Western Red Cedar Siding

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Western Red Cedar Siding Prices

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Red cedar is insect and moisture resistant with exceptional resistance to decay, moderate strength, moderately soft and light in weight, completely non-resinous, works easily, takes fine finishes and has lowest shrinkage of North American Softwood species. Red Cedar is also selected for interior paneling because of its beautiful amber color and straight, even grain.
 
There are a number of Red cedar sub-species including Port Orford and Alaskan Yellow but the ones you will find most often are Western Red Cedar Siding and Inland Red Cedar. Western Red Cedar is the largest and most abundant of all red cedars. It has a strong spicy odor. Heartwood color varies from dark reddish brown to a pinkish color, Sapwood is light yellow. Milled Western red cedar boards have amber tones - toffee brown with yellow cream swirls - that are perfect for the Rustic Cabin look. Inland Red Cedar, a sub-species of Western Red Cedar, grows primarily in British Columbia, Washington and Idaho. The primary difference is the color of the board. There is less iron in the soil where these trees are grown. As a result, the color of the board is a little less "red" in nature - more creamy caramel with vanilla swirls.
 
Our Inland Red Cedar (IRC) and Western Red Cedar (WRC) Siding is available Partially Air Dried (PAD) or Kiln-Dried, unfinished or Factory Pre-Finished. Our Buffalo Lumber Red Cedar Grades include CLEARS, MILL SELECT, and CUSTOMER SELECT.

In the Field or In the Factory?

Can You afford Not to Factory Finish?

FACT - The first thing the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association will tell you is that all cedar siding needs to be sealed on all six sides prior to installation and then re coated as needed on the face for the lifetime of the wood.
 
"FINISH SIDING PRIOR TO INSTALLATION
Before installation (job site), applying a finish to all surfaces (including ends) is recommended. Factory applied finishes are best. They ensure the best performance of the finish. The type of coating will be determined by final finish and look selected. The finish protects the wood from moisture absorption and UV degradation, helps prevent staining caused by mildew and extractives and will increase the service life of top coats." from WRCLA How to Install Western Red Cedar Siding
 
We interviewed Brandon Stendal- owner of Stone Valley Painting, LLC. and a customer of ours and asked-
"What is the value of factory finish?"

"Usually we are only finishing the face of the building. For us- a commercial painter- to prime coat 6 sides in the field takes about twice as long as coating the face alone after installation. We charge $50hour commercially so the price immediately doubles.
 
We primed all 4 sides of about 833 sqft of your wood siding and it took 2 guys about 8 hours to do this job. It took 5 gallons of primer to coat it (between $25 and $30 per gallon) and we had to rack it at our own warehouse and then transport to the jobsite.
 
I would actually prefer my customers to get a factory finished primer coat and then have me do the final coat in the field- that is the best wood siding performance option.
 
That may not sound like it is good for business but long term, happy customers are my business!"

We agree completely.
 
Factory finishing coats 4 of six sides - You get the face, the back and both side edges, the butt ends need to be sealed when installed on the jobsite.
 
If you are going to do the job right- you can't do it better (or cheaper) than the machines. If you are planning to stain instead of paint- the number of gallons needed per square foot virtually doubles. You do not have to apply a final coat to the face after installation but you had better have a large, well ventilated area with racks for the wood siding to dry - usually 3-7 days depending on humidity and finish choice.
 
The fact is that sealing the wood on all six sides prior to installation is the single most important thing you can do to ensure the long term performance of your wood siding- factory finishing saves the headache factor (literally) and is the first step to doing the job right.
 
The truth may not be what you "want" to hear- But remember if it's worthwhile to do-
 
     It costs 3 times as much and takes 3 times as long as you originally thought it would.
 
     It costs 10 times as much to fix a screw up as to do things right in the first place.

The Question Is - Can You afford Not to Factory Finish?

Cedar Siding Grades

(The Buffalo Lumber Interpretation)

CUSTOMER SELECT Buffalo Grade - #3, STD&BTR (Standard and Better) Mill Grades
 
This is the first tier of appearance grade woods. This is the grade from which the Select Tight Knot mill grades are selected. Customer Select- means you the customer are selecting out defect from a higher grade. At this level the mill does not select the flaws but the grade of wood you are selecting from is higher to begin with.
 
Layman Terms- If we were talking about a 1x8" board 12' long- Customer Select would allow a knot every 6 inches no bigger than a silver dollar piece and a 50 cent piece sized loose knot every 3 or 4 boards. 80% should be usable off the top and with some creative cutting you should be able to use another 10%. The flaws that you encounter in this grade will fall within the 10% jobsite trim and waste every project should have.
 
CUSTOMER SELECT PAD (Partially Air Dried) - is our lowest cost option - see "Saving money with Green and Partially Air Dried Woods". It is for the rustic customer looking for the cheapest way to cover in cedar and still have something pretty nice. This is the grade about 70% of our homeowner customers select. We can run BEVEL, Channel Lap, Shiplap, and Dutch Lap (Cove Lap) patterns. Note that Dutch lap is a little more prone to knots blowing out of the thinnest part of the lap, usually hidden when installed.
 
CUSTOMER SELECT KD (Kiln Dried) - represents our lowest cost Kiln Dried option. It can be milled for smooth or rough use and allows a few more flaws than STK to save money yet offers the benefits of kiln drying and makes a nice product for the "Knot so picky" customer. We can run T&G, Bevel and all Lap patterns out of this grade.
 
MILL SELECT Buffalo Grade - #2, STK (Select Tight Knot) Mill Grades
 
This is where we get into the official appearance grades. STK is selected to make the grade rule. The mill selects out any flaws that do not meet the "Select Knotty" grade rule for that species. This process ups the price of the wood but covers Architects and Builders for code requirements. Architects and builders specifying STK start here.
 
Layman Terms- If we were talking about a 1x8" board 12' long- The MILL SELECT grades allow knots, burls and naturally occurring markings which are of fairly uniform distribution and add to the decorative character of the piece. Sound, live, small to medium tight knots (approx size of a 50 cent piece) permitted every 6 - 8 inches. There are no loose knots allowed in Select Tight Knot grades.

MILL SELECT vs CUSTOMER SELECT

In custom milling there are two types of mills. Stage one mills take the wood from tree to base products. Base products are turned into finished products by stage 2 mills or remanufacturing plants.
 
Standard and Better comes from a stage one mill. It is graded in large volumes by machines and is not selected by human hands. It is considered to have mostly "tight knots" but more flaws are allowed at the volume production level. The wood is then sold as blocks of wood "slats" to the remanufacturing mills. The slats are graded "Standard and Better - NPS" (No Prior Selection).
 
At this point the grade is not STK (Select Tight Knot) because no one has selected out the flaws which fall below the STK grade description. This has to be done by human graders and adds cost to the wood. In our un-official grade description we figure this NPS grade will have an occasional loose knot. From our own experience - possibly one in 4 boards - but a very low percentage of faults that would prevent board use.

CUSTOMER SELECT - Dutch Lap Wood Siding
Factory Pre-Finished Cedar Natural

more home pics ...

CLEAR Cedars

CLEAR CEDAR is the top of the line wood. This is an architect grade. This is the rarest part of the tree- the hardest to get- the best performing and the most expensive option. Your performance priorities determine your budget with clear grades.
 
NEAR CLEAR Buffalo Grade - D & BTR Mill Grade. This is a one off clear grade often referred to as "De Grade". It has very few, very tiny knots and a median price point for the "Knot so fond".
 
Buffalo Lumber Layman Terms- If we were talking about a 1x8" board 12' long, the higher "B" Grade Near Clears will allow no more than 3 knots per board no bigger than a quarter. The lower "D" Grade Near clears will allow no more than 4 knots per board no bigger than a quarter.
 
There is a lot of Clear in the Near Clear grades- a good trimmer can create the effect of clear and still be under 10% trim and waste (in our opinion). This is the one step down from clear some customers use to save serious bucks.
 
CLEAR Buffalo Grade - AYE & BTR Mill Grade. This is the highest cedar price point. Most mills won't commit to a CLEAR CEDAR price for more than a few days. I am saying this game starts at $7+ per square foot (September 2010). However, CLEAR is the high end look many cedar lovers are searching for.
 
Layman Terms- If we were talking about a 1x8" board 12' long- There should be no knots in Clear - if you find one in a set of boards it should be no bigger than the size of a pencil eraser.
 
Check out the unique look of the CLEAR Red Cedar Siding installed on this distinguished Pennsylvania home by one of our favorite Buffalo Lumber Builders.
 

What it All comes down to ?

For the knot lovers the answer is easy - they can save money depending on how many flaws they are willing to work with. The clear cedar lovers have a problem unless they have a lot of money. The NEAR CLEAR De Grade offers a nice middle ground price point for the "Knot so Fond" of clear pricing.

All Red Cedar Grades and WWPA Wood Siding Patterns can be quoted upon request.
Not sure of the difference between Patterns?
Check out our Favorite Patterns page.

Seasoning your Siding

The drying of cedar logs (seasoning) is done prior to the milling of specific siding patterns (shaping & surfacing). Even after drying, all woods do still shrink and swell to some degree as their moisture content fluctuates with your local atmospheric conditions. However, Western Red Cedar is dimensionally stable and has a very low shrinkage factor. It is superior to other coniferous woods in its resistance to warping, twisting and checking.
 
Kiln Dried Seasoning:
Cedar logs to be Kiln Dried (KD) are placed inside a large oven where heat removes moisture from the logs much faster than mother nature. Logs are dried until the moisture content reaches the desired 12 to 19%. Kiln dried wood products are somewhat more stable than fully Air-Dried and experience less shrinkage.
 
Air Dried Seasoning:
Air dried cedar logs are stacked and sit outside in the open air to dry naturally. This process allows the moisture content of the logs to naturally come down as the timber dries until the moisture content reaches the desired level.
 
Fully Air Dried (AD) cedar logs must reduce to a moisture content of 12 to 19 percent. This process can take months to years depending on the thickness of the stock and requires space to let the timber air out.
 
Partially Air Dried (PAD) cedar logs are still considered green. Moisture content is 20% or higher. Milled Green PAD (partially air dried) is a cedar grade that is designed to ease the high cost of cedar. The risks associated with green milling are minimized by careful selection of your pattern and surfacing. Some people say you can’t use green woods. We have many happy customers who say otherwise. Here are some common sense tips for using green cedar and saving money.

Saving Money with Green and Partially Air Dried Wood

When an order is received at the mill the wood "slats" are pulled and stickered to remove surface moisture and it becomes PAD (partially air dried). Partially means there will still be some residual moisture during the milling to pattern step. This causes some limitations and certain flaws.

PAD wood should only be used rough face out because during milling the saw can bind up in the moist wood and scar the smooth side. Rough sawn is the only surfacing option sold. The saw will occasionally rip out a knot that is close to the edge during the run. This is not an allowable flaw in hand "Select" grades.

The fact is that all wood no matter how it is dried (seasoned) will expand and contract during the year due to moisture changes in the air. The thing about PAD green woods is that they are prone to changes of greater degree than fully air dried or kiln dried lumber. This means you must use patterns that allow more room for wood expansion and contraction in their design - cedar siding patterns that allow movement without compromising the overall appearance. Bevel, Channel, Ship Lap and Log Cabin patterns offer the maximum movement with the least visible change to your wall.

Get your cedar siding pre-finished. It gives added protection and makes the mill do some of the drying work for you. Before they stain the wood they stack it with sticks in between to allow airflow and dry any residual surface moisture. A 2nd benefit of factory pre-finish is that all sides of the board are coated. If the installed siding contracts with the season a seam does not appear between the boards as it would when the stain is applied after the siding is installed on your wall.

It is true there are a few more blown knots but our mills are saying less than 10% loss due to defect. Get out your saw and cut around that knot hole and save a buck or two.
 
Our Green Partially Air Dried boards have over 30% classified STK (Select Tite Knot) with some boards containing knots that are larger in diameter (the size of a quarter) than the STK grade allows. This means that you will have some big knots and some little knots (and a few loose knots) but it will go up on the wall and work for you.

If you can afford a flaw or two to save a buck or two this is the grade for you.

FACTORY FINISH = PEACE OF MIND

Red 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 and the California Redwood Association recommend pre-finishing all wood siding including cedar!

If your selected pattern has one smooth side and one rough side, be sure to tell us which face you plan to expose. The pre-finisher will place the wet finished boards on the drying rack with your exposed face up so it does not dry with rack marks. Cedar is a durable wood, but leaving it untreated is not recommended since finishing will greatly increase it's service life.

All pre-finished prices include one coat Primed or Stained Cabot's, Sherwin Williams or Olympic standard color lines.