Buying Cedar Lumber

Cedar lumber comes in a variety of types and grades. This can make it difficult to know when a piece of cedar lumber is the best possible wood for a specific project. To figure out whether the particular piece of lumber is the right quality for the job, it's necessary to know what a high-quality cedar board looks like and how cedar is graded.

Instructions

1. Take a close look at the lumber. A good piece of cedar lumber has a specific coloring and smoothness that means it is a high grade of wood. To get the sturdiest piece of cedar, look for the darkest pieces. These pieces are taken from the middle of the cedar tree and are the strongest part of the cedar tree. This is called the heartwood.

2. Look for any imperfections. Cedar lumber comes in a wide range of grades based on how many knots it has. To get the sturdiest cedar, look for lumber that has no knots or other imperfections such as cracks or discoloration. This grade of wood is called clear cedar. A piece of heartwood cedar that is free of knots is the most sought-after grade and is referred to as Clear Heart.

3. Buy a lesser grade of cedar if the wood will be used somewhere that it won’t be seen. There are a number of cedar grades for lumber that has knots in it. If you buy a grade such as Architect Knotty, you will still get the benefits of cedar wood but will pay a lot less for it.

4. Choose between white or red cedar. Both types have similar attributes, but red cedar is the stronger type. Red cedar is often used in furniture for this reason. If you are making something that will require a lot of nails in the cedar lumber, red cedar is known to hold nails better and to provide more support.