EXTERIOR APPLICATIONS
As an exterior material solution, redwood provides outstanding design and durability capabilities, as well as an excellent sustainable building material choice. Redwood integrates well with most other building materials, particularly materials with a natural aesthetic such as stone. Redwood also provides a material solution for integrating indoor and outdoor spaces within a cohesive design.
Several advantageous performance characteristics of redwood include:
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Dimensional stability. Redwood has the least volumetric shrinkage of any commercial domestic wood; therefore, it can be subjected to considerably more change in moisture before it has the same change in dimensions as other commercial species. This means that projects manufactured with redwood will be much less subject to open joints, warping, cupping, splitting, and other defects associated with dimensional change.
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Natural resistance to insects and decay. Redwood heartwood contains tannins which make it is naturally resistant to insects and decay.
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Easy to finish. Redwood’s open-cell structure with little pitch or resin means it absorbs and holds finishes extremely well.
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Available in a variety of redwood grades, dimensions, and lengths. Redwood provides architects with multiple design solutions for exterior appearance and style.
INTERIOR APPLICATIONS
The rich beauty of redwood provides interior spaces with a natural warmth and luxury. Designers have an array of redwood colors, grains, textures, and dimensions to choose from to create truly unique indoor settings with a sustainable interior design aesthetic.
Redwood has a number of inherent qualities that make it ideal as an interior building material:
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Excellent workability. Redwood is extremely workable and versatile and can be crafted into detailed and interesting patterns in interior applications.
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High degree of insulation. The low density of redwood means it has higher K and R values and provides a relatively higher degree of insulation than other materials. It also has excellent sound insulation properties.
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Natural fire resistance. Redwood contains little or no volatile resin, is hard to ignite, and burns slowly. Redwood lumber meets Class II standards in the UBC and BOCA codes and Group I standards in the NBC and SBCCI codes. Redwood construction common and better decking grades are Class B fire rated for use in fire hazard severity zones throughout the state of California.
