Which Wood for What?

Cedar! Pine! Doug Fir! How do you know which wood would best fit the needs of your yard? Here’s a brief breakdown of what to use and why:

PINE

Strengths

  • Pressure treated pine is going to be your lowest cost option.

  • It’s best used for side-by-side fences, and it has a lifespan of 10-15 years.

Weaknesses

  • It’s a harder wood and pressure-treated so it doesn’t take to stain as well.

  • As a general rule of thumb, you don’t want to stain pine until it’s been dried out for 3-6 months.

  • Pine has a tendency to shrink and warp more over time.

  • You’ll see more gaps form between the pickets then some of the other wood choices.

CEDAR

Strengths

  • Rot resistant

  • Bug/insect resistant

  • Stains well

  • Has the longest life span of wood available for fencing (15-20 years)

  • Cedar is ideal for board on board fences, especially 8’ fences.

  • When taken care of, and stained every 3-5 years, cedar fences can last 25-30 years.

Weaknesses

  • None other than cedar is higher cost than other wood choices.

There are 3 main subsets of cedar on the current market, and different opinions on which cedar is better.

  1. Western Red — Harvested in the US. Wait 3-4 days to stain it. Usually most expensive. Available only at Home Depot in a #2 grade

  2. Japanese Cedar or Japonica — Kiln dried so you can stain immediately, #1 grade so board is thicker with less knots

  3. CRC or Cryptomeria Red Cedar — Kiln dried

From a strict fencing point-of-view, Western Red, CRC, and Japanese cedar are all excellent options.

DOUGLAS FIR

Strengths

  • Looks a lot like cedar

  • Takes to stain well

  • Costs slightly more than pine but not as expensive as cedar

  • Doug Fir is a strong and hardy wood and is resistant to bending and warping

Weaknesses

  • Tends to crack more than a soft wood like cedar

  • Recommend installing with screws if you go with this wood

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The Benefits of a Nice Fence

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Cedar Fencing