WHY WESTERN RED CEDAR?

Real Western Red Cedar is Beautiful, Self-Preserving and Carbon Neutral

Western Red Cedar is the most beautiful, warmly colorful, self-preserving wood available on the planet. When considering your custom carved wooden sign project, you will want to insist using this amazing wood. It's omnipotent. It has warm colors and tones. It has a wonderful tactile texture. It smells great (even intoxicating to those "Green" sensitive). Western Red Cedar has no pitch. It has no resin. It has no sap. The larger problem is that there is a lot wood that is referred to as "Cedar". There are as many as 13 varieties of wood that are called cedar. Many are Junipers, or pine, Yellow Cedar, White Cedar, Spanish cedar, on and on. Eastern Red Cedar is that incense-like variety used as closet linings and hope chests. There's the rub...False cedars. Real Western Red Cedar is THE material for an outdoor custom wood sign.

Western Red Cedar does contain natural oils that help preserve it against insect attack and decay. This is a huge reason it is used for custom carved outdoor signs. Most welcome signs are placed outdoors, and will be asked to withstand a variety of weather conditions from extreme cold, to very hot, wet, warm, and everything in between. Because Wester Red Cedar can weather these conditions so well, it is the only choice for carved sign making. Cedar has literally been the outdoor construction material of choice for centuries. It is these natural oils which make carved cedar signs incredibly durable; maintaining your outdoor signs great appearance for a long, long time.

Cedar is, remarkably, dimensionally stable. This means it will tend to lay flat and remain straight. When Western Red Cedar is properly treated and finished, it will gracefully age and last for a very long time.

Western Red Cedar also provides an added appeal to your landscape. Since your welcome sign will likely be placed on or near a landscaped area, the carved sign will serve as a focal point and augment the environment for potential customers, visitors and guests. Quite simply, they see your lush landscape; and, they will also see your aesthetically pleasing cedar, personalized outdoor welcome sign.

Western Red Cedar; however, is no longer an affordable wood. Forest fires and weather conditions in the Pacific Northwest have constrained forestation. Cedar and other wood products make up almost 50% of all raw materials manufactured in the United States. Yet, its share of energy consumption during manufacturing is less than 5%. Western Red Cedar is a renewable building material, recyclable and regenerated. "Green Building" and rating systems such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) recognize the environmental impact of the use of woods like western red cedar. Because cedar is so durable it lasts for a long time and doesn't need to be replaced. Actually, the durability of western red cedar is a principle reason why North American and Canadian forests are still abundant after 150 years of harvesting. It's natural, biodegradable, recyclable, and originates from sustainably managed forests.

This Green Building Initiative's fundamental proposition deals with the health of the environment. Cedar is a natural material with centuries of proven performance. Green building rating systems are being applied more and more and cedar excels under the scrutiny of green building review. Western Red Cedar measures up to the requirements and comes out the winner in all aspects when compared to other materials. Creating signs from Western Red Cedar is a natural - it is the ultimate green material. It produces fewer greenhouse gases, requires less energy to produce than alternatives and comes from a profoundly renewable, sustainable resource. Equally important, Western Red Cedar is carbon neutral! That's just plain smart.


May the Forest be with you!