Here are the top 7 reasons you should consider buying products made of responsibly sourced redwood:
- Redwood is naturally durable and rot and insect resistant, which means even with little to no maintenance, you can enjoy a redwood product for years.
- Cedar, while generally less expensive than redwood, is about 25% weaker when using the janka rating for comparison. Redwood has a janka rating of 450lbs which is almost 25% stronger than cedar, and redwood requires no maintenance to retain its strength and appearance.
- Redwood trees are grown, harvested and manufactured into lumber in the US - most cedar comes from our neighbors to the north in Canada, where environmental regulations are much less strict. Supporting companies with redwood products means supporting environmentally conscious US-based growers and suppliers.
- Plastic and composite materials may claim zero maintenance, but they can become quite hot in the sun, do require power washing to prevent mold and are often heavier and weaker than wooden products. Some supplier’s composite plastic is made of recycled materials but choose carefully as some are difficult to recycle if you need to dispose of them.
- Pressure treated lumber is used by many gardening DIYers for outdoor plant structures. Generally we would NOT recommend using pressure treated lumber as some chemicals from the wood will seep into the soil and into the plants. Even if the levels are technically okay for human consumption, we’d rather not see anyone create a garden structure with the chemical “arsenic” in the wood.
- Redwood does the best job at an amazing process called carbon sequestration. As young trees, redwoods suck an enormous amount of carbon out of the air, and over time consume less and less until they plateau. This is the perfect time for responsibly harvesting the tree and planting a new one that will again consume a ton of carbon, while the ones that were harvested sequester all the absorbed carbon permanently inside the wood until it is burned or decomposed.
- Redwood is a long-lasting, super-strong and beautiful product. When it arrives it will be a beautiful reddish brown color, every piece is unique and it can either be knotted or smooth depending on your preference. As it ages (gracefully), it will darken and then take on a distinguished silver color, which will last for years to come, unless you prefer to preserve the original color with a natural oil.