Northern White Cedar VS Pine Logs
One of the most frequently asked questions we receive is "What is the big difference between Cedar & Pine?"
While you can visit a log home show or browse through a log home magazine, most people end up more confused when they started. Years of studies and research from the USDA Dept of Forestry has show that Cedar, specifically Northern White Cedar, is one of the best woods to use for building log homes.
The USDA Forestry Division ranks it as one of the three best woods to use in exterior building. NWC has the lowest shrinkage factor, lowest moisture content, and requires very little maintenance. NWC is one of the most versatile woods available. Its molecular structure gives it high thermal efficiency, and in fact, it has the highest R-Factor of all domestic woods which means the best insulating qualities for your new log home. Cedar is one of the only three woods allowed by National BOCA Code to be used to build a deck or porch without pressure treating for rot, decay, fungi, and wood infesting insects.
According to the USDA, "the wood's light weight and resistance to decay makes it useful for a number of applications [including cabin homes]. The heartwood is resistance to decay and subterranean termites, is easy to work with...and has little dimensional change. Drying of Northern White Cedar is easy. It has little tendency to shrink or warp."
Northern White Cedar is the driest wood on the stump in North America! It has a low moisture content of approximately 19%, increasing stability, resistance to rot & decay and allowing for a natural, air-dried building product. Mountain Creations' logs are composed of heartwood rather than sapwood. The heartwood lies inside the sapwood. It was once sapwood, but now consists of inactive wood cells that have been changed both chemically and physically, so that they no longer conduct sap.
To compare Northern White Cedar logs and Pine logs visit our web site for more informtion.
Check out our website for more information on all the great properties of Northern White Cedar log homes.