Is cedar an appropriate wood for a log home? Throughout our forty-year history we’ve manufactured with many types of wood, cedar included. We’ve seen a misconception that all cedar trees are the same and have the same beneficial qualities. While in general, cedar has some resistance to insect and decay that untreated white woods don’t have, different varieties of cedar have different characteristics and some perform better than others.

White Cedar, harvested mostly in the East and found in some competing packages, is a very slow-growing cedar tree. By the time the tree has grown large enough for a REAL LOG HOMES® 8” wall log, White Cedar tends to have developed decay in the pith, or center, of the tree, and does not meet our strict grading requirements. For healthy White Cedar, the trees need to be harvested at a younger, smaller stage, yielding logs that are commonly 4” to 6” wide – too small for our standard 8” wall log. That’s why we don’t use it. The 8" standard wall logs used in your REAL™ log home provide more stability and better insulating value than competing smaller wall logs.

Experience with White Cedar and other cedar varieties proves Western Cedar is more suitable for our 8" and larger wall log sizes. But unless the darker, rich-figured grain and distinctive knots that are associated with Western Cedar is desired, our regional woods such as Eastern White Pine or Western White Woods are more economical and arrive borate-treated for added protection, making them excellent choices for your home.