Difference Between Red And White Cedar Siding

Red cedar coming mainly from the pacific northwest has long been considered the more high end shingle material.

Difference between red and white cedar siding.

White cedar is one of the weakest lightest weight woods in the usa. However red cedar shingles cannot be painted while white shingles can be painted any desired color as they naturally absorb paint well. Appearance grades use letters a through d with a being the highest grade. Cedar siding often takes the form of horizontal lap panels shingles or shakes.

I can get e. 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. 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.

Cedar is also graded based on appearance which is called appearance grade or select lumber. Red shingles on the other hand appear rich and classic in their natural state. Left unpainted or unfinished white shingles come to take on a pretty silver gray color. This necessitates more maintenance work than red cedar roofs.

This is the most popular siding choice. Western red and eastern white are most often used. Red cedar siding is usually more durable and comes in a variety of styles so you have more. This is because they have a brittle fibrous quality which makes them more likely to split or crack especially during installation.

There are also two other terms under appearance grade cedar. As such the wood tends to be knottier and general quality of the stuff is lesser than western red. It is much weaker than eastern red cedar. Northern white cedar thuja occidentalis is an excellent wood and has been used for lumber especially in maine.

There are a wide range in quality levels and maintenance requirements in wood siding. Gene wengert technical advisor. Cedar siding is a natural wood siding made from either red or white cedar both native trees in the united states. But so is the price.

Although white cedar shingles have natural weather and rot resistant properties they have lower durability than red cedar shingles. Specific gravity sg is 0 31 versus 0 47 for red. Appearance grade is primarily for non structural lumber under 2 thick. Clear and knotty or stk.

Cedar is particularly suitable for staining and has the highest rot resistance of all softwoods your local wood siding solutions provider.