- Q.I'm pricing cedar for a
replacement deck that was formerly built with treated
yellow pine. A local supplier is telling me his
"northern white" cedar will last far longer than
"Alaskan" cedar, which I can purchase for about half
the price. Is there really such a dramatic
difference?
A.Paul Fisette
responds: According to all my reference
materials and based on my own experience, Alaskan,
northern, Atlantic, and Port-Orford cedar are
similar in durability. Keep in mind that only the
heartwood is resistant to decay. Sapwood is not at
all reliably durable. One difference with Alaskan
yellow is that the heartwood color —
yellow — makes it easier to distinguish
the heartwood from the sapwood, which is pale
yellow. With the other cedars, there is not a great
difference between sapwood and heartwood colors, so
it can be more difficult to tell if you have in
fact purchased durable heartwood or nondurable
sapwood.
Paul Fisette is director of Building Materials
and Wood Technology at the University of
Massachusetts at Amherst and a JLC contributing
editor.