I have a job where I will be installing rough sawn ship lap cedar siding and cedar sidewall shingles. The owner asked if white was better than red cedar. I didn’t know the answer. Locally we mostly have access to red cedar at the local yards. never really looked into white cedar. anyone have a input? which is more suitable? expensive? easier to work with?
thanks,
Jason
“it aint the work I mind,
It’s the feeling of falling further behind.”
Bozini Latini
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Replies
I like the red label red cedar better than the blue label (re-sawn, re-butted) red cedar shingles.
I haven't used white cedar, I kind of thought they were a New England regional delicacy.
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As a species, red is generally better than white, other grading aside.
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I think most will agree that Red is far superior to white in all ways; stability, shrinkage, durability, etc,etc. The devil's in the details such as good flashing and wrap, ss fasteners, using/ not using staples ( you'll get many varying opinions here ) and preservative. White tends to curl and shrink pretty severely on the sunny side compared to red.
Having said all that, the reds will be substantially more $, and some people really like the grayish/ eventually dark color and character of white. Looks very authentic " cape cod ". I like the look, but it goes from 'looks new" to "looks authentic" to "looks like crud" too quickly, and I haven't seen a finish that will keep whites looking really good for an extended period ( say 15 years ) I have seen red cedar r+r's that look really nice 15-20 years after install. Not so much with finishes that promise a "clear/ natural" type finish. I'm sure there are some folks here with more experience than I regarding finishes that last for these two siding materials.
Bing
PS. I'm giving this info in regards to sidewall shingles only; Seeyou can prolly give you bettr insight as to roof usage, although I think Grant will second on the reds, and tell you that if you use staples, you're going straight to h##l ;)
thanks for your detailed reply. I have heard that white cedar is softer and is actually a pine and not a cedar at all. I'm guessing if it was superior to red then that is what would be readily available."it aint the work I mind,
It's the feeling of falling further behind."Bozini Latinihttp://www.ingrainedwoodworking.com
No - not a pine
Closer to the arbor vitae and junipers
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Correct, not a pine. However, it is not closer to juniper. Both western red cedar and eastern white cedar (aka arborvitae) are in the genus Thuja. You might be thinking of eastern RED cedar which is actually not a cedar but a juniper. I don't know how common Eastern red is as a commercial species. About the only thing I have seen is cedar closet lining as it has a very aromatic wood. However, it is small and shrubby, at least in the midwest.
It ain't small here in KY. Here is my latest load.
View Image
Got some up to 16" wide and 9' long. Most is the 7-12" witdths.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj_oEx4-Mc4
I stand corrected. Here it grows mostly in open fields, 20' tall at most.
Cold must stunt it up there (G).Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
They kill Prophets, for Profits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj_oEx4-Mc4
Dat be sum boo tee full wood!Around here, most of the cedar grows in the wetter locations so by time it is 10" at the butt, there is a good chance you will find pencil rot up the center when you cut it down. Some do still get to 20-24" diam at butt though, just not alway6s confident it is solid through. Gotta have that sidehill growing to get gooder stuff
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different look, different product...different architectural style
also different maximum exposure ...typical RC is 18"
typical WC is 16"
wc are flat sawn
rc are vertical grain
wc moves a lot more and has a shorter life exprctancy (edit )
is the siding going to be left natural?
Mike Hussein Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Edited 10/19/2008 8:06 pm ET by MikeSmith
On this house andy basically ripped 3/4 down and rebuilt. Andy used white cedar. He finished it about 8 years ago and it still looks totally awesome. It's about 5 minutes from the one he completed here that was on the market for sale that you can see in Andy's web site at http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM (fox hunt lane project.
abbie
before View Image under wayView Image
good ol' Andy View Image
CompletedView Image
Better pic in the website......if you care : )
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Eastern white cedar is a much smaller tree and branchier; as such the wood tends to be knottier and general quality of the stuff is lesser than western red.
But so is the price. I can get E. white cedar 5/4 decking at about 60% of what I'd have to pay for W. red.
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low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
foolish men call Justice....
Where does Maibec harvest their wood from?
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white
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Where does Maibec harvest their wood from?
AFIK, their white cedar products are harvested and milled not too far from here. One of my former clients had me build his deck using their reject stock: #3 and worse 5/4 x ?? He bought a 6-wheel dumptruck full of the stuff from them for $100. (Then he had to pay me to sort thru it for usable boards and jigsaw-puzzle it into a decent looking deck. Snork....)
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
One of the happiest days of my life was when we stripped the cedar siding off and I got to burn the entire pile...what joy!! Never held paint and was a major cost to maintain.
What did you replace them with?
They are fun to burn.