"Cedar" does a lot of quiet work in a timber yard. Ask three suppliers for a cedar board and you might be handed three completely different woods: a soft, salmon-pink length of Western red cedar, a dense blank of Atlas cedar that smells faintly of pencil shavings, or a pale, straight-grained piece of Japanese cedar. All three are sold as cedar. They do not behave the same way.
For anyone building cladding, a bench or a garden gate, the useful question is not which cedar is best in the abstract, but which one suits the job in front of you. Colour, weight, rot resistance and how the stuff behaves under a plane all pull in different directions.
Three cedars, two plant families
Only one of the three is a true cedar. Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica) belongs to the pine family and grows in the mountains of North Africa. Western red cedar (Thuja plicata) and Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica, or sugi) are both in the cypress family, from the Pacific Northwest and Japan respectively.
That split shows up on the bench. The two cypress-family timbers are light, soft and slightly spongy under a chisel. Atlas cedar is noticeably heavier and denser — pick up a metre of each and the difference is immediate.
Colour and grain: reading the board
Western red cedar heartwood runs from pale straw through pinkish-brown to a deep, warm red-brown, and it is the colour most people picture when they hear the word cedar. Sapwood is creamy white and far less durable, which is why good cladding is specified as all-heartwood. Grain is usually straight, the texture soft and slightly woolly, the knots small and tight. Left bare outside, it fades to silver-grey within a season or two.
Atlas cedar is paler: yellowish-brown to light reddish-brown, often with a faint pink or purplish cast and a strong resinous scent that lingers in the workshop. The grain is usually straight but can turn lively around knots, and the surface has a slightly oily feel.
Japanese cedar is the most uniform of the three. Warm pinkish-brown heartwood sits against pale sapwood in clear contrast, with a straight grain and even texture. It smells faintly resinous, nothing like as aromatic as Atlas.
Rot resistance: where each one belongs outdoors
Western red cedar earns its reputation. The heartwood is naturally durable and has been the default choice for external cladding, sheds and screens in the UK for decades. Well detailed and ventilated, untreated heartwood holds up for a very long time.
Japanese cedar sits a step below. Its heartwood is moderately durable, its sapwood is not durable at all, so all-heartwood stock matters even more than usual. It has clad Japanese buildings for centuries and performs well here provided it is detailed properly and kept clear of the ground.
Atlas cedar is the odd one out. Resinous and heavy, it stands up better than many people expect in a sheltered spot, but it is not the wood to bury in soil or leave in a place that stays wet. Treat it as a joinery and furniture timber that can live outside under cover.
Five rules that matter more than species
- Keep timber out of the soil. Post bases, galvanised shoes or concrete plinths do more for lifespan than any species choice.
- Seal end grain. It soaks up water faster than any other face; a coat of end-grain sealer or oil pays for itself.
- Leave a drainage gap and airflow behind cladding and under decking. Trapped water kills cedar faster than rain.
- Use stainless steel or hot-dip galvanised fixings. Cedar extractives corrode mild steel, and the black staining that follows is very hard to remove.
- Orient boards so water runs off — no flat-topped rails, no upward-facing end grain.
Workability, fixings and finishing
Western red cedar is a pleasure with sharp tools and a misery with dull ones. It planes and saws easily, but soft earlywood can crush or fuzz, so take light passes and keep the irons honed. Screws hold moderately well; pre-drill near ends and edges. Sand with a light touch, because it is easy to dish a soft surface.
Atlas cedar is harder and denser, blunts edges faster, and its resin gums up saw blades and clogs sandpaper. In exchange it turns and carves beautifully, takes a crisp edge and finishes to a deep, warm sheen. Wipe the surface with a solvent before gluing — resin and oil do not help adhesion.
Japanese cedar is soft and light, much like Western red, but slightly more brittle. Straight grain makes it predictable to machine. It splits more readily when nailed close to an end, so pre-drill or use a fine-gauge nail.
On finishes: a penetrating oil slows the greying of any cedar but will not stop it, and it wants reapplying every year or two. If you want the silver look, leave it bare and accept the colour change. On Atlas cedar, a thin oil or wax brings out the best in the wood.
Matching the wood to the job
Cladding, screens and sheds
All-heartwood Western red cedar is the safe recommendation. Japanese cedar makes a fine alternative for vertical slatted screens where you want a paler, more uniform look and will accept a slightly shorter service life. Atlas cedar is too scarce in long lengths to be worth using across large areas of cladding.
Decking and garden structures
All cedar is soft, so all cedar dents under garden furniture and heels. Western red cedar decking works if you accept the marks and keep boards clear of soil; grooved boards help with grip. Japanese cedar is lighter still. Atlas cedar is better kept for handrails, gate frames and components that stay clear of standing water.
Furniture, turning and carving
This is Atlas cedar's home ground: bowls, boxes, carved panels, chair parts. Western red cedar suits lightweight outdoor furniture and planters, lined so soil does not sit against the timber. Japanese cedar is lovely for interior pieces, storage boxes and bench slats, where its low weight and clean grain
Photo: FWStudio / Pexels
