What is Cedar?
Cedar is a type of wood material that is used for several different types of building materials from fencing, decking, flooring, and cabinetry. The most common types of cedar used are Traditional Cedar, Red Cedar, and White Cedar. Cedar comes from a variety of cedar trees that can be found almost anywhere. Over the years, Cedar has become a highly liked product for building due to its durability and natural beauty.
What are the Pros to using Cedar?
- Durability
Cedar has a long-life expectancy and needs little to no maintenance. Cedar is a durable wood and is resistant to rot, warp, and decay as well as insect attacks. It also has minimal moisture absorption, which is very important in a material used for decking and fencing. - Appearance
Cedar is also known for being a very versatile material, meaning it can have just about anything done to it. From shaping, cutting, staining, bleaching, painting, and transparent finishes- cedar looks good and works well. Cedar, if left natural with a clear finish on it, looks aesthetically pleasing. The natural cedar look is often the most wanted among homeowners. - Affordability
Cedar is not amongst the cheapest material upfront, but down the road cedar is significantly affordable. This is because it rarely, if ever needs repairs or boards replaced. - Eco-Friendly
Cedar is a synthetic material and is renewable, as well as biodegradable. Since it does not need to be replaced often, it decreases the number of trees that are cut down and milled for building materials.
What are the Cons to using Cedar?
- Sensitive
Cedar is a softwood which means it has a higher chance of being scratched or dented. You can avoid this by sealing the boards after install. - Necessary Maintenance
Just like everything, no matter how durable or sustainable something is- there is some light upkeep needed. While Cedar doesn’t always have to be replaced, it will have to be re-stained or resealed as time goes on. - Deterioration
Cedar, if treated properly, will last for years on end without any issues, but under certain conditions cedar may degrade quicker and dry out if in the shade. Resealing your boards every so often will avoid this from happening in its entirety. This is an unfortunate downside to using Cedar.
Is Cedar Easy to Work With?
Cedar is a very lightweight building material that is milled with a straight fine wood grain. This uniform texture allows it to be cut and sawed very easily. Securing cedar is also very easy, just a simple hammer and nail or drill and screw will do the job. Cedar allows works well when glued, painted, stained, or even with resin which makes your project options almost endless.
Will Cedar Hold Up in Weather Conditions?
Cedar is one of a few species that consider the outdoors it’s natural home. If your cedar is properly installed and sealed it will stand up to any weather conditions. Like we mentioned before, cedar is resistant to rot, decay, and moisture absorption. This is one of the many reasons why Cedar is the ideal material for a fence or deck.
How many types of Cedar are there?
There are four types of cedar trees that you can find. Branching off from the trees, you will find several different types of cedar building materials. Western Red Cedar is one type of commonly used cedar because of its vibrant coloring and durability. All cedar has similar attributes of straight vertical grain, knotty boards, and durability. The main difference between each type of cedar is the coloring. Some are red such as the Western Red Cedar, or blonde like Port Orford Cedar, along with many other types of coloring.
As your trusted building materials supplier, we offer the widest selection of cedar building materials based on all its pros such as coloring, durability, and sustainability. Our number one seller in fencing is the cedar privacy fence with pickets, posts and rails due to our pricing and wide inventory. Come visit us today and we will help you start your next cedar build!
