Cedar Siding

1x6" T&G Incense Cedar Siding - units being inspected

Buffalo Lumber's White Incense Cedar
Customer U-GRADE

When we got into the units we were very happy to see that they are in good shape on both smooth and rough side. As the guys got down into a long unit the quality on this load looks to be better than the last one we did. I was very pleased to see the smooth side so nice. There are still flaws the most common being wane and loose knots but this looks to be the best overall quality we've had yet.
 
Buffalo Lumber's Customer U-GRADE means You grade it. It is low grade lumber run to pattern. You will see holes up to the size of a 50 cent piece. There will be holes allowed in every board. U grade is usually priced at 50% of the market. We say to factor at least 20% safety margin on a U-Grade project. Net savings 30% over retail market prices.
 

 
Layman terms - if we were talking about a 1x6" wide by 12' long board, U-GRADE would allow a knot every 4 inches - some larger than a silver dollar. It will allow some peck and rot and a few other things. Every board will need to be trimmed.
 

 
If you are a customer who really LOVES to work with wood and are willing to use knot putty you can get up to 95% use from this cedar grade (I know we did - just not always the intended use if you know what I mean). U-grade is for rustic wood lovers who appreciate the character look of natural wood flaws and who want to work around flaws to save money on real wood appearance products. Not for the timid. Warm up your saw arm.
 

 
California Incense Cedar is one of the most stable wood species. It’s thermal conductivity rating or (K factor) is among the best of all softwoods. This provides dependable, predictable insulating properties and resistance to heat migration which positively impact performance of the species under machining conditions as well as gluing and drying.
 

 
Incense cedar stands up to wider variations in temperature and humidity without warping, checking or shrinking then most softwoods. This allows for tighter size tolerances and easy shipment to and use in many regions of the world where there are varying climates. Finally, the smoothly machined surface and relative lack of resin canals and pitch pockets assure that cedar products can be easily painted or stained with oil or water based stains to a fine, smooth finish without bleeding or other problems.

Discount Cedar Log Siding Prices

Discount Cedar Log Siding Prices

GRADING THE LOG - It is a Buffalo Lumber U grade in that there are some flaws. We saw loose knots and a few split ends. We just laid a unit on the ground to see the overall quality when put together. Even on uneven ground the wood came off very nice.
 
Cedar Log is graded to the SMOOTH face which will be visible when exterior siding is installed. Each unit has been graded and the load came off as we expected with 80% being usable as 2x8" Quarter Log siding under the philosophy of use rules - 1 cut or less per board, 10% being usable as log siding with more than 2 cuts and 5% can be made into trim with several cuts. I say use a 20% safety margin and then reclaim back 10% or more depending on your abilities with a saw.
 


 
This picture shows the overall quality when the log siding is put together. The biggest issue I saw was a little warp and twist on some of it because it was milled green - about 5 out of 100 boards. Of those 5 with warps and twists only one or 2 could not be used as siding (clunkers) - the others would be usable with some assistance (cutting and wedging).
 


 
Notice the stick at the very bottom. There is a line of wane - missing edge - at the end. This is one of the flaw types we saw. A little wood putty and I can use that stick.
 


 
We saw some loose knots, star checked and rough slightly chipped knots but they all blend pretty well into the overall look and character of the cedar log siding.
 


 
We saw a little bit of end splitting but not much.
 


 
We saw some pecky sections - where wood has a textured appearance that looks as if has been chipped out by an ancient woodpeckers - and a little wane. Some would call this character others would call it loss. There was not a huge percentage of this. We only saw it on a couple of sticks.
 


 
By the end of the unit we had only seen a clunker or two. Boards that were split most of the way down and could only be used for trim pieces. This was not common but there are 1 or 2 in every unit (more than likely).
 


 
You make the choice- is this a "character" knott or is it loss. Herein lies the philosophy of use. If you love these pictures this wood is for you. If they make you cringe it ain't.
 


 
We moved the open unit out of the sun and into the shop to catch some different lighting.
 


 
I was impressed with the overall quality of the wood and feel this will be easily usable if you plan a 20% safety margin on main coverage areas and make trim from the extra wood. This is Western Red Cedar Log Siding - a performance board if you plan to do regular maintenance it will last for years - discounted only because of the flaws.
 
That is just darn pretty wood. Beautiful Western Red Cedar Log Siding at a 50% price savings! Overall a very good value!

Pre-Finished Cedar Siding Deal

 
Our customer started installing the siding using a staggered pattern alternating channel lap and shiplap. This picture shows the wood installed on his wall.
 


 
Here are flaws typical in this load. Sound knots, burls, and slightly chipped or star checked knots usually add a decorative value to this grade of cedar lumber. In this case with the light semi-solid finish they detracted from the smooth finished look our customer was seeking.
 


 
This picture shows the worst of the flaws we found. Some boards were worse than others and some were very nice. I used 3 main grade categories:
 
ABOVE Customer Select
AT Customer Select
BELOW Customer Select
 
The Channel came in with
26 sticks above grade
141 sticks at grade
76 Below grade
 
The Ship lap came in with
43 Sticks above grade
119 at grade
90 Below grade
 

Here's a siding close-up of flaws that made this a U grade. If you get creative with wood putty you can apply any stain color after installation and it will blend. Or simply putty any loose knots and apply a darker stain. Both will work to hide the nature of these flaws and provide a very usable, maintainable cedar siding product.
 


 
This pic shows the stacks of wood after we graded it. We went through every stick. All 14 feet long - a nice length to work with.
 


 
All of the flaws are appearance based. None would prevent use of the wood. That means with the right attitude, a little wood putty and creative cuttery you can use every bit!
 
One order of Channel Lap and one order of Ship Lap @ $1.99 per SQFT - or make an offer on all of it.
 
Our Mistake is your opportunity. Don't wait this deal won't last very long!
 

Discount Cedar Siding Prices

COTTAGE KNOTTY Grade

COTTAGE KNOTTY - Buffalo Lumber U-Grade option. What struck me while grading this wood was how beautiful it was. These flaws do not detract from the natural beauty in my opinion. Once you get past the nature of the flaws you will discover that this wood covers space just as well as the "expensive" stuff and looks BETTER to the rustic wood lover.
 
Cedar siding is graded to the ROUGH face which will be visible when exterior siding is installed. There will be more faults on the hidden interior Smooth face - larger knots, milling skips and tares.
 
Each unit has been graded and the load came off as we expected with 80% being usable as Channel cedar siding under the philosophy of use rules (1 cut or less per board), 10% being usable as Channel siding with more than 2 cuts and 5% can be made into cedar trim with several cuts. I say use a 20% safety margin and then reclaim back 10% or more depending on your abilities with a saw.

The little chunkies above would not make it into a select tight knot grade. Our western red channel rustic siding is discounted because of these flaws, the most common being loose knots and little chunkies. In our opinion these little chunkies do not detract from the overall appearance of our "Rustic Grade" channel lap cedar siding.
 
I would say that 80% can be used as Channel with a little putty to fill in where the "chunkies" penetrate. Another 10 to 15% can be utilized with trim cutting so 95% can be utilized with some elbow grease.
 
As we inspected and graded each unit the Smooth side came out much better than we anticipated. The center V-Groove on the Smooth back gives the look of T&G boards. Someone who had a cottage and wanted to do a wood package could use the rough face as exterior siding and the smooth face inside as interior cedar paneling. The natural cedar sheen almost glows in the dark. Unofficially I would say that well over 50% of the Smooth non-grade face could be utilized.
 
This is an aggressive use philosophy. We look for ways to use every piece of wood. If there is a small split down the channel lap we use it unless it is broken off and visible and even then we may use those if not ridiculous.
 
I would plan a 20% safety margin on main coverage areas and make trim from the extra wood. You can make something really nice and use 95% of this wood. Discounted only because of the flaws this is a performance board if you plan to do regular maintenance it will last for years.

Rustic Channel Lap Priced to Sell

BANG FOR THE BUCK wood value!

Let's not forget about performance. This is Western Red, Coastal Grown Cedar, Factory Finished on 4 of six sides. This is one of the best performance options we have. Especially for the price!
 
Once you put the wood together over the course of an entire wall and go back over it filling in with your putty step back about 10 feet. You will see that most of the flaws blend with the rustic appearance of the wood.
 
Out of a unit of 150 boards about 15 of them will have too much damage on the channel to be used as siding. It is these boards we say to use as trim.
 
The pieces that need work will need ripping to make trim. Tear that channel edge off and use the "meat" of that board as your door and window trim. You should have stain available to coat that side edge when it is cut.
 
If you are a wood lover with an aggressive use philosophy (my dad would call it playing in the wood) this is a significant BANG FOR THE BUCK wood value per square foot!!
 
I could do it. I could take this U-Grade Cottage Knotty Western Red Cedar Siding, make a beautiful rustic cedar home and use 95% of this wood. And so can you!

FACTORY FINISH = PEACE OF MIND

Cedar Siding PRE Finished and Ready to Install!

A FACTORY FINISH ensures a lasting, higher quality job than traditional "on site" stain or prime applications. Factory finishing costs about half the amount of field staining. Pre-finishing your cedar siding eliminates the problems of lap marks, shrinklines, streaking, color variation, and job site dirt pick-up.

All four sides of the board, are completely sealed, ensuring total protection. Controlled temperature and humidity levels stabilize any moisture in the wood. The finished siding arrives at the job site totally protected from exposure to water and sunlight. Western Wood Products Association recommends pre-finishing all wood siding including cedar!

Cedar is a durable wood, but leaving it untreated is not recommended since finishing will greatly increase it's service life.

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