Author Topic: Can you identify the type of wood in these pics?  (Read 2112 times)

Marvel2017

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Can you identify the type of wood in these pics?
« on: March 25, 2015, 10:48:47 AM »
I am trying to make sure I use the same type wood on a new project so that it matches the existing wood. The pics are here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/25852000@N03/sets/72157651494306266/

PIC 1: This is the deck. There are 4X4 uprights that I'm pretty sure are cedar because they have a lot of red in them. The rest of the deck I'm not too sure. When I clean it with a pressure washer the wood/reddish brown tones come back for a while and it doesn't look like its current state of gray.

PIC 2: This is my neighbors fence that borders our property. It has some red tones in it, which leads me to believe it may not be pine-maybe cedar but I'm not sure. I've never pressure washed it. (Is there something I can do to pressure wash then keep the natural tone of wood rather than having it go gray again)?

PIC 3: This is a raised planter bed. I'm almost sure this is cedar or not pine or something you get at Home Depot because the boards are about 3 inches thick and like nothing I've seen at HD. Maybe cedar?

Basically I'm building a new storage building and would like to get all the woods looking similar/complement each other so trying to figure out what I'm starting with here, hopefully there are some wood experts.

Spork

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Re: Can you identify the type of wood in these pics?
« Reply #1 on: March 25, 2015, 10:55:51 AM »
I'm with you.  I think they're all cedar.  You could sand a little corner that's hard to see and see if the cedar color comes out.

If it were pine (and not pressure treated) it would probably disintegrate with rot/insect damage in 5 years or so.  I've seen lots of builder grade fences last about that long.

You can get rid of the gray color with a bleach solution.  Pressure wash or a stiff brush will help that along.  (Google around for the amount of bleach... I forget.)   The gray is actually a mild mildew.  Some folks love it.  Some folks hate it.

You'll also want to buy a specially coated screw (or nail) for cedar.  Most nalls/screws will leave a drippy stain over time.  Cedar screws are coated so they won't react or rust and leave a dark stain.

TrMama

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Re: Can you identify the type of wood in these pics?
« Reply #2 on: March 25, 2015, 03:57:51 PM »
Cedar. If you sand a bit, it should also smell like cedar.

Le Poisson

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Re: Can you identify the type of wood in these pics?
« Reply #3 on: March 27, 2015, 02:33:32 PM »
Uh boy. We've been down the road of cedar vs other wood many times, and I keep coming back to cedar because I like it, but it is pricey.

Around here you can expect to pay about 50% extra to use cedar over PT wood on your projects. And it looks 100% better, but functionally (despite what others say) I find little benefit to it over other PT outside.

(My super-pretty cedar garbage shed is documented here: http://frosthaus.blogspot.ca/2014/05/the-trash-cabana.html)

If you want to save some cash, you can frame your project in whatever wood is cheaper (PT) and then clad the exterior in cedar. Use PT for anything that touches the ground. This is pretty common. Just be sure to use ACQ friendly fasteners.

Finally, if you don't maintain the wood, everything will grey out over time, and after about 4 summers, teh only difference between the cedar and PT will be the grain. If you are staining the wood, definitely go with the cedar and it will look and last better.