Help! We just built a new home with cedar siding on the front. We are in a harsh climate with winter coming soon so we wanted to put on semi-transparent stain for protection. We have made 2 attempts to get the right color, attempting to match our siding which is a warm muddy gray brown. Unfortunately none of these has worked out at all. The first stain looked white and the other is dark gray looking. Not what we thought it would look like and my husband doesn't stop when things don't go right, he just wants to get it done. So now I have one face of the house that has white with gray on top and some area of just gray and all look terrible. Can we continue to put on a new colors over the old? Maybe 2 coats of semi in the right color would mask out the other colors? I want to go back to the brown tones to keep the natural wood color at least. Frustrating!

I am installing a bathroom exhaust vent in a basement bathroom. The vent will come out the side of my house. What is the best way to seal between the flange of the vent cap and my siding? The siding is T1-11. Should I use a gasket between the flange and the siding? Silicone? Both? Something else? Any advice is appreciated?