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Choosing Cedar Home Plans

 


Cedar has proven its ability as a durable building timber for many years, and was first used by native Americans on the northwest coast who constructed dwellings of solid cedar planks. Cedar is a softwood that is lightweight strong and easily worked making it an excellent timber for cedar home plans. Cedar has naturally occurring chemicals in its heartwood that resist moisture and are toxic to insects, reducing decay and rotting from weather extremes.  Cedar is virtually pitch and resin free, this allows the timber to be coated with a wide range of finishes such as oils stains and paint.  (Its consistent color makes it most suitable for clear finishes or stains.) This all makes cedar an excellent material for cedar home plans where strength, high durability and protection from the elements is required, such as in mountain home plans.

As cedar is very stable, it can be used in a variety of indoor and outdoor home and commercial building applications, including siding, posts, beams, joinery, doors, furniture, saunas and spas. Cedar also has good acoustic properties to provide sound insulation when used in ceilings and walls.

Although durable, exterior cedar will still require maintenance of stains or finishes as do all homes. The durability of the cedar will of course depend upon local area exposure to water and sunlight, and the quality of the original finishing product.  Exteriors should be checked after about three years by spraying water on the surface and observing the beading , if the beading is not consistent then more protection is required.

Before you choose your cedar home plans, spend some time at the building site  and think about the ways in which the land and aspect will effect the nature and design your new home. Try to imagine the lifestyle the location is best suited for, which is the best aspect to face, do you entertain often, do you work at home, ect.  

Choosing the best cedar home plans for you can and will take time. The easy method is to choose the cedar home plans that are close to your style and budget, then customise them to suit your lifestyle and personality, make it unique, make it yours.

Wood products such as cedar are environmentally superior to alternatives such as concrete and steel requiring considerably less energy to produce finished products. Wood is the worlds only renewable building material with plantation forests  also benefiting the environment by producing oxygen and using carbon dioxide.

Cedar is suitable for all types of structures and design, offices, public buildings, contemporary and  traditional homes and of course log cabin floor plans.