Inense edar makes acomeback

I NCENSE CEDAR is back on the r on the marker. With the help of specialized mills and remanufacturers, it has become a reliable and easy to use product which you may recommend with confidence to your do-it-yourself and contractor customers alike.

The qualities that made incense cedar a favorite with the Indians and early settlers on the Pacific Coast are restoring it to popularity today. In tests conducted by the Forest Products Laboratory in- cense cedarreceived #1 ratings in physical properties including natural durability, shrinkage, checking, weathering, warping, paint holding, insulation value and workability. These ratings place incense cedar above other western softwoods in eight of nine categories. The #4 rating given for strength was the only weak spot in the report. lncense cedar is a favorite for interior paneling. Available in clear or knotty

Because of its outstanding durability and resistance to decay, incense cedar is an excellent choice for use in areas with high humidity or moisture. Fencing, walks, greenhouse benches, flower boxes. mudsills. rafters and boardwalks as well as subflooring and sheathing have been traditional uses for incense cedar.

High insulation qualities, durability and fine dimensional stability make incense cedar a wise choice for exterior siding. Architectural styles ranging from rustic cabins to painted Colonial and stained or natural contemporary sffuctures are well executed with incense cedar siding. The wood takes all finishes well or tums a lovely silver shade if left to weather.

0UTD00R uses for incense cedar are manv. Because of its dunability, it is recommendeil for areas with high moisture or humidity lwels. lts attactive appearance is a plus for ornamental plantens.

Incense-cedar returns to consumer market after years as pencil stock ...physical properties #1 targeted for d-i-y manufactured for easy installation multLuse products developed.

styles as well as pecky, it can be used with either the rough texture or smooth side showing. The lovely color and lingering aromatic fragrance create a warn, homey ambiance compatible with today's interior designs.

To make it easy for do-it-yourselfers to use it, interior paneling is being manufactured with an interlocking tongue and groove design on all four panel edges. Installed readily with hand tools, the panels can be nailed in place or applied with adhesive. Because the panels can be applied vertically, horizontally or diagonally, the homeowner can select the visual effect most complementary to the room. The panels can be reversed to give a choice of rough textured or smooth surface. Incense cedar paneling can be left natural or finished with a clear penetrating sealer or semi-transparent stain.

Mouldings of all types also are being milled from incense cedar. Again designed for easy handling by the do-ityourselfer, they come in a wide variety of profiles for both interior and exterior applications.

For outdoor uses, incense cedar is manufactured as pre-cut fencing. Siding also comes in a variety of pattems. Tongue and groove, shiplap, plain or rabbeted bevel, channel rustic or boards are available with rough-sawn texture on one side and smooth on the other.

Decking has been made easy to use with the option of staining or leaving unfinished. The high dimensional stability, workability and natural insulating qualities of incense cedar make it a good choice for outdoor living areas, especially near spas or other areas where there is moisture.

Lattice, another product manufactured with the do-it-yourselfer in mind, has expanded beyond the garden. A1though fences, windscreens, trellises and gazebos are still popular, preassembled lattice panels have moved inside as a decorator item. Used in doorways, as shutters at windows, as dividers, for interesting wall finishes, to lower ceilings, as screens or storage racks, they challenge a homeowner's imagination.

Some incense cedar for both indoor and outdoor applications is available with a pecky effect. Similar to that found in.pecky cypress, this is created in nature as a fungus (Polyporus amarus) enters older living trees when live tissue is exposed by loss of a branch or when fire destroys the bark. The airborne fungi spores thrive only in very mature living wood tissue, usually in trees of 150 to 165 years old. When the tree is cut, the fungus is destroyed and disappears leaving behind an unusual texture.

Despite its useful characteristics, cedar, because it grows in such close proximity to other westem softwoods, began to be cut and marketed as western cedar. For many years the aromatic wood was used mainly for pencils. Now that several companies are concentrating on incense cedar, it has regained its identity. Availability plus natural attributes makes incense cedar a viable product for both you and your customer.

THE LUMBERYARD features

I cedar buildinss with cedar interiors. Inside, painiand other remodeling materials are featured in cedar displays on cedar shelves. The rooms are lined with paneling and moulding and trim and handrails of cedar. They specialize in, you guessed it, cedar. Their product is hauled out by a pair of truck and trailers with license plates proclaiming "Cedar 1," the name of the 20-year-old El Dorado, Ca., remanufacturing plant. And owner Leonard Chapdelaine and his partner/wife Jo purchase and promote incense cedar in every way possible.

Cedar has histoncally been looked upon by some as a secondary species, chosen after sugar and Ponderosa pine, white and Douglas fir, and its closest counterpart, redwood. But the Chapdelaines are quick to assert that cedar can do everything redwood can-and more.

With more beautiful markings than redwood and equally rich red-brown colol cedar also boasts the advantages of availability and lower cost, they say. In addition, it is ideal for ground contact uses, such as decking and fencing, and has an antazing resistance to bugs, termites and water. Its natural oils also help cedar retain its resiliency and beauty longer; weathered cedar retains its strength, while taking on a silvery quality.

The Chapdelaines claim its uses are countless: for decking, fencing, interior and exterior walls, cabinets, paneling, shakes, posts, stepping stones for the garden, hillside steps, garden retaining walls, planter boxes, pecky-cedar for unusual designs and pattems, and so on.

The company is currently putting together log home kits for Lincoln Log Homes of Chestertown, N.Y., by taking 7'x9' cedar cants produced by Siena Pacific Industries and remanufacturing the log effect and other details.

Customers have even come up with a few new uses for cedar on their own, such as putting a block in the refrigerator to rid it of odors or sprinkling the shavings around the garden to keep bugs from attacking plants.

Wholesaler/retailer specializes in cedar for everything from small blocks to log homes... competition has produced more emphasis on retailside of business...specialty items help rebuild sales volume.

Cedar I also stocks pine and fu, but if there's a chance cedar can do the job, that's what will be promoted. And this company's not alone. "There was a time

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