White cedar is one of the most environmentally friendly and cost-effective fence building materials that a fence company might offer. It would be a great choice for your fence even if it weren’t also very attractive – which it is!
Northern White Cedar (also known as Eastern White Cedar) is a softwood that contains many natural oils. These natural oils protect against mold, moisture, rot, insects, and warping without needing any additional chemical treatments.
Northern White Cedar also doesn’t need kiln drying. It can be air dried, which means that it is completely carbon neutral.
Because there are no treatments your new fence will also be 100% biodegradable. Other fence materials often end up in landfills. There’s also less landfill waste on the front end because it is very easy to produce cedar lumber.
Northern White Cedar is grown and sourced close to our region, requiring fewer “materials miles” to get the wood from the forests to your yard. You can feel good knowing that you’re making the responsible choice not just for your home and finances, but for your children as well.
In fact, people have relied on this hardy softwood for centuries to build things that needed to stand up to harsh weather conditions for long periods of time. You can still find barns all over the state of Wisconsin that were built with Northern White Cedar for just this reason – cedar is well equipped to stand up to all kinds of punishment.
It decays very slowly. That’s why a Northern White Cedar fence can last 15-30 years. Lower quality wood fences usually last 7-15 years before they need to be ripped out and completely replaced.
This means that Northern White Cedar is almost always a better investment than lower quality woods. While the initial investment is sometimes higher you need to take into account the amount of time that will pass before you have to make the investment all over again.
For example, a lower quality wood fence might cost $7500 up front, lasting for 7 years, a cost of $1071 per year. A Northern White Cedar fence that costs $9500 up front and lasts for 15 years costs $633 per year. The cost savings become even more dramatic with every passing year. If the fence lasted 30 years you’d pay just $315 per year.
These prices do not reflect every fence price as this will depend on the shape and size of the fence as well as the materials used. It’s just a useful illustration of why a Northern White Cedar fence can be the more fiscally responsible choice over the long term.
For your cosmetic needs it’s good to know that Northern White Cedar takes paints and stains very easily. The natural look and feel of the wood is also very pleasing, even after spending some time exposed to water and sunlight.
Here at A-1 fence we’re very conscious of the benefits that white cedar fences offer to each and every one of our customers. That’s why white cedar is the only wood we work with and specialize in. We’re simply not willing to give less than the best when we build a fence! Contact us or call us for a free estimate today (262) 251-6766!
I didn’t realize that the type of wood that you built a fence of actually had an impact on the fence itself. Although, I can definitely see why something like cedar wood be preferable after reading through the article now. After all, if it decays slower than other kinds of wood then it will probably last for a while.