We Won’t Let You Pine…because we care!
Actually, there’s nothing we really can do if you choose to spend your money and life involved with pine trees.
All we can do is feel bad, as we know you will regret your choice if you go with pine instead of Northern White Cedar for your log home, shingles, siding, decks, railings, sauna benches, keepsake chests, or anything else that you want to last, hold up, and age gloriously.
We’re not going to insult you, or rub salt into your warping, cracking, leeching problems if you have already chosen to go pine. However, if you are still wondering what wood would be the best, well, here are a few things to consider:
| Northern White Cedar | vs |
Pine of any kind |
|---|---|---|
No need to apply chemicals to protect against insects. (Cedar shavings are valued as pet beds because they repel insects!) |
Resistance |
Needs to be “dip-treated” and requires a costly chemical maintenance program to keep bugs away |
No need to apply chemical preservatives – Northern White cedar does not hold water, which is needed for mold and mildew to grow! |
Resistance |
Needs to be “dip treated” and requires expensive chemical maintenance to keep mold and mildew at bay |
No need to apply chemical treatments for weather – Northern White Cedar is so dense it will not absorb water |
Resistance |
Naturally high in water, pine dries with heat and age, leaving plenty of room for weather to creep in and do damage. In order to use pine on exteriors, the logs and lumber are often “Wolmanized” and that doesn’t sound cheap, easy, or natural. |
Outstanding stability, as Northern White Cedar grows very slowly (often 100 years or more) and is very dense, there will be far less shifting, warping, shrinking and setting than with pine. |
Dimensional Stability |
Due to the fast growth of harvested pine (somewhere around 50 years), the wood cells contain high amounts of moisture. As the pines’ moisture dries slowly, the logs will naturally shrink and builders will experience twisting, settling, shifting, and sometimes falling apart altogether. |
Absolutely as safe and natural as the forest! Since there is no need for treatment, cedar logs, lumber, siding and shingles will not release chemicals into the air, inside or out! |
Safety to Families |
Because pine must be treated to resist just about everything, chemicals are infused into the wood cells, and this produces “out gassing” a nasty process that slowly leaks the treatment chemicals into the air over time until it’s time to treat again with more chemicals. |
Northern White Cedar is so slow-growing and so dense that there is no leaking sticky sap or moisture on the logs to attract dust or dirt or hungry worms. |
Clean |
Pine is famous for tar and sticky sap, and for occasional sharp needles, too. |