Western red cedar cladding guide

Pre-weathered red cedar wood cladding for single-family home

Example of Red Cedar wood cladding / Chanfréa / Gris 102 - Credits: Single-family home - Builder: Myotte Duquet

Western Red Cedar is a Canadian wood species prized for its exceptional aesthetic and technical qualities. Lightweight, durable, and naturally weather-resistant, it is ideal for high-end exterior cladding projects. In this guide, discover its characteristics, advantages, and practical tips for installation and maintenance.

Key features

Lightweight and stable: With an average density of 370 kg/m³, Western Red Cedar is easy to handle and offers excellent dimensional stability.
Natural aesthetics: Its colors range from light beige to reddish brown, adding an elegant and warm touch to your facades.
Exceptional durability: Classified as use class 3.2 (excluding sapwood), it is naturally resistant to weathering and biological attack, ensuring a lifespan of over 50 years.
Versatile installation: Suitable for various installation techniques (horizontal, vertical, openwork), it blends harmoniously with different architectural styles.
Simplified maintenance: It develops a silvery patina over time, or can be maintained to retain its original color.

Features and benefits of western red cedar wood cladding

Definition of Red Cedar

Western red cedar is a noble, durable wood. Western red cedar is a very soft wood with a fine to medium grain and a generally straight, regular grain from a large coniferous tree, the largest specimens of which can reach 70 metres in height.

With its botanical name of Thuya plicata, which belongs to the Cupressaceae family, western red cedar is mainly found between 39 and 57 degrees north latitude. Western red cedar is found mainly in British Columbia on the west coast of Canada. It is also found in Alaska and as far south as California.

Western red cedar identity card

Origin	Canada - North America
Class of use	class 3.2 outside sapwood
Certification	PEFC certified
Type	very light, robust wood
Density	370 kg / m3 at 12% humidity
Durability	Very good, class II natural durability. Longevity of 50 years for use in wood cladding.
Suggested quality	Clear 2
Colour	from light (yellow) brown through pinkish brown to reddish brown, flames on the back
Dimensional stability	very good stability
Use	structures (garden sheds, greenhouses, frameworks), exteriors (cladding), interiors (parquet flooring, joinery, panelling)

How do you recognise red cedar wood cladding ?

Red Cedar cladding is easily distinguished by its noble and natural appearance, but certain details allow it to be identified with certainty. Subtle hues, delicate grain, characteristic scent, and lightness of the wood are all clues that attest to its authenticity. Learning to recognize Western Red Cedar siding not only helps avoid confusion with other species, but also allows you to fully appreciate the aesthetic and technical qualities of this exceptional wood

Western red cedar: unique colour variations

From an aesthetic point of view, red cedar siding is characterised by a colour with many variations. Shades range from yellow beige to reddish brown, pinkish brown and chocolate brown. The grain of western red cedar is characterised by alternating striations. The colour variations of western red cedar siding give a unique and original look to buildings.

Western red cedar siding is characterised by its fine to medium grain, straight grain and virtually no knots.

Western red cedar: a light wood

Red cedar siding is very light and dimensionally stable. With an average density of 370 kg/m3 and low density, western red cedar lends itself to applications where weight is a key factor, such as Tiny Houses.

Western red cedar: insect resistance and durability

Thanks to the presence of natural essential oils in the wood, red cedar is extremely resistant to insect attack. In fact, cedar has been used for decades in our wardrobes to protect our clothes from moth attack.

Used in wood cladding, red cedar will last for more than 50 years.

In short, western red cedar is :

Unique shades of colour
A noble, light wood
Naturally durable, insect-resistant wood
A wood with a beautiful silver-grey patina over time

The different qualities of western red cedar

In Europe, red cedar is imported in different qualities:

Clear 2 quality: wood cladding boards that are virtually free of knots and irregularities, with regular grain. At Sivalbp we only offer Clear 2 quality.
Clear 4 quality: wood cladding strips with a high proportion of adherent knots.
Knotty: a large number of adherent knots of unlimited size. This quality of red cedar is mainly used for pergolas, sheds, garden sheds, etc.
Standard and Better: a slightly lower quality. This quality of red cedar is more suitable for use as structural timber.

To visualize these applications and get inspired, discover our examples of projects using red cedar, illustrating the diversity of finishes possible with this wood species.

Ageing of red cedar siding: how do you maintain red cedar siding?

Over time, red cedar cladding naturally evolves, changing from its original warm tones to a highly sought-after silvery patina. This aging process, unique to this noble wood species, does not affect its performance in any way, but it can be influenced by exposure, climate, and maintenance. Understanding this process and adopting the right maintenance practices will preserve the beauty of the wood while extending its durability. Let's take a look at how to effectively maintain Western Red Cedar cladding so that it retains its charm over the years.

How does red cedar siding age?

As a living material, without a finish, any type of wood will turn a natural grey. Red cedar is no exception to this rule. Without a finish, red cedar will develop a silvery-grey patina that will in no way affect its durability.

Red cedar is a naturally rot-proof wood. It contains essential oils that act as an insect and fungus repellent. Red cedar is also highly resistant to mould attack.

How can I prevent red cedar siding from greying?

Would you like to know how to protect your red cedar siding and keep its original colour? To prevent your red cedar wood cladding from greying naturally, you need to protect it from the elements and the sun with a saturator or woodstain.

What treatments and saturators are suitable for red cedar siding?

The most commonly used finishing products are saturators, woodstains and paints. Paints and woodstains are film-forming products that cover the boards of red cedar wood cladding. The effect will be more covering and the wood's distinctive features will therefore be much better concealed.

At Sivalbp, we advise you to opt for a saturator. A non-film-forming finishing product, saturator deeply impregnates the wood fibres without masking the wood's distinctive features, for optimum, long-lasting protection.

How do I fix red cedar siding? Installation techniques

Red Cedar cladding can be installed in several ways depending on the desired aesthetic effect and the technical constraints of the project. The two most common configurations are horizontal installation, which highlights the width of the boards and gives an impression of stability, and vertical installation, which is appreciated for its contemporary elegance and its ability to visually elongate facades. Each method has specific advantages and requires appropriate implementation to ensure the durability of the wood and proper ventilation of the structure. Let's explore the differences and best practices for successfully installing Red Cedar cladding, whether horizontal or vertical.

Horizontal installation of red cedar wood cladding

Vertical-lay red cedar siding

Vertical installation of red cedar cladding is suitable for all types of façade. Focus on vertical open-joint of red cedar claddinginstallation . This involves fixing boards with spaces between them to facilitate ventilation. The result is vertical openwork Red Cedar cladding. This protects the wood from potential moisture build-up and premature deterioration. This technique gives an elegant look to your home or building, with a visual impression of slenderness and finesse. It also facilitates rainwater drainage.

Horizontal Red Cedar wood cladding

The horizontal installation technique for red cedar wood cladding gives your façade a stretched effect.

How much does red cedar siding cost per m² ?

Of all the wood species used for timber façade cladding, red cedar is undoubtedly the leading and most upmarket. Often used for exceptional architectural projects or by demanding homeowners, red cedar is a top-of-the-range product.

Are you planning to install Red Cedar exterior wood cladding? To find out everything you need to know about the price per m² of red cedar wood, check out our cladding prices.

Red Cedar or Larch cladding ?

Red Cedar and Larch are two robust, stable and durable wood species. They differ in a number of ways. Larch cladding has a blond-orange colour that contrasts with the variegated colour of red cedar. Red Cedar wood cladding is much lighter than Larch wood cladding. Its distinctive features (graining, nodosity) are much more pronounced.

Wood species	Price	Singularities	Wood aspect	Ageing	Use of class	Origin
Western Red Cedar	€€€€	Fine grain, 95% knot-free blades	Contrasting colours (yellow, brown, pink, chocolate)	****	3	Canada
Larch	€€€	Fine veining, medium knots	Yellow to pink with red veins	****	3	Europe

Red Cedar Sivalbp wood cladding

By choosing from our range of finished red cedar cladding, you can be sure of a PEFC-certified product from sustainably managed forests. For all your exterior and interior design projects, choose red cedar cladding from the ranges we offer at Sivalbp.

Discover our various ranges of western red cedar wood cladding:

Western red cedar cladding, Elegance range

Choose our Western Red Cedar wood cladding from the Elegance range for saturated wood tones. Thanks to our non-film-forming saturator, Red Cedar wood cladding respects the wood's distinctive features and retains its natural appearance.

Western red cedar wood cladding, New Age range

As a reminder, without finishing, wood will turn a natural grey. If you want to anticipate the effects of time, choose our New Age range of Red Cedar wood cladding. Our range of grey-tone saturators will add a contemporary touch to your facades and ensure even ageing over time.

Authentic range Western red cedar wood cladding

If you want to leave your red cedar wood cladding natural and unfinished, our Authentic range of red cedar wood cladding is for you. After a few years of exposure, Sivalbp Red Cedar siding from our Authentic range will evolve towards a natural greying. The wood cladding will take on an attractive silver-grey patina.

In summary, Western Red Cedar is an exceptional wood species for exterior cladding: thanks to its light weight, natural durability, warm colors, and dimensional stability, it meets both the technical and aesthetic requirements of a sustainable project.
Whether you opt for horizontal or vertical installation, let the wood evolve naturally, or wish to preserve its original color using a saturator, each step—from choosing the wood species to installation—deserves attention in order to take full advantage of its qualities.
By choosing a certified version (PEFC) and following best practices for installation and maintenance, you can ensure that your facade will have an elegant appearance, a long life, and a weathered patina that reveals the nobility of the wood.
Make your siding a real architectural asset—Red Cedar contributes to this with distinction.

If you would like more advice and information about our Red Cedar wood cladding products, please do not hesitate to contact our wood experts.