Cedar Cladding, High Quality Durable Western Red Cedar Cladding Profiles milled to order

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Cedar Cladding

The Cedar Cladding Specialists since 2005

We concentrate on milling Cedar Cladding which means we can offer unrivalled expertise & support. This also allows us to supply at extremely competitive prices delivered throughout the country.

Canadian Cedar Cladding prices from £31.50 per m2 for a planed rebated feather edge and from £62.90 per m2 for face fix 18 x 144mm profiles. Clearance packs are also often available.

Canadian Western Red Cedar - the premium choice for timber cladding

Nothing quite compares to the soft rich colour variation of Canadian cedar.

The timber has natural durability giving an expected life of over 60 years without treatment and has exceptional dimensional stability offering clear contemporary looks.

UK grown cedar does not offer the same durability, range of colours and knot free finish.

We also offer fire treated cedar cladding.

Cedar Grades

Because we mill our cladding we can tightly control the quality.
Please visit our FAQ's for more detailed cedar grades information.

We work very hard to ensure we maintain a strong relationship with our Canadian supplier. This ensures the Cedar cladding we supply is of the very best quality at the lowest cost.

All our Cedar Cladding is prime coastal grown, having a tight grain. Primary coastal grown cedar is generally a darker colour than interior grown Canadian Western Red Cedar.

Grade 2 clear and better only – no mix of grade 4. This grade is the clearest grade usually available in the UK. Once machined this is grade A cedar.

Please contact us for prices and further information and advice.

We can cut any Profile. This can include any planed or sawn finish timber cladding.

We hold large stocks of 100, 150 and 200mm wide boards ready to cut to order

Cedar Cladding Case Study

Please click here for a Cedar Cladding Case Study where we discuss timber selection batten design and profile details.

The customer used a mix of three profiles to make a large expanse of wall more interesting. Varying horizontal and vertical profiles also added interest to the design.

The corner construction options are also discussed.

We also show a Cedar secret fix batten profile used on this project which is far quicker to install than the more traditional board on board system.

Common Cladding Profiles

We can mill any bespoke cladding profile or we mill standard profiles.

It has become quite popular to mix 150 wide boards with 75mm to give a different look. This is shown on our case study page

Please refer to our common cladding profiles page for details.

Since we mill to order we can accommodate most requests as long as the timber is robust when finished.

The Tree and Forest

Western Red Cedar grows along the pacific coast from Northern California to southwest Alaska. The tree grows up to 60M in height and 2.4M diameter. British Columbia has an estimated standing volume of 750 million cubic M, over 50 million cubic M is in parks or protected areas.

Less than 1% of British Columbia’s growing stock is harvested each year. The amounts harvested each year must be within the Annual Allowable Cut, the volume of timber that the Chief Forester determines can be sustainably harvested is regulated. After logging areas must be reforested with mixed species. Variable retention is a system which requires leaving the forest structure intact, groups of trees are often left un harvested. About 8 million seedlings are planted in British Columbia alone.

Please click here for our environmental timber procurement policy.

Physical properties of Western Red Cedar Timber

Sapwood is white with a slight yellow tinge. The sapwood width is typically 22mm thick
Heartwood is variable in colour ranging from light straw, pinkish-brown to dark brown. Western Red Cedar is very light in weight
Kiln dried: 330 to 340kg/m3 (6-8%)
Air dried: 370 to 385kg/m3 (12% moisture)
Green: 430 to 535kg/m3

Western Red Cedar has excellent dimensional stability which means it shrinks and swells minimally in service due to changes in humidity. Western Red Cedar also resists absorption of moisture – in a test dried timber at 6-10% moisture content was left covered outside for one year and found to have a moisture content of 9-11% which then remained constant.

Coefficient of thermal conductivity (k): 0.11 W/m/degC @ 12% moisture content
Charing rate: 0.8mm/min
Flame spreading rate: 67-73 (class 11 rating)
Smoke developed rating: 98

Fixing and drying

Western Red Cedar reacts with ferrous materials and should therefore be fixed with stainless steel or hot dipped galvanised fixings.

The timber should be dried to match the service conditions, internal applications should be kiln dried to 6-8%. Air dried Cedar is usually used for external cladding in the UK, air dried cedar is often damp on delivery but rapidly dries out. Cedar is a dry timber when logged but takes on moisture like a sponge during river transportation in Canada. If kiln dried timber is used externally then care must be taken during installation to allow for some swelling as the timber takes on moisture. Air dried cedar cladding can be installed with a tight fit as the timber will shrink very slightly once fitted. Cedar is one of the more dimensionally stable of all timbers.

Durability

Western Red Cedar heartwood is naturally durable when left untreated and is in the highest durability category of any softwood listed in the European standard.
60 year service life untreated can be expected with Canadian Cedar. Treatment is only necessary if the weathered silver grey colour is not desired.

Applications

Western Red Cedar is a sustainable resource which is particularly suitable for architectural timber cladding and decking. The attractive rich colours and grain, durability and physical properties make it the first choice for window blinds, saunas, panelling, wood cladding and mouldings.

Treatment

Western Red Cedar cladding does not require treatment but if the weathered look is not preferred then please click here for our factory fire and staining treatment service.

Canadian Cedar Cladding natural durability

One of Western red cedar's attractions for use as a cladding system is its natural durability resulting in a long service life without the need to add chemical preservatives. The other attractions are that Cedar is very dimensionally stable & can be free of knots giving a contemporary look.

However, this high durability is related to slower growing trees from coastal Canadian forests, slightly lower durability levels have been noted from faster growing trees from interior or British forests. This has been linked to reduced levels of thujaplicins in the wood. UK grown cedar is even faster growing and does not have the same properties. UK cedar tends to be knotty and has more sapwood and therefore should be treated for durability. Home grown cedar may look an attractive proposition as it is about 25% lower in cost but this can be a false economy due to the higher maintenance costs and shorter service life. Please visit our timber cladding page where this is discussed further.

All western red Cedar has a degree of natural durability, imported Canadian coastal grown Western red cedar with the sapwood excluded is the very best and can be used for cladding without any treatment.

Timber cladding is an example of a hazard class 3 use. Redwoods may not be suitable for such use, unless they been preservative treated. The use of a durability class 4 material (untreated) such as UK grown cedar within a hazard class 3 situation should provide a maximum of 15 years service life.

Western red cedar imported from Canada, which with its higher natural durability has an expected service life of 60 years.

Detail Drawings

Factory Staining

Gallery