When building a traditional log home or even equipping a standard home frame with log siding, one of your biggest choices is what type of wood to choose. Most major mills provide common options like pine, aspen, and cedar. This blog is meant to take a deeper dive into the benefits and features of cedar wood. WoodHaven uses cedar to create both our premium siding and paneling products, and it’s always one of our best-selling woods year after year. Cedar is a great choice for homeowners who want to bring a sense of rustic appeal to their homes.
Our customers choose cedar for their homes for a variety of reasons. It has a beautiful, distinctive grain pattern and dark reddish tones that look beautiful on both home exteriors and interiors. Plus it stains and finishes well. Cedar wood contains chemicals that give off a pleasant natural aroma to us, but it’s actually how it repels insects and fungus in the wild! This benefit extends to your home, which is especially appealing for people building in heavily wooded areas.
There’s a reason why cedar log homes have a tranquil, peaceful feeling. The wood’s porous texture allows it to capture sound! While cedar isn’t completely waterproof, finished cedar products do last well in wet conditions compared to other woods. You would think cedar would be a pricey wood option, but it’s actually very sustainable as well and grows in many areas of the world. Finally, cedar resists rot and decay for years, which means it’s an ideal wood for your home!
Cedar is classified as a softwood, meaning its light weight makes it ideal for builders. Cedar is used for all types of projects including roofs and furniture, and we also use it for our log home accessories like stairways and decks! Even though it’s a softwood, cedar has high compressive strength so it’s perfectly suitable for home siding and paneling. We love using cedar because it’s less likely to crack or warp, especially when it undergoes our moisture control process in our kilns. We dry our cedar product down to an extremely stable condition so it can better resist warping before and after installation. This benefit cannot be overstated, you do not want your log siding or paneling warping! It’ll reveal ugly gaps between boards or they may bow outward from the wall.
Want Cedar for Your Home?
Order Now Rather than Later!
Due to the popularity of our cedar products, you should expect a several-week wait on any paneling or siding orders. Don’t delay ordering, as you’ll need to plan this lead time in your project timeline. It will be worth the wait though since our cedar products come kiln-dried, stable, and ready to install. If you want to see and feel our cedar wood for yourself, you can order a WoodHaven sample kit online now! In summary, cedar wood’s combination of durability, natural beauty, and eco-friendliness makes it a good choice for paneling and siding products and a popular material for rustic and cozy log home design.
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