Western Red Cedar contains natural oils that act as a wood preservative to resist insect attack and decay. It exhibits high dimensional stability and contains no pitch. Properly pre-treated, installed, and maintained Western Red Cedar siding can enhance a home's exterior for 50-70 years.

Although cedar is a natural durable species, leaving it untreated is not recommended because a finish or protective coating will greatly increase it's service life. Cedar is free of pitch and with its high degree of dimensional stability, it is the best of the softwoods for accepting paints, stains, oils and other coatings. Lakeside Lumber recommends an initial coat of high quality oil based primer on all four sides of the siding, followed by two coats of high quality 100% acrylic latex paint.

Western Red Cedar is an attractive timber but it also has an unrivalled reputation for durability. It is ideal for use in the construction of sheds and other garden buildings. The superior qualities of Western Red Cedar are summed up in this extract from the grading rules published by The Pacific Lumber Inspection Bureau: The largest and finest of the cedars produced anywhere in the world, the Western red cedar is famed for its extraordinary durability and resistance to decay.

Aside from the natural beauty and warm colors of Western Red Cedar that cannot be duplicated using any other wood, cedar has exceptional dimensional stability (resists cracking and warping), it has a superior thermal co-efficient than almost any other wood (cool to sit on even on a hot day), and it is very strong (80% the strength of oak!).

The Western Red Cedar Lumber Association makes up to date product and environmental information available at www.wrcla.org

Maintenance of cedar decking depends on the type of stain applied. The darker the pigment, the longer mainentance can be delayed. In case of clear stains, maintenance should be yearly. In the case of darker semi-transparent stains, maintenance may occur every 2 years, depending on exposure to the elements. Western Red Cedar should be preservative treated if intended for use in applications where it comes in contact with the ground.

There are stringent requirements for the grade and type of wood that should be used to make a wooden tub, although these are not always adhered to by other manufacturers of wooden tubs . The wood must be naturally decay resistant and must swell enough to provide a good seal, but it must not swell so much that buckling occurs. No knots or sapwood (the lighter colored wood from the outer part of the tree) can be used, since the knots can leak and the sapwood will decay like any other white wood.

Most people use a transparent finish that protects and brings out Cedar's natural beauty. Finishes may be oil or water based. Click on http://www.timberprocoatings.com/ or http://www.nam.sikkens.com/ for further details.

Yes, but most times you need to install additional window and door trim to ensure that the product lies flush with windows and doors. Sometimes this additional trim requirement makes it less expensive to tear off the old siding and start from scratch. Look at the diagram in the CSSB's Exterior and Interior Wall Manual for more details.

Yes, one coat of Cetol SRD can be used on fences. It can be brushed, rolled, or sprayed on. If sprayed or rolled, it should be back brushed.

Log siding gives the "Log Look" to your home, cedar siding is more contemporary - preference in taste AND appearance is the deciding factor of difference... Log siding is a horizontal siding, so it must be prepped and installed after you get it - making Log Siding vs Cedar Siding a choice of convenience vs. personal needs or tastes..

Assuming local Building Official approval for this type of installation is obtained, you should use the length of nail recommended for that specific material. Add the thickness of the existing insulation and this gives you the nail length required for the fastener to penetrate ¾" or more into the sheathing. Refer to the CSSB's Exterior and Interior Wall Manual.

Our sheds normally come with a 5/8th inch pine siding, but if you plan on putting on vinyl or some other type of siding, we can put on OSB siding. OSB (chip board) is a little cheaper and better for vinyl siding. Just let us know when ordering that you plan on putting up your own siding.

Once you receive your furniture, additional fine sanding (before finishing) is recommended, to avoid surface dust or roughness. Always sand in the direction of the the grain of the wood. Then apply a preservative (see below).

Take a few minutes and make sure screws, nuts, and bolts are snug. Lightly sand any areas where 'slivering' may have occurred and then give the cedar products a coat of water seal treatment.

Yellow cedar is about 15% stronger than red cedar, lasts longer in the ground, holds nails better and is more bug resistant. It is also more difficult to stain because of its tight grain and oil content. Red cedar is a much more porous wood and accepts a greater variety of stains. Red cedar also has less of a tendency to warp than yellow cedar. The cost is about the same for both in smaller dimensions, but yellow cedar timbers are considerably more expensive than red.