BDU Decking College™

Cedar Decking: An Architectural Choice

What you will learn: The natural benefits of cedar for decking; popularity of cedar as a building material; colors of cedar wood.

Cedar decking is certainly a popular choice for a beautiful decking material. But there are more advantages to choosing cedar than just the attractiveness of the wood itself.

There’s just something about cedar: the rich color, the varying grain patterns, and the lovely distinctive fragrance that makes you want to inhale deeply. For sheer visual appeal and pride of ownership, a cedar deck is an unbeatable choice. But beyond this, cedar decking offers other unique advantages for the do-it-yourselfer as well as the commercial contractor.

Red cedar is renowned for its natural resistance to outdoor wear, ranging from rain and direct sunlight (specifically UV rays) to insect damage. As you might guess, for decking this is very important. Within the cedar wood itself are natural chemicals that guard against many types of decay, making cedar an ideal building material many outdoor applications, and in particular for decking. These chemicals do not share the traits of resins or pitch found in many other types of wood, and therefore allow you to apply a finish more easily to your deck, a simple way of gaining an extra level of protection against climatic elements. Cedar’s natural agents will not corrode your decking fasteners, as the treated chemicals in other types of wood decking might. In addition to its chemically suitable properties for use as an outdoor building material, cedar is a very easy wood to work with when building a deck. It is resilient yet light weight, and provides a durable surface for a long life. Knowledgeable builders have long chosen cedar as their favorite decking lumber for all its long-term construction advantages, as well as its many aesthetic qualities.

It also helps that cedar is a distinctively beautiful wood for use in decking, with colors ranging from light amber to a pinkish shade when it is first cut and a rich, reddish hue by the time it is ready to be used for decking. If left without staining, the cedar turns an attractive silver-grey color. Cedar wood sports distinctive patterns which are naturally developed over decades and will give your deck a unique visual result which you and the neighbors will wholeheartedly approve. This natural, attractive wood can complement any building, with or without a stain of your choosing, and increase the aesthetic satisfaction you get from your property, not to mention the market value.

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