Western Red Cedar's Proven Performance Characterisitcs

To understand why architects, builders, and homeowners are drawn to Western Red Cedar, it helps to review such factors as its beauty, character, function, affordability, and light environmental footprint.

Versatile: Western Red Cedar is pitch and resin free. That means it will accept and hold a wide range of finishes, including elegant dark stains, shabby chic bleaches, traditional solid colors, and naturally beautiful semi-transparents. Cedar also is available in a wide range of sizes, surface textures, and grades.

Sustainable: Independent studies prove that when it comes to environmental performance, natural wood is superior to synthetic products. While other building materials generate greenhouse gases, Western Red Cedar actually removes greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. And unlike brick, cement, and composites, Western Red Cedar is renewable and biodegradable. For maximum sustainability, Western Red Cedar should be sourced from the most sustainably managed forests in the world.

Durable: Western Red Cedar Heartwood is highly impermeable to water. This condition is attributed to crusty deposits in the membrane of bordered pits (tracheid openings that allow the passage of fluids), thus impeding the inter-tracheid fluid movement and resisting fluid penetration of the wood.

Lightweight: Large, open cell structure makes the wood less dense than most other softwoods. This quality makes it easier to move from place to place on the job.

Effective Insulator: Western Red Cedar’s low density increases the insulation of a home by transporting less heat through interior wall paneling or exterior wall siding than brick or stone, vinyl or gypsum drywall. Conversely, it helps keep interiors warmer in cold weather.

Acoustic Effectiveness: Western Red Cedar’s open cell structure means it helps block noise. As an interior paneling or exterior siding, the low density of Western Red Cedar makes it an acoustical barrier of much greater quality than many products marketed for those applications.

Rot Resistant: Thujaplicins, chemical substances found in Western Red Cedar, serve as natural fungicides, thereby preventing the wood from rotting. This effect lasts around a century even after the tree is felled.⁴

How to Specify Grades of Western Red Cedar in Contemporary Architecture

The look and feel of an architectural design can shift dramatically depending on the grade of Western Red Cedar chosen for the project. Common products in include bevel siding, pattern siding, lap siding, board and batten siding, trim boards, and decking.

Photo courtesy of Bates Masi + Architects

Multiple grades available of Western Red Cedar allows for a wide range of uses and aesthetics. This residence was designed by Paul Masi of Bates Masi + Architects.

Western Red Cedar bevel siding is the most widely used cedar siding type. It is produced by resawing lumber at an angle to produce two pieces thicker on one edge than the other. The manufacturing process results in pieces with one smooth face. The other face is saw textured or smooth depending on the grade and customer preference. Bevel siding is installed horizontally and gives an attractive shadow line that varies with the thickness of siding selected.

Bevel siding is available in clear and knotty grades. Clear siding gives premium quality appearance and is ideal for prestigious, upmarket applications. Clear Vertical Grain Heart is the highest bevel siding grade and is kiln dried. Pieces have a smooth face of decay-resistant Heartwood and are free from growth characteristics that affect appearance or performance. Pieces have excellent dimensional stability and hold finishes exceptionally well. The next grade, A Clear, has a fine appearance that allows only slightly more growth characteristics than Clear Heart.

Knotty siding has warmth and casual charm and is specified for homes, cottages, clubhouses, and applications where a rustic appearance is desired. Rustic Grade bevel siding works well as sidewall covering where the distinctive charm of a rustic saw textured appearance is desired. This grade allows limited characteristics that do not detract from serviceability.

Some manufacturers also produce finger-joined and/or finger-joined and edged-glued siding and trim boards in clear and knotty grades. The precision-fitted joints are virtually invisible and stronger than the surrounding fiber. Finger-joined siding and trim is available in long lengths of up to 16 feet and 20 feet. They provide the handsome appearance and all-weather performance of other premium cedar products. Builders tend to appreciate both the convenient long lengths and the speed and ease of installation with fewer field joints. Knots and other natural features define the visual character of knotty sidings. In this grade, knots are sound and tight. It is usually available kiln-dried and smooth or saw textured. Some companies may supply this grade with knots glued on the reverse face.

Architect Knotty products are intended to be fully usable with resawn or smooth face exposed after trimming to fit stud wall spacing. It contains no open characteristics or through defects. The product allows the use of adhesives on the reverse face to secure knots and is particularly well suited for factory priming or finishing.

The term pattern sidings describes a variety of siding products in which the board has been machined on the edge(s) and face(s) to produce siding with interlocking or overlapping joints and with smooth surfaced or rough sawn faces. These sidings fall into two broad groups: tongue and groove and shiplap.

Western Red Cedar tongue and groove is widely used for its good looks and versatility. It adds to design innovation because it can be installed horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, each method giving a distinctly different look. Tongue-and-groove siding is available kiln dried with rough or smooth faces.

Tongue-and-groove siding is manufactured in clear grades suitable for a more formal, elegant appearance, particularly when pieces are smooth faced. Knotty grades are in demand for their smart yet casual look. In both cases, they may be manufactured as a reversible product. Shiplap sidings are supplied kiln dried in a variety of patterns in clear or knotty grades and with a smooth or saw textured face. Lap sidings are produced and graded to the intended exposed face.

Channel siding is a popular type of shiplap siding and is used whenever a rustic appearance is desired. A versatile siding, it can be installed vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. In channel siding, the profile of each board partially overlaps that of the board next to it, creating a channel that gives shadow line effects, provides excellent weather protection, and allows for dimensional movement. Channel siding is most commonly available in knotty grades, but clear grades are available by special order.