Articles: Tongue and Groove Cedar - The Rolls Royce of Timber Cladding

There aren’t many timbers as eye catching as cedar and it is easy to see why, the vibrant colours and identifiable aroma of the timber. We are long time admirers of tongue and groove cedar because it offers everything you need from a cladding material:

• Cedar is durable, so has a long-life span, and its natural stability means that there is minimal moisture movement within the timber.
• Tongue and Groove is one of the most secure ways to clad a building because of the interlocking way the boards are put together.
• As with all cladding tongue and groove cedar is great weather protection against an interior wall.

Cladding is a very popular product that we supply for people looking to build garages and sheds as well as renovating old barns and even for use on their house. We recommend Western Red Cedar because it gives you a finish that really stands out from everything else around it.

The difference between the boards in colour is astounding and is something that no other timber really comes close to, you’ll always get variation in wood but Cedar takes it to another level. The Canadian Cedar also contains very few knots meaning that you get a modern contemporary finish.

Which Species of Tongue and Groove Cedar Should I Choose?

Both the Canadian and British Cedar are great for outdoor use and easy to maintain there are some big differences between the two:

Durability
The Canadian Cedar is by far the more durable out of the two. It is an incredibly stable timber which naturally negates a lot of water movement meaning there is less chance of the boards warping. We recommend treating all cladding, however, the British timber is more reliant upon it than the Canadian.

Aesthetics How you want your cladding to look is completely up to you and there is definitely a split comparison between British and Canadian Cedar.

The Canadian Cedar ranges in colour from a light to a dark red and contain very few knots. This makes for a modern timber that gives you a clean, clear cut finish.

British Cedar is a lighter red and is more uniform in colour than its Canadian counterpart and contains a lot more knots. The British Cedar is the more traditional looking timber due to its knot content.

Canadian

British

Timber shown is not tongue and groove

Price
Due to its increasing popularity and the cost of importing Canadian Cedar is more expensive than the British. The reason its so popular is because the colour variation makes it very attractive and it has a longer lifespan. However, the British is a great alternative for a fraction of the cost.

The two species of exterior cedar cladding are very different, so it is completely up to you which one you choose. Just remember, whether you go for the modern Canadian or traditional British both are excellent choices for your cladding!