Are you looking for the best softwood for your next wood project? It’s hard to choose between Douglas fir and cedarwood as they have many similarities. But still, there are some unique characteristics of each wood that makes them suitable for a different type of woodwork.
This article will take you deep into every detailed feature of both kinds of wood and their differences.
Douglas fir vs cedar, what’s the difference?
Douglas fir is relatively harder than cedar, although they both are softwood. Douglas fir can take enormous pressure, making it suitable for structures and poles. Cedar is famous for its durability and resistance. Cedar is more expensive than douglas fir for its unique aroma, color and oil.
Table of Contents
Douglas fir and cedar belong to the same family of trees, and therefore they share many similarities. They both have the immunity to environmental damage and rot.
They can resist bacterial and fungal damage to last long even without any treatment. But between them, cedar is more lasting as it has flavored oil in it, and the oil makes it more water-resistant and durable.
The Douglas fir’s tannin protects it from decomposition, but it’s not as long-lasting as cedar.
Differentiating between douglas fir and cedar can be a bit complicated as there are different wood types in both. Let us clarify that part first.
Douglas fir has two major types, coastal and interior. Those two types of douglas fir grow in different conditions, but they have similar characteristics. But coastal douglas fir wood is more uniform and lighter in color. Interior Douglas firs are smaller than coastal Douglas firs.
Most of the time, you will not have to worry about the types of the douglas fir.
Cedar woods also have two differences: red and yellow cedarwood. Yellow cedarwood is harder than red, but red cedar wood is more common, and we will mainly talk about red cedar.
Douglas fir trees are large species of trees. They can be more than 100 meters long and 6 meters in diameter. On the other hand, cedar trees grow about 60 meters and are 2-3 meters in diameter.
Both kinds of wood are more suitable for outdoor use, while they both are pretty good for indoor structures. Cedarwood lasts long outdoors for its effective natural decompose protection. Douglas wood also has protection but is less effective than cedarwood.
Douglas fir wood can be long and very tough and take a massive amount of weight. So they are suitable for pillars and beams that need to take a lot of weight. Cedarwood is not that good for handling weight, but it lasts long and looks prettier than the Douglas wood.
Let’s talk about more details in the following points.
Weight:
Douglas fir is heavier than cedarwood. Green Douglas fir is 450 kg/m3, and dried ones are 480 kg/m3. On the other hand, green cedar wood is only 330 kg/m3, and dried ones are 340 kg/m3.
Both are easy to work with compared to other woods, but cedarwood is even easier for its lightweight.
Strength:
Douglas fir and cedarwood have significant differences in strength. Douglas fir is stronger than cedar wood. The Janka rating of douglas fir side wood is 2290, and the end wood harness is more than 4000.
Whereas Red Cedar side wood hardness is 1470 and end wood hardness is 3000. You can understand the differences between their strength by those numbers. However, yellow cedar woods are much harder than red ones.
Cost:
Cedar and douglas fir are common wood throughout the country. But the cedar woods are a bit harder to find and costly too. Red cedars are harder to find, and it is expensive than the douglas fir. Red cedar wood has a nice aroma and protective oil, making it more valuable.
It is also an essential tree to the indigenous peoples. They use every part of cedar trees. Some species of cedar are very rare and endangered species. So it’s illegal to harvest them.
Rot resistance:
Douglas fir and cedarwood both are naturally rot-resistant. The tannin of those woods has chemicals that don’t let microorganisms colonize. When bacteria and fungi can not infest, nothing can rot. That’s why we keep food in the freeze, where most microbes can not live.
However, tannin chemicals can become ineffective and slowly wash away in the rain and start to rot after a long time. Cedarwood sustains more when it comes to longevity, as cedar has oil that resists water and keeps the wood in good health for a long time.
Outdoor use:
As we mentioned previously, cedarwood is more durable and long-lasting outdoors for its protective oil. However, both kinds of the woodwork are great outside when treated.
color:
The sapwood of douglas fir is lighter in color. The sapwood can be yellowish-white, while the heartwood can be orangish to reddish-brown.
Cedar sapwood is a straw color, and the heartwood can be chocolate brown to reddish-brown. Sometimes the cedar hardwood also can be pinkish.
Is douglas fir wood the same as cedar?
Douglas fir wood is not the same as cedarwood, but they belong to the same Pinaceae tree family. Therefore they have many similarities between them. They both are softwood and naturally rot-resistant. Douglas fir is stronger, while cedarwood is long-lasting.
They are not the same tree, but they can fit many similar projects. But when longevity is essential, douglas fir should be used, and where strength is needed, douglas fir does better.
Both kinds of wood are easy to work with proper equipment. Douglas fir has a better surface quality than cedarwood. They both have good shaping qualities, while douglas fir has slightly better.
Do douglas fir and cedar stain similarly?
The staining process of douglas fir and cedar is easy. But the fact is that each sort of wood reacts differently while staining, so douglas fir and cedar might not stain similarly.
The cedar wood provides quite a smooth texture, but it can lose some grain design as it is very soft. It’s also hard to hide the natural grains of cedarwood sometimes. Cedarwood has a decent color holding capacity.
Grain becomes more visible by staining douglas fir. Staining provides a smooth finish to douglas fir wood, and It’s hard to stain darker douglas fir wood. It also has good paint holding capacity.
Which one is better to use; douglas fir or cedar wood?
We understand the differences between the cedarwood and douglas fir wood from the discussion above. Now let’s discuss some typical wood projects and determine which wood is the best fit for which tasks.
Fence:
For fences, cedar is better to use. Cedarwood has less capacity to take the weight but is highly resistant to rotting. Fences don’t need to carry weight and go through the outdoor environment.
On the other hand, douglas fir lacks the high resistant ability that fence wood should have.
Pergola:
Both cedar and douglas fir are fit for pergolas, but they have their pros and cons. The pros of cedar are that it has excellent color, aroma, and more weather resistance, but the problem is it’s costly.
On the other hand, douglas fir is affordable, strong, and moderately resistant, but it’s less weather resistant than cedarwood.
Deck:
Both cedar and douglas fir are suitable for the deck. But cedar is costly and sometimes less strong than needed, although it is weather, rot and insect resistant.
Douglas fir is readily available and affordable. It works amazingly when treated as it is strong and can last a long time when used on the deck.
Raised garden bed:
Cedar works best for raised garden beds, but douglas fir can work almost evenly good most times if you are on a budget. They both are weather and rot-resistant, but cedar has resistance to insects. However, they both can work for 10-15 years as raised garden beds.
Arrows:
Because of Douglas fir’s great strength: weight ratio and high modulus of elasticity are the best options for arrows between two.
Pillars:
Douglas fir is the best wood for indoor pillars that needs to hold a lot of weight for its fantastic weight carrying capacity and longevity. Cedarwood lacks the strength to hold a lot of weight, but it is the best option for outdoor structures considering its resistance characteristics.
Final thoughts
Use cedarwood where weather and rot resistance is essential. If a structure needs more strength and moderate weather and rot resistance, douglas fir is a good choice. Both the woods are weather and rot-resistant, but cedarwood can also resist insects with protective oil.