Western Red Cedar Cladding Thuja plicata Please visit http://www.wrcea.org/ for further information.

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.

All our Cedar Cladding is prime coastal grown having a tight grain.

Grade 2 clear and better.
This grade is the clearest grade usually available in the UK.
Once machined this is grade A cedar.

We also cut grade 4 clear as an economical alternative while still giving a general clear appearance - we can also do any mix of the two grades.

Please contact us for prices and further information and advice.

We can cut any Profile.
This can include any planed or sawn weatherboard.
We hold large stocks of 100, 150 and 200mm wide
boards ready to cut to order

Please refer to our common cladding profiles page

Cedar can also be cut to any form, please see our cladding profiles page

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.

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, so Sitka Spruce may not be suitable for such use, unless it has been preservative treated. The use of a durability class 4 material (untreated) within a hazard class 3 situation should provide a maximum of 15 years service life. This compares to Western red cedar imported from Canada, which with its higher natural durability, would have an expected service life of 60 years.

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%

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.
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 will quickly weather to a silver grey colour. If this is not desired then treat with a Alkyd resin based stain.