Redwood

Scott Young

do any of you build with redwood? i haven't had the luxury to build with it. i have used cedar, cypress, and treated pine. all the lumber stores i have asked about it don't carry it. i have asked the mom and pop and the box stores. i can special order it and prepay for it. the cheapest of the two was 16.00/bdft. i about stroked. well where does on get this deck and fence build material. also, is it much better than the others mentioned above?

BuiltByMAC

Hey Scott,

I build with redwood delivered to Eugene, OR from Northern California. It's some nice looking stuff - I get 2x6 for around 1.65/ lin. ft.

Is it much better than cedar? Looks different, handles the same, some cedar I get looks better than some redwood I get and vice-versa - better is relative! You'd probably have to buy a truckload worth to get the delivery cost down to a manageable figure - got a big shop and customers lined up?

Scott Young

i don't do decks exclusively. that may be part of my problem. they come in spurts. seems i will do several decks then they cease. i do fences and decks, int and ext trim, windows and doors, and cabinets and builtins. seems like i have several decks then i will have a set of windows or cabinets to do. decks seem to be seasonal for me.

1.65 lf what a price difference. i suspect the price quoted to me was for a superior grade lumber. what grade should i ask for? since the lumber stores down here don't handle redwood, they are at the mercy of a price sheet and my lack of knowledge as to what to ask for.

thank yall

BuiltByMAC

Scott,

The price I quoted you was for "Construction Heart" Redwood. It has knots (tight, not open) and is structurally sound for decking. If you look at some of the pics on my website (www.builtbymac.com/decks.htm), you'll see what con heart redwood looks like. It is cheaper than clear redwood but still beautiful!

Here's a link to a list of the various grades of redwood -
http://www.calredwood.org/about/gradeuse.htm

Mac

Scott Young

thankyou

Joe Wood

You know Scott, redwood isn't a very good choice for the decking, it's way too soft. I used to build all my decks out of it, but sure don't anymore. Too many other options out there. I use ipe now, screwed and plugged. Costs moe (especially the labor) but your deck will last so much longer.

Also, redwood isn't very structual.