Thread: western red cedar vs cypress pine cladding

hi panos, and welcome to the forum.

to answer your question properly, it would help if you can narrow down what you mean by "outside".
outside doors? outside roof? outside deck? outside cladding?

if you dont find the info you are looking on this forum, try woodwork forums other branch which is renovateforum.com.

a very good site which deals with all your renovation queries.

regards, justin.

yeah your right i meant outside wall cladding

id go for cypress.

i hate westurn red "cedar". its nothign but firewood that dosent burn.

I've built many cedar houses, I wouldn't bother with cypress.

so what are the advantages and disadvantages regarding the two woods ?

Cypress moves a lot while drying and splits easliy

so it all points towards western red thanks for opinions

Make some inquiries about Paulownia. I belive it is just as good as WRC and is very light in colour. This would give you an alternative finish to the dark WRC. Paulownia takes a stain well if you wanted something different.

Originally Posted by echnidna

Cypress moves a lot while drying

Cypress generally has very low shrinkage and tends to be quite stable during drying (from what I have both read and experienced)

and splits easliy

Yes especially when dry. It also tends the get a lot of surface checking if dried rapidly.

are we talking golden cypress or Australian cypress Callitris glauca,

I'd go Australian cypress over WRC, but is a bit brittle, requiring care when nailing and if you are doing the work, get a bit and cut it to see if you're allergic to it (common)

Cheers
Michael