Buy British Western Red Cedar Beams

British Western Red Cedar Beams Introduction

British Cedar Beams in a Frame

iWood's Home-Grown British Cedar is a beautiful timber and is provided fresh sawn to your sizes from UK forests.

Compared to English Oak, or British Larch or Douglas Fir, British Cedar is less dense, which makes it easier to work with, but also makes it softer, so it's not recommended for use where it may be subject to impacts or where it may get walked on else it may bruise or dent.

Compared to imported Canadian cedar, the British is slightly less durable, but still very durable, has less colour variation and is much cheaper. A big difference is that imported Canadian Cedar is only available in thicknesses of up to 100mm, as this is the thickest standard size that's imported, whereas the British is available up to 200mm x 200mm sections.

British Cedar Beam Common Uses

Our British Cedar beams are often ordered for projects such as garden room and greenhouse frames, plus for garden structures such as pergolas seeing as it's very durable.

British Cedar Appearance

Home-grown Cedar beams tend to range from a creamy / pale yellow towards a more pinkish hue. It's often described as quite a warm colour when compared with similar timbers. British Cedar is often chosen for its appearance, which is why it is slightly more expensive than British Douglas Fir or Larch. British Cedar is often quite knotty which adds character to the timber.

Our Cedar beams are provided rough sawn, so you may see saw marks up and down the sides where the band saw has cut the timber. You can optionally choose to plane the beams smooth once you have them, but because this sawn look is how it's been supplied traditionally, rough sawn as supplied is the look that many people are going for.

Grades of British Cedar

The timber priced above is a high quality Fresh Sawn Merchantable grade, which is not selected to a specific strength class, but is suitable for most day to day uses where structural calculations are not required by a building controller.

If you're making something that will need structural approval, you'll likely require the timber grading to a specific strength class, such as C14 or C18 Cedar Beams. Please get in touch with the sizes you need and we can give you a quotation. We don't offer instant pricing online for specific strength grades as it gets quite tricky, depending on section sizes, and has to be worked out and have availability checked.

Sizes of British Cedar

We provide home-grown cedar beams in thicknesses and widths of 50 to 200mm, and lengths between 3m and 4.8m. Because the beams are provided rough sawn as is traditional, rather than planed smooth, the thickness and widths may vary by plus or minus 4mm down the beam.

Our beams are always provided slightly over-length to be cross-cut down to your required length on site.

Grown In Britain

iWood is a proud, certified member of Grown in Britain, the UK's initiative to prove the source of timber at every step of the supply chain. Ask if you need your timber to be Grown in Britain certified.

Benefits of British Cedar

As mentioned, it's one of the easiest timbers to work with. It's a lot easier to cut through a cedar beam than an oak one, for example.

It's also very durable when out in the elements and resilient to rot, so is very good for making outside garden structures if you're looking for something more cost effective than oak.

As it doesn't have to travel from abroad, British Cedar is considered more environmentally friendly than imported timbers, with a lower carbon footprint.

Buying British Cedar Beams

You can build up your cutting list above by entering your sizes and it will give you immediate pricing. From here you can add it to your basket where you can buy it securely online, or place it and pay over the telephone by card, or by bank transfer on the back of a pro-forma invoice.

What Other Timbers Might I Consider?

As far as British timbers go, you might want to look at British Larch beams and British Douglas Fir beams. They're slightly cheaper than the cedar, and marginally stronger, but comparatively less durable.

English Oak beams are a much stronger and more durable alternative if you're looking the best of the best when it comes to British beams.

Is There Anything Else I Should be Aware of with British Cedar?

Like Oak, Cedar contains a lot of natural tannin, an acidic chemical which gives the timber its durability and resistance to rot.

There are a few things to be aware of with regards to tannin in the timber:

1. If you use metal fixings, they should be stainless steel so they don't get corroded and leave marks on the timber
2. Any contact with metals during storage or handling can leave black or blue staining on the timber (which can be removed easily, see below)
3. Tannin can leach out the timber in the first few months which can leave a brown mark.

If you experience any brown marks as a result of tannins in the timber, you can buy a small tub of Oxalic Acid crystals, which you simply dilute in water and brush on to completely remove the marks.

In Summary

iWood is a reliable source of high quality British Western Red Cedar beams. We can grade them to specific strength classes if required and are happy to talk to you about your requirements. Feel free to get in touch.

British Cedar Beams Gallery