Cedar versus Pine

[brantley1985]

Is the extra cost of cedar worth all the extra money?

Please advise Thank you Brant

[rreidnauer]

:? Kind of a loaded question . . . . . .

It will depend on what you'd be using it for. For actuall house logs and structure, I'd say no, it's not worth it. Yes, it's very rot resistant, but if you build by Skip standards and rules, it's doesn't really play a factor.

For furniture and maybe exposed materials, then yes, it's good for that.

Also, I'm not sure how long that "cedar closet smell" would last, but I wouldn't want it, as I'm not partial to it. (maybe I'm part moth :wink: ) It reminds me of someone who got a couple loads of that cocoa mulch. Seemed like a good idea at the time, as they liked choclate. Problem was, they claimed the constant smell became sickening.

[vermonter16]

My husband and I have decided to go with western red cedar. I like that it is not treated with borate but quite simply I love the grain and color of cedar. It's worth it to us. I think you have to ask yourself what you're looking for.

[ChainsawGrandpa]

My wife and I both love the smell of Western Red Cedar.
We both want it. Trouble is the fireman in me says no
way. Seen cedar in homes after the fire. Burns at about
300 F. Easy to ignite. Still, hard to beat the beauty and
smell. We'll be too remote for any fire department to
have a chance at saving the foundation so we will need
to take all possible precautions.

-Rick

[vermonter16]

Do you know what the flame spread and smoke development rating is for eastern white pine? I know that the western red cedar has a class II rating of 69 (minus any fire retardent sealants you use) and the smoke development classification is 98 which puts it in Class II. Pine may fall in the class III range but how much difference are we talking? I currently live in a stick built townhouse that would probably go up in a minute...thank goodness the firestation is across the street :)

In speaking with the insurance company they don't dictate in price of coverage at all between eastern white pine and western red cedar. I'm just wondering if there is a giant difference. Thanks.

[jeffro]

The flame spread rating of eastern white pine is ~85. It gets really bad for things like SYP with a rating of 130-190. You have moved into class III territory. Not sure of the smoke ratings.

Jeff

[vermonter16]

Thanks!