Tips to Help You Understand the Originality of Cedar Wood Decking

While many identify cedar as ideal and premium wood for furniture, it is a proven fact that western red cedar wood is perfect for outdoors, especially decking. This is mainly due to the nature of the heartwood, the color and the reasonable hardness.  Getting the right wood from the right sources is important to ensure that the decking wood will last long and give great value. Here are a few tips that will help you to winnow your choice down to the best grade of cedar wood to grace your outdoors and decking:

Western red cedar from among the different types of cedar available globally

Cedar wood is available in many locations, and known by various names including names such as Chinese incense cedar, Mexican white cedar, Western red cedar etc. Not all the varieties are suitable for decking. Each type meets a specific purpose and the most suitable of these varieties for decking is Western red cedar. This is because decking wood will remain exposed to the elements constantly and thereby should meet certain standard parameters measured through radial and tangential shrinkage etc.  The Western red cedar meets all requirements, qualifying as the most suitable and proven wood for decking and outdoors.

Heartwood of cedar is hard with inbuilt decay fighting qualities

As with all wood, the heartwood of the western red cedar is hardest at the center.  It also possesses amazing inbuilt qualities that fight decay caused through fungi. The hardness of the heartwood and the fungi fighting abilities combine to rendered cedar as a natural choice for decking and outdoors. Additionally, cedar wood has higher shock resisting abilities and greater tensile strength.

Lumber with some of the straightest grains

Cedar has the distinct characteristic of having some of the straightest grains and uniform texture. Not coarse or fine, but even and uniform, this helps in easy handling of the lumber while cutting, sawing etc. Its consistency has rendered it highly resistant to splitting and it has the advantage of favorable ratings during impact bending tests.

These qualities combine to make cedar wood one of the most sought after wood. Traditionally, cedar has been quoted in historic texts as wood with the highest quality. This is proof of the amazing and incredible characteristics that make it most suitable for use as decking wood and for other outdoor requirements.