Difference Between Red And White Cedar Siding

Gene wengert technical advisor.

Difference between red and white cedar siding.

White cedar is one of the weakest lightest weight woods in the usa. Northern white cedar thuja occidentalis is an excellent wood and has been used for lumber especially in maine. As such the wood tends to be knottier and general quality of the stuff is lesser than western red. Appearance grade is primarily for non structural lumber under 2 thick.

Cedar siding is a natural wood siding made from either red or white cedar both native trees in the united states. Cedar siding often takes the form of horizontal lap panels shingles or shakes. Left unpainted or unfinished white shingles come to take on a pretty silver gray color. White cedar 5 4 decking at about 60 of what i d have to pay for w.

Both red and white cedar are used for siding materials but there are differences between the two species. There are a wide range in quality levels and maintenance requirements in wood siding. It is a popular wood for home building because it is among the more durable natural woods. Red cedar coming mainly from the pacific northwest has long been considered the more high end shingle material.

Western red and eastern white are most often used. This is because they have a brittle fibrous quality which makes them more likely to split or crack especially during installation. Cedar is particularly suitable for staining and has the highest rot resistance of all softwoods your local wood siding solutions provider. I can get e.

Although white cedar shingles have natural weather and rot resistant properties they have lower durability than red cedar shingles. Even though this large manchester shingle has worn it for the past 20 years white cedar is traditionally a material more typical of nantucket style cottages. However red cedar shingles cannot be painted while white shingles can be painted any desired color as they naturally absorb paint well. Specific gravity sg is 0 31 versus 0 47 for red.

Appearance grades use letters a through d with a being the highest grade. There are also two other terms under appearance grade cedar. But so is the price. Red cedar siding is usually more durable and comes in a variety of styles so you have more.

Eastern white cedar is a much smaller tree and branchier. Cedar is also graded based on appearance which is called appearance grade or select lumber. Strength is 45 000 psi versus 61 000. Clear and knotty or stk.

This necessitates more maintenance work than red cedar roofs.