Cedar is expensive. Is there an alternative?

There’s no getting round it, cedar is expensive. For a lot of homeowners this can lead to nasty surprises, especially when a small job uncovers more rotten boards than anyone realised… you know how it goes!

If you’re replacing the commonly-used 190mm rusticated, bandsawn face cedar weatherboards, then we may have a cheaper option for you (and if you’re replacing a different profile, read this). We have recently started stocking the same profile in H3.2 radiata pine, including the bandsawn face. This is almost 50% cheaper than the cedar equivalent!

There are a few things to think about of course…. the obvious one is how it will look. If you’re painting it then this is not a problem. If the existing cedar is not painted then it will either be stained, in which case you may be able to achieve a similar colour with the radiata, or it will have silvered over time. Radiata also silvers if exposed to the sun, if you are willing to live with the colour being different for a while then the end result can be quite satisfactory.

The other consideration how it will behave. All timber expands and contracts as the conditions change, but different species do so at different rates. If you replace cedar with radiata in the middle of a wall its possible that you may end up with misaligned boards; but if you’re doing a whole wall, or a section that is separated in some way, this won’t be such a big concern.

So next time you’re replacing weatherboards, talk to City Timber. The obvious solution may not be the only solution!