Red Cedar

Western Red Cedar Prices

Western Red Cedar Siding & Paneling Delivered Mill Direct To You!

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 and Western Red Cedar Siding is available Partially Air Dried (PAD) or Kiln-Dried, unfinished or pre-stained. Our Red cedar siding grades include CLEARS, STK, Standard and Better on through #3 U-Grade.

Cedar Siding Grades

(The Buffalo Lumber Interpretation)

STD & BTR PAD - Standard and Better, 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. 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.
 
#3 and Better KD - This 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.
 
STK - Select Tight Knot - This is where we get into the official appearance grades. STK is selected to make the grade rule. Architects and builders specifying STK start here. The STK (Select Tight Knot) grade allows 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 quarter) permitted every 6 - 8 inches.

Select Tight Knot   vs   Standard & Better

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.

CLEAR Cedars

D & BTR KD - 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".
 
AYE & BTR CLEAR - This is the highest cedar price point. We don't have it listed on this page because most mills won't commit to a price for more than a few days. I am saying this game starts at $8+ per square foot (January 2010). However, CLEAR is the high end look many cedar lovers are searching for.
 
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 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 De Grade clear offers a nice middle ground price point for the "Knot so Fond" of clear pricing.

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-stained. 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.

Pre-Staining your Red Cedar Siding

A Factory finish pre-staining ensures a lasting, higher quality job than traditional "on site" stain applications. Factory finishing costs about half the amount of field staining. Pre-staining your cedar siding eliminates the problems of lap marks, shrinklines, streaking, color variation, and dirt pick-up. All six sides of the board, including the ends, are completely encapsulated, 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. Products Association and the California Redwood Association recommend pre-finishing.

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-stainer will place the wet stained 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 pre-stained one coat. We are offering 3 main stain options:

Cedar Natural Tone – enhances the natural wood colors
Redwood Rustic - our personal favorite
Tobacco – for the darker wood lovers