04-18-2016, 04:47 PM
So I'm planning my fence, leaning strongly toward splurging and doing it in western red cedar because the idea of crafting this custom/"good neighbor" fence out of wet twisty pressure treated is just too ugly to think about
Anyway - I've contacted 4 distributors in the north-west, as well as a couple along the east coast and finally 3 lumber yards in town (none of which include any big-box store)
Shipping costs ignored, the distributors in the north-west are all more expensive than 2 of the lumberyards here in town, and one of the local vendors is at least twice the price as the other two.
Yet they are all calling them the same thing in so far as grade. Additionally, it seems across the board it's all milled rough one side and smooth the other.
I think I'd want to make the fence either all rough, or all smooth, and since one side is already smooth, I'd figure "ok, plane the rough side." One distributor, when I mentioned this said that would put me below 3/4" and that "the rough side is the show side." It got me thinking - if I had one side of the fence rough, and the other smooth, which is the "good side" that would face the neighbor? And how much depth must be removed to get rid of that rough side if I wanted to plane it smooth? I can't imagine much more than a 1/16" or so..
That aesthetic question aside, the real question I have is, how can I verify that the local guys are actually selling real western red cedar? I don't have any prior experience working with it, but find it suspicious that a local lumber yard in western NY would sell it cheaper than a lumber-yard in washington state.
I'd like to go local, and I plan to go look at the stock first, but I want to make sure it's the real deal and not some eastern/yellow variety.
thoughts?
Anyway - I've contacted 4 distributors in the north-west, as well as a couple along the east coast and finally 3 lumber yards in town (none of which include any big-box store)
Shipping costs ignored, the distributors in the north-west are all more expensive than 2 of the lumberyards here in town, and one of the local vendors is at least twice the price as the other two.
Yet they are all calling them the same thing in so far as grade. Additionally, it seems across the board it's all milled rough one side and smooth the other.
I think I'd want to make the fence either all rough, or all smooth, and since one side is already smooth, I'd figure "ok, plane the rough side." One distributor, when I mentioned this said that would put me below 3/4" and that "the rough side is the show side." It got me thinking - if I had one side of the fence rough, and the other smooth, which is the "good side" that would face the neighbor? And how much depth must be removed to get rid of that rough side if I wanted to plane it smooth? I can't imagine much more than a 1/16" or so..
That aesthetic question aside, the real question I have is, how can I verify that the local guys are actually selling real western red cedar? I don't have any prior experience working with it, but find it suspicious that a local lumber yard in western NY would sell it cheaper than a lumber-yard in washington state.
I'd like to go local, and I plan to go look at the stock first, but I want to make sure it's the real deal and not some eastern/yellow variety.
thoughts?