this product laminated for your specific application, we can do that too!
Options in product height allow your creativity to shine whether an exterior or interior application. Unless you are working with an historical application, where an 11” shingle exposure is preferred, the choice of height is simply for aesthetics in design. Widths for all of these Heights are random and range from 6” minimum to 48” maximum.
13”
18”
26”
Custom (additional fee)
Your application will most often determine the thickness you order. Standard and Premium Grades are rated for exterior application. The choice between them is in large aesthetic. However, if you have a commercial application in a hot parking lot, you may want to use the thicker, Premium Grade shingle. Interior grade is only for interior applications. There is a slight range in the thickness because this is a natural material with unique characteristics. Bark House quality manufacturing groups the shingle thicknesses for several important reasons. Installation is quicker, saving you money. A very thick shingle next to a very thin shingle encourages water penetration and can shorten the life of your product. The power of Bark House shingles is in the quality details that we’ve already considered and addressed.
Standard Grade: Thickness of 9/16” minimum to 7/8” maximum
Premium Grade: Thickness of 15/16” minimum to 1 1/2” maximum
Interior Grade: Thickness of 3/8” minimum to 1/2” maximum
Bark House® Poplar Shingles and Tiles can be laminated to any substrate of your preference. A veneer backer may be required. Lamination of this product will not hide the seams and the natural grain of the bark will be oriented to the measurement that you give us for the HEIGHT. This is a customization option that may require speaking with our staff expert.
Natural (no substrate)
Interior Grade ½” MDF (additional fee)
For a very distinctive aesthetic, we offer the option to hand-chop the bottom edge of the shingle using broad hatchets. This gives the shingle 19th Century period character.
Square Edges
Hand-chopped (additional fee)
We can sand the face of your poplar bark shingles and tiles for interior application to reveal the swirling grain below the surface and offer a more consistent surface without the varied natural “peaks” of the product.
Natural (peaks and ridges)
Sanded (additional fee)
Some clients prefer to add a clear finish to their product. On a sanded tile, this helps the grain stand out more. Paint treatments add even more drama and customization options.
Natural (unfinished)
Flat 2K Poly (additional fee)
Lacquered (additional fee)
Bark House Standard Finish: Tobacco Brown (additional fee)
Bark House Standard Finish: Antique White (additional fee)
Bark House Standard Finish: Gilded White (additional fee)
Bark House Standard Finish: Night Forest (additional fee)
Custom Stain or Paint (additional fee)
Each project is different, but the calculations are easy if you follow our step by step instructions: How many square feet of shingles do I need?
Small orders may be shipped as a parcel, but most of our products will ship via LTL freight.
In order for us to get an accurate freight quote, we will need the answers to the following questions:
If at any time in this process you need to contact us, please do so by calling (828) 765-9010 or email us at [email protected].
If you’re ready to order, call us today!
Luxury wood shingle siding that is harvested with environmentally friendly practices and attention to timing, using methods created exclusively at Bark House® – this tulip poplar wood paneling is a reclaimed waste product of the logging industry. The Bark House® 5-point quality control protocol ensures precision in manufacturing. Application techniques should be followed precisely.
Naturally elegant, standard-grade bark shingles are the flagship of our exterior siding options. You may also choose the thicker, premium grade to obtain course deep furrows and a more pronounced shadow line. Interior grade wood shingle siding provides the perfect natural texture for indoor spaces.
Bark House® Poplar Bark Siding adorns and protects the finest homes, lodges, and commercial buildings across every region of the United States and Internationally. Maintenance-free and sustainably manufactured, no other eco-friendly siding product comes close to the stunning beauty and richness of our designer shingles. As an interior wall covering, the rich 3D texture of this poplar bark siding is only matched by its acoustic and insulation values. There is no substitute for nature’s beauty in a living space.
Poplar Bark Wall Tiles are the world’s first and only product to have achieved a Cradle to Cradle® Platinum Level Certification (2017-2018) Gold (2007 – 2017). The certification is wholistic and rigorous in scope with third party verification of: material health, material reutilization, renewable energy and carbon management, water stewardship, and social fairness.
100% sourced and made in the US. Bark House® invests over 50% of its income directly back into our local Appalachian economy. See what makes us Authentically good…
*Important Note about Single Surface Lamination* Any substrate that has a bark veneer or 3D wood attachment has the capacity to warp or cup. We do not recommend that panels “float” as in cabinet door applications without an additional back side lamination to balance it out. This may be achieved by laminating our bark treatment to both sides or by laminating a separate finish wood veneer.
There is no concern with single surface lamination when panels are affixed to studs or wall surfaces per our installation guide.
May qualify for LEED points based on locally or regionally sourced product
Recycling Centers are available in every county in each state across the country. We’ll help you to identify the closest Recycling Center in your area that has Demolition and Construction Recycling Infrastructure. This decreases general landfill waste and improves the environment.
Simply mulch untreated BARK HOUSE® POPLAR PRODUCTS and allow them to add biological nutrients back in the soil.
Bark House Poplar Bark Siding and Wall Tiles are manufactured from the peeled bark of Tulip Poplar Trees (Liriodendron tulipifera). The bark, which is historically a waste product in lumber operations, is harvested to become siding and wall tiles before the logs reach the mill. The bark is squared, kiln dried, and the quality is checked to ensure a top-shelf siding product.
Poplar bark is the perfect material for every design style. The muted tones juxtapose in commercial environments to add a natural element; they blend with natural hues in a home environment; and they add a focal point to bring multitude of surfaces into context.
The harvest and manufacturing of bark siding is seasonal. Therefore it is important that you contact our sales team and communicate your plan to use bark siding or interior wall tiles. It is possible that the product will sell out, in a given year. We will notify you if we begin to see inventory levels drop so you can meet your project timeline. Take a look at the bark harvesting process.
On an exterior application, the product can last over 80 years, maintenance free.
Because Bark House created the manufacturing process for bark shingles only thirty years ago, you may wonder on what evidence an eighty-year estimate is based. Historic Chestnut bark shingles have lasted well over a hundred years. A newer version, the poplar bark shingle was used historically as well. Not manufactured to today’s strict Bark House specifications, company co-founders identified five local residences with poplar shingles before we began our manufacturing process. That siding lasted in excess of 80-years in a harsh four-season environment.
The production of bark shingles has a limited annual harvest season. We manage these limitations when clients inform us about their project plans. Once seasonal production begins, we rapidly process pre-orders. It is not, however, unusual that we will sell out of product at the end of the year, just before our harvest season begins anew. Share your timelines with us and we can advise you about securing product for your project.
The best way to explain is to show you! Click to watch the Installation Video, or, if you prefer, click to read the Installation Guide.
If you have further questions, please reach out to Bark House for individual technical support.
We don’t consider rain screens necessary because of the design of the installed shingles. The purpose of the screen is to ventilate between the substrate and the siding to mitigate moisture build-up that can occur with siding types nailed flat to the wall. Because the shingles and its felt backing are layered at an angle up the wall, there is already a space created between them and the substrate. Further, the shingles are convoluted on the face so this creates pockets of airflow at the lap line. A rain screen is actually an aspect of the natural design.
When installing any wall covering, you must account for waste factors. Here is our guide specifically for calculating how much poplar bark shingles that you will need: How many square feet of shingles do I need?
Bark House poplar shingle siding is a maintenance free product. When installed correctly, they will never need attention again.
Bark is a porous material like wood. Like the differing patterns of wood grain, the porosity of bark occurs in differencing degrees and in differing patterns. When finishes are applied to the material, the inherent color underneath will be amplified, and the degree of saturation in each area across the face of the bark will vary. Therefore, the finish on your Bark House sample (a unique piece) is not guaranteed to match 100% to the finish on your larger bark wall covering (of which no two are exactly alike). Our finished samples and wall coverings are sprayed consistently over the face of the material. If your project requires exact matches, then we will educate your finish expert about the nature of the material they are working with. Your professional finisher should work with you onsite for a perfect match. If your project has an allowance for slight variations then, our finishers are highly experienced and glad to be of service.
Our craftsmen create this look of antiquity by using broad hatchets to chop the bottom edge of the shingle. This gives the appearance of how 19th century woodsmen cut the bark to height.
Interior wall tiles can be dusted or vacuumed like any other wall covering, but be careful with the mosses and lichens!
Because it is a natural product, poplar bark shingles will develop natural aging qualities over time. Please see our page about the natural aging of bark.
Poplar Bark shingles are very insect resistant. This link will explain how: White Paper: Insect Resistance
Bark House Poplar Shingles are shipped securely banded on pallets. It is important to keep the shingles under pressure while being stored. When stored without pressure, the bark may naturally attempt to warp. If you do not plan to immediately install the shingles, store the shingles in a protected environment and do not clip the tension bands.
Our shingles are available in interior, standard, and premium grades. Grades are a function of thickness. They are either thin, medium or thick. For exterior applications, only Standard and Premium grades should be considered. Shingles are available in 13”, 18”, and 26” heights. The widths of our shingles – all heights- will range from 6” to 48”.
If your project requires larger sizes than our shingle offerings, consider using our poplar bark panels.
The only difference between Standard and Premium Grade Shingles is the thickness of the bark. Standard Grade will range from 9/16″-7/8″, while Premium Grade will range from 15/16″-1 1/2″. There is no significant difference in shingle performance, but the Premium Grade offers deeper ridges in the bark texture. It simply becomes a character and aesthetic preference.
Yes! We have 6″ x 6″ sample tiles that you can easily order via our website page, Sample Kits. Bark House samples are not discards, cut-offs, or scrap. They are hand-crafted just like full-sized products. The RAW™ (Reclaimed Appalachian Wood Waste) material we procure is not a commodity. When you feel the raw material of these products, we know that you are going to love the texture. No other wall covering compares!
One of the greatest benefits for using Bark House Shingles is the cost savings from not having to paint or stain. Our shingles are comparably priced to other premium wood sidings that also have to be painted or stained. Given that this painted or stained wood needs to be re-coated every three to five years at a current range of $2 to $5 per square foot depending on the wood’s condition, just your maintenance costs alone can exceed the cost of our shingles in just 10 years.
Our bark grading process ensures that thicknesses are consistent and perfectly square. These measures allow for rapid on-site installation which save you time and money.
With Bark House Shingles, put them up and forget the maintenance for good! Read how beautifully our shingles age over time: The Natural Aging of Bark Shingles
Why not cover your home with what Mother Nature covers her trees? It’s so logical to use our bark shingles to protect your home given that is a natural UV, fire, water, and insect resistant covering for the wood underneath. Fire-resistant capability data is available by request.
Rest assured that over time your investment remains solid. There are old poplar bark-sided structures we visit and monitor that are still going after 80 years! On top of that, none of those old shingles would pass our stringent grading and processing procedures today made necessary with modern building code standards.
Our Poplar Bark Shingles require no maintenance over the life of the product. The natural toughness of the bark makes it a great economical siding option for your building. By removing the need for regular maintenance, installing poplar bark shingles saves you time and money over the lifetime of your structure.
Most of our distributors do offer trade discounts. We are also able to offer a discount on Poplar Bark Shingle orders over 1000 square feet.
Bark Shingles are shipped in the most economical way possible for the size of your order. Most shipments will be done via Less Than Truckload (LTL) freight, and the cost will depend on your order size and shipping location. We are happy to provide you with a quote.
Our minimum order is 24 square feet, regardless of Grade or Height. If you are looking for very small quantities, we do have 6″ x 6″ sample tiles that you can easily order via our sample page, Sample Kits.
Once you install Bark House Poplar Shingles on your building, you can expect the bark to take on characteristics of your environment. The sun, wind, and rain will allow the bark to become uniquely yours. To learn more about the aging of poplar bark shingles, see this link: The Natural Aging of Bark House® Shingles
We work with architects and designers all over the globe to create unique product applications that have contributed to award winning designs. We welcome the opportunity to do so with you.
Product Options makes your fit and customization finish unique. As you scroll down on our Bark House® Bark Shingle page you will get to choose your thickness, height, and multiple finish options. If you need this product laminated to a substrate for your specific application, we can do that too!
Chicago childcare center required shingles that were laminated to 1/4″ Hardie backer board.
Options in product height allows your creativity to shine whether an exterior or interior application. Unless you are working with an historical application where a specific shingle exposure is preferred, the choice of height is simply for aesthetics in design.
Projects with Bark House products have been featured in over 250 well-positioned media outlets. We want to celebrate the completion of your unique project. Share your project with us!
“When a practitioner of Regenerative Development works in a project or community, the result should be increasing ableness for that community. People should become better able to evolve and pursue the aspirations they hold for healthy and meaningful lives. Water and air should be increasingly able to maintain their quality, and forests to support enlarged diversity of life. These are the indicators that real value has been delivered to stakeholders.” www.Regenerat.es
Podcast with The Carol Sanford Institute: Regenerative Work
The single skilled craftsman encompassed the earliest form of making products. Training was personal and the tradesmen took pride in their work and the benefits it produced. A post-industrial world saw the use of machinery, increased scale and a trend toward practices that were Extractive to people and planet. Recognizing a need for change and making a choice to do better, manufacturers improved their processes and identified themselves as “GREEN companies”. With an aim to do “less bad”, and quantify what better should look like with agreed measurements, companies were certified through third-party groups as SUSTAINABLE. Companies with a REGENERATIVE aim were either founded with this mission, or made conscious choices to work to create new and fitting potential for the places they operate and the sectors they disrupt. Regenerative design opens a new level of exploration. It begins a process of wholistic, collaborative development. This occurs in tandem with the natural world and the inhabitants of the places they work.
“What if consumers became healers of the world?” – Chris McCurry speaks on environmental issues at the Leadership NC Conference in Asheville.
We offer a thirty-year track record with over 250 well placed publications sharing our regenerative philosophy that is now and has always been the core-business for this company. The co-founders designed the original products and processes, inspired by nature. The products you purchase reach their highest achievement when supporting your regenerative projects. Read more about the benefits below. Feel free to contact us at [email protected] to ask questions or share your project details with us.
Where is the wood sourced?
Bark House sources only Reclaimed Appalachian Wood Waste, (RAW™) from small 10-acre tracts owned and stewarded by local families over generations.
The Bark House manufacturing facility is located within the five states across the Appalachian region in which our raw materials are sourced. The co-founders were born here and understanding “Appalachia” as a place has been their life’s work. Because this is our neighborhood, we take our impacts very personally. The proximity means that our neighbors can let us know what we’re doing well and where we need to improve. The benefits we are most proud of is helping to keep family farms intact and providing right-fit, nature-based jobs in this economically distressed area. The legacy of US Forestry practices began in our back yard. We aim to honor the philosophy of those practices by exceeding them.
Whether select (most often) or clear-cutting, smaller tracts sparsely spaced throughout many Appalachian states means that the impact of harvesting is less disruptive to the living eco-system. Loggers provide materials from forty-five counties across five Appalachian states.
Smaller 2-3 person crews with lighter equipment disturbs the soil less, so regrowth occurs faster. Carefully felling and removing trees and following Forestry Best Management Practices protects the trees from scarring and invaders. These practices are less disruptive to the living eco-system.
You can read about all our engagements over thirty years in real-time accounts published in the EmBark Blog and over 250 acclaimed publications. Right now, we are working to support a Regenerative Source Guild of the Blue Ridge.
Solar panels replace our electricity as one important component in the total carbon equation to manufacture a low carbon product.
High efficiency kilns designed by co-founder Marty McCurry exclusively for the complex process of drying bark are the first and only kilns of their kind. They received the NC Governor’s Green Innovation Award and are one important component in the total carbon equation to manufacture a low carbon product.
Bark House veneer wall coverings may qualify for LEED points based on locally or regionally sourced product.
At a minimum, 50% of annual company income is invested directly in to the local community. As a comparison, big box stores invest 12% in the local communities where they operate. Products are 100% sourced and made in the Appalachians. We purchase wood-waste products from land owners that are not acceptable in the standardized industry because of figure, curl or massive size. Employees are paid a living wage as a starting point. Importantly, a new income stream for this economically challenged area means that family farms can remain intact.
Bark House supports cultural diversity, equity and inclusion. These attributes can be traced in Appalachian culture before European settlement began and as it occurred. Cultural diversity is inspired by the region’s vast bio-diversity of flora and fauna. One thing this culture of independent people agree on is an appreciation for nature. Bark House work supports people to retain this close relationship with nature. Our volunteer work and community contributions center on further developing this relationship.
Bark House believes in shared prosperity and we can back up our claim of social benefits with the certifications and awards that we’ve received:
Bark House views the development of a relationship that honors nature as critically important, especially in view of a disrupted climate. Our wall coverings go into the space where people spend most of their time (indoors) and provide a gentle invitation to remember those healing, invigorating moments outdoors – in a forest.
Projects with Bark House products have been featured in over 250 well-positioned media outlets as well as being featured in our blog. We want to celebrate the benefits your project is creating for people or the environment.
If you have further questions for us, please reach out to [email protected].
We look forward to working with you!
Awarded at the regenerative Business Summit led by Carol Sanford. Carol is on a mission to create a better world, and she believes that business can and will play a major role in accomplishing that.
Root Cause recognizes local businesses doing good in forestry that also support and strengthen communities in Western North Carolina.
“Bark siding is a material with a 100 year plus tradition. It has continuity in time. To people that are not from this area, it sounds exotic and unusual but that is the genius of place. It is a part of the fabric of architecture in the mountains. It is different from the outside, but rich in tradition locally. Today people are looking for maintenance free siding options. Bark is maintenance free and a quality product. It provides the best of both worlds. Another point is the initial cost of the product is recaptured when you look at product life‐cycle costs. This is a timeless product.”
Call, email, or visit our Customer Care Center
828-765-9010 ♦ [email protected]
534 Oak Avenue ♦ Spruce Pine ♦ NC 28777
Architectural Record and Regenerative Business AWARDS Verify Our Deep Commitment to Whole-Building
"Quality is not a goal here… It’s a way of life."