Jim Morrison Cave Closed Indefinitely Due to Vandals

File under: Why we can’t have nice things. Just one day after we had to inform a group of Stanford Alumni that taking spray paint and sharpies into the Santa Monica Mountains to “leave their mark” was probably not the best of ideas, we have just received word from California State Parks’ Angeles District Superintendent…

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Gear Review: Hilleberg Kaitum 2 GT 4 Season Tent

Intended Use: All-Season/4-Season Mountaineering Weight: 8lbs 3oz (packed weight) Pros: Easy pitch, super high-quality materials, giant vestibule Cons: A little heavy, difficult to hang dry due to design Best for: Extreme weather camping Retail Price: $1020   “There’s no such thing has bad weather when you have the right gear” is an axiom common among hikers for whom a storm,…

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Which is better: Western Red Cedar or Yellow Cedar

If you are considering a custom home there are numerous decisions you have to make including what type of logs and timbers to build with? When building a custom home, it’s very important to select the best wood species for your project in order to maximize overall durability, while minimizing cost. Today we are going to look at two of the most popular types of cedar, Western Red Cedar and Alaskan Yellow Cedar. Known for their rich aromatic and being highly decay resistant We will look at the advantages and disadvantages of building with each and the costs associated.

Western Red Cedar

A premium slow growth timber and the most abundant cedar tree available in Western Canada, Western Red Cedar primarily grows in British Columbia and is our preferred choice for many of the custom log home and timber frame structures. Although it is one of the lightest in weight of all commercially important softwood species, Western Red Cedar is very decay resistant and it can yield a larger variety of dimensional lumber. Its abundance and favorable properties make it the dominant choice for building and exports, especially in Europe since it does not have to be heat treated before exporting; and being twice as stable as other softwood species, Western Red Cedar is highly durable and weather resistant. Its natural oils are insect and decay resistant, and left in its natural state it remains beautiful and aesthetically pleasing. Western Red Cedar dries readily with very little shrinkage and has excellent working qualities, machining to a smooth, satiny finish.

Rich in texture, with a unique tactile grain, Western Red Cedar combines visual harmony with stability and durability, making it the common choice for a number of projects such as: siding, decks, fences, planters, screens, and garden furniture. Given its ability to withstand the elements, if you are looking to build your log or timber frame home in an area where extreme weather dominates we would be most inclined to recommend Western Red Cedar.  

Western Red Cedar is also known for their flared butt ends that offers a unique character to many log homes both inside and outside. If you like this type of look and feel for your home western red cedar may be the best type of timber for your home. If you don’t particularly like this look you can still use red cedar without flared ends.

Alaskan Yellow Cedar (also known as Cypress)

The slow growing Alaskan Yellow Cedar is a tough, solid tree and the hardest known cedar in the world, while also boasting exceptional longevity. Due to its straight grain and yellow colour, Yellow Cedar wood is very valuable commercially. It is used extensively for paddles,  boat building, as well as other exterior projects such as bridges, decking, stairs and landscaping. Similar to the Red Cedar, it is highly decay resistant and strongly aromatic when freshly cut, due to its natural oils. However, it’s interesting to note that the Alaskan Yellow Cedar is not in fact a cedar tree, but a cypress tree.

Considerably harder when dry than most commercial softwoods, and therefore much stronger, AYC has excellent strength and wear properties as well as great impact resistance. It is suitable for all types of joinery and carpentry due to its appearance, durability and easy working characteristics. This wood is so easy to work that it has become prized for applications such as joinery and carpentry, decorative panelling, furniture, mouldings and cabinetwork. It also withstands constant wear and load impacts without forming ridges or splitting, and does not splinter.

One of the disadvantages of Alaskan Yellow Cedar is the ability to sourcing large diameter high quality wood. For this reason many builders choose red cedar over yellow cedar.

Cost Comparison: Western Red Cedar vs Alaskan Yellow Cedar 

This chart compares the average cost of Western Red Cedar vs. Alaskan Yellow Cedar depending on the style of timber home you choose:

	Western Red Cedar	Western Red Cedar w/Flared Ends	Alaskan Yellow Cedar
Full Scribe	$55-$75	$65-85	$50-$60
Post & Beam	$40-$65	$45-$70	$35-$55
Timber Frame	$55-$65	N/A	$40-$55

We hope this has given you a better understanding of the differences between the two cedar options available, and why we choose Western Red Cedar. If you have any specific questions we would be happy to discuss them. Please feel free to email us: info@artisanlog.com.

If you would like to know more about the cost associated with building your custom log home you may want to read these articles as well:

• What are the best logs for building my log home?
• How Much Do Log Homes Cost
• How Much Does It Cost To Transport and Export a Log Home
• The Difference Between Timber Frame, Post and Beam and Full Scribe Log Homes

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Stanford Alumni Group Reverses Planned Graffiti Outing

If you’ve been a longtime reader of Modern Hiker, you know that outdoor graffiti and vandalism is an issue that is near and dear to our hearts. We’ve written extensively on the topic and although the high-profile National Park cases tend to get the most attention, graffiti can also have a hugely negative impact on state…

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Product Review: Peak Design CapturePro Clip and Camera Cover

If you’re reading this article right now, chances are you are an adventurer like me. Whether it’s wilderness that calls to you, or travel and culture that inspires you, adventure is most often at the forefront of your mind. Perhaps you are a creator, or someone who is always looking for new ways to bring your…

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Visiting Monument Valley

Perhaps no other single location in the world is more uniquely identified with the American West than Monument Valley. These epic mesas and buttes have been etched into our collective memory over decades of films, television shows, and cartoons and in many ways now act as a visual shorthand for The West, but for many,…

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Hike Mauna Kea

The island of Hawai’i, colloquially known as the “Big Island,” features a number of remarkable extremes that set it apart not just from the other Hawaiian Islands, but from most other places throughout the world. Here is a place with barren volcanic deserts and lush rain forests receiving 240″ of rainfall a year separated by…

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Ahnu Ridgecrest: Gear Review

The perfect hiking shoe has been a long sought-after item for me.  As someone who spends over half of the year hiking, backpacking, and climbing, my shoes get a lot of use and abuse very quickly. Part of why I’ve yet to find the perfect hiking shoe is because I demand a challenging blend of…

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Best Outdoor Jackets for Off-Trail Days

If you’re like me, you probably spend a significantly larger amount of time researching your next piece of outdoor clothing than you do your next pair of jeans or whatever you end up wearing to the office. Maybe you just start wearing your outdoor clothes to work anyway … which is how you end up like me…

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Log Home Lingo: A quick guide to log home definitions

If you are online searching and looking for information on custom log homes, you have probably noticed that many of the websites you come across have lots of industry terms and jargon. It can be a bit confusing reading these terms when you aren’t exactly sure what they mean so we have put together a list of some of the common types of words and phrases in the log home building industry to help you:

Check: This isn’t referring to a form of payment, it is the term used when a crack opening appears in a log as it dries. It does not lessen the strength of the log, it is strictly cosmetic.

Buck: To allow for movement of logs, this framing system is used around windows and doors. It is a slip joint cut in the sides of the logs.

Half Log: An entire log sawed in half lengthwise. This is often used on the exterior of the home.

Hip Roof: This is not a roof that is popular but is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope, almost like a pyramid.

Butt Joint: The point where two pieces of wood or mounding join together.

Joint: The point where two or more timbers meet.

Joinery: Connecting timbers by means of woodworking joints.

Knee Brace: Typically positioned at a 45-degree angle, a knee brace creates added strength to support the load overhead between a post and a supported truss.

Chinking: Chinking is used when a stacked log home is not built using the full scribe joinery method and a gap between the logs occurs which can make the log susceptible to rain, wind and snow. Filling the these gaps with chinking can prevent the outside elements from coming in, similar to an insulation. This method is not commonly used any more, but some builders still use this method.

R Value: Is the rating used to measure how much resistance a material has to heat flow. The higher the R Value is, the greater the insulating properties are.

Full Scribe Log Home: A full scribe log home is a traditional log style home where the logs are stacked together horizontally to form the walls.

Timber Frame Home: Timber frame homes are very similar to post and beam where the main horizontal structure is held up by many timber posts. The main difference is that post and beam logs are round and timber frame logs are square.

Post and Beam Home: Post and beam log homes and cabins use full logs as a structural support providing a natural log surface inside and outside the home.

Ridge Pole:  A ridgepole is the horizontal log beam located at the highest peak of a log or timber home. This is the main beam that holds up the roof of the house and is typically the heaviest, the largest and the longest log. The rafters attach to this pole which crowns the home.

Overhang: That part of the roof that extends beyond the outside wall.

Scribe: The process of cutting one log to match the contours of another for a tight log-to-log fit.

Screw Jack: A device that may be adjusted to allow for the settlement in log walls.

Settling: Loss of wall height by shrinkage and compression, commonly found in full scribe log homes over the first few years.

There you have it, a few terms to familiarize yourself with as you plan your new home. For more information on terms and lingo, check out our log home 101 section where we answer the most common questions asked by our clients.

The post Log Home Lingo: A quick guide to log home definitions appeared first on Artisan Custom Log Homes.

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Best National Park Trails

2016 is the celebration of the National Park Service’s Centennial … and from April 16th through the 24th, the Park Service is also celebrating National Park Week. During this time, visitor entrance fees are waived in every National Park unit across the country. So we thought now would be a good time to highlight some…

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Hike the Wahkeena / Multnomah Falls Loop

This is it folks, THE trail to do in the Columbia River Gorge (okay, well, I think so anyways). Have a day in Portland? Or, do you live in Portland and have somehow missed this one? Do this hike. I will admit: I have now lived in Portland for five months, and have consciously avoided this trail.…

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Winter Gear Roundup

Winter is a bit of an ephemeral season here in Southern California, so I’m always on the lookout for gear that can pull double duty across multiple seasons and for various activities – from hiking to backpacking to climbing. In that spirit, here are my favorite pieces from this winter that will carry me through…

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Hike Big Morongo Canyon Preserve

When most people envision the desert, the first word that springs to mind is probably “dry.” Not so at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve, a lush pocket of the brand new Sand To Snow National Monument tucked between the western edge of Joshua Tree National Park and the towns of Yucca Valley, Morongo Valley, and Desert…

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