Also known as a Gypsy Wagon, or quite simply a living wagon, a vardo was a horse-drawn wagon used by British Romanichal Travels as their home during the mid-1800s. Vardos were highly decorated, intricately carved, and painted and were viewed as woodworking masterpieces.
Starting with a vintage Gypsy Wagon chassis, our customer has been in the process of creating this vardo using our clear Western Red Cedar. Due to its lightweight, ease of workability, and availability, Western Red Cedar is a popular choice for mobile buildings, wagons, and the like.
Please enjoy these in-progress photos and be sure to check back for updates! They will be outfitting the interior of the vardo much like it was done back in the 1800s with heavy fabrics and great attention to detail.
Before your next project, be sure to visit us! We ship our specialty building materials to homeowner and contractors nationwide!
We are pleased to offer a new product to our line-up this spring, 1×4” clear grade KAYU® Mahogany T&G. Whether your style is traditional, coastal, modern, or farmhouse, adding natural wood accents to your home is hot on the market right now.
This 1×4” clear Mahogany T&G may be used as siding, in exterior porch ceiling or soffit areas, as well as interior walls and ceilings. It is the same beautiful tropical hardwood that has been used in the yachting and boating industry for many years where beauty and performance are of upmost importance.
Photos courtesy of Bob N. of Lynden
Naturally resistant to rot, decay, insects and mold, these solid pieces of wood can be installed vertically, horizontally, diagonally or in any combination. This wood is harvested sustainably from renewable resources and can be repurposed or completely recycled when it has fulfilled its intended use.
All this at an excellent value compared to similar clear grade woods and/or composite materials. Contact us for pricing. In stock and ready to deliver!
Nothing warms a space like real wood. It provides natural beauty that just can’t be duplicated. However, as we all know, it does have its drawbacks, which has opened the doors for science and innovation to enter. New to the marketplace and likely to only gain popularity, as the technology evolves are modified wood building materials.
Kebony Channel Siding
Using proprietary methods to modify the wood structure with the use of thermal and/or non-toxic chemical agents, fast growing woods like ash, pine, sycamore and poplar, are turned into extremely durable, long lasting exterior building materials. And like other natural wood building products, at the end of their original intended use, they can be repurposed or recycled, leading to zero waste.
These amazing new modified wood products are being found in commercial, as well as residential construction, all over the world. However, distribution seems to be a drawback.
At this time we are pleased to offer Kebony products by special order. Developed in Norway, Kebony has created a patented process using bio-based liquid that enhances the properties of sustainable softwoods to provide them with hardwood characteristics, such as extreme durability and stability. Refined and beautiful, Kebony modified wood products are backed with a 30-year outdoor warranty. They offer products for decking, cladding and millwork. Learn more HERE
Decking by Kebony, Photo and Craftsmanship by The Robbins Co
As the technology and interest in modified wood building products progresses, we fully expect many more players coming to the marketplace, as well as greater availability. We’ll keep you posted!
Before your next project, be sure to visit us! We ship nationwide.
It has been a pretty exciting January around here! We have had the pleasure of being featured in two publications; the 2021 Community Report for Peoples Bank and the Winter Issue of Premier Builder Magazine – Seattle/Puget Sound Edition.
We are extremely grateful for the support of these two organizations, as well as all our customers, vendors, colleagues, family and friends. When running a small business, every bit of help along the way helps!
Due to the phenols and other natural properties of Western Red Cedar against rot and decay, it is great for use in damp areas, including bathrooms and saunas. It is also very flexible and resists warping under heat and humidity. Because it is a low-density wood, it is a great insulator and heats quickly. And, it smells great!
Pro tips:
Because your sauna will reach high temperatures and cool off when not in use, the Cedar will expand and contract a great deal. To reduce the chance of cupping, we recommend using narrower dimensions of materials, such as a 4” tongue and groove (T&G) product for the walls for optimum stability. And while knotty grades are easier on the pocketbook, we recommend using clear grades of materials, as the knots tend to heat up faster and get hotter and may become uncomfortable to the touch.
When shopping for your materials, keep in mind, that because a sauna is generally a small space, shorter lengths of materials can be used and sometimes come with a discounted price.
Special “Thanks” for Michael S from Arizona for sharing these gorgeous photos of the Western Red Cedar sauna he built using materials he purchased from us.
Due to wide availability, combined with natural beauty and ease of installation, clear Western Red Cedar Beveled siding is a popular choice for premium exterior siding. With proper care and maintenance, clear Cedar Bevel siding will provide many years of service. And, when its life cycle is complete, it is easily disposed of, which makes it a very eco-friendly building product.
Bevel siding is produced by re-sawing lumber at an angle to produce two identical pieces, each with a thinner edge than the other. Traditionally installed horizontally, it provides a shadow line that varies with the thickness of the siding chosen.
Also commonly referred to as Clapboard siding, it is available in knotty as well as clear grades. To learn more about our popular budget friendly knotty Bevel siding, please visit our blog on that by clicking HERE.
Vertical grain – the highest grade available. It is a reversible product
A&Btr – graded and recommended for smooth face use only
Common Sizes for Clear Bevel Siding
1/2×4”
1/2×6”
1/2×8”
3/4×8”
3/4×10”
Generally speaking, clear Western Red Cedar Bevel siding is sold “random length” from 3’ to 20’ lengths in bundles with specific piece counts.
For those projects that require a painted surface, clear, vertical grain, finger-jointed, primed Bevel siding is a great money-saving option and is readily available in the same common sizes as natural clear Bevel siding. Recommended for smooth face use in 16’ lengths, this siding is already primed with a good quality alkyd oil primer and is ready to install and paint.
Not able to use an “off the shelf” product or want something special made? We specialize in working with customers with unique needs all over the US and can mill custom clear Bevel siding in most any size in random lengths. To save money and time on the job site, we also can provide custom factory pre-staining or pre-priming to your clear Bevel siding. Code conforming fire treatment is also an option.
Prior to delivery, we had the clear, Bevel siding for this job sent out for custom pre-staining. Upon arrival at the job site, it was ready to install.
Starting at the bottom of the wall, Western Red Cedar Bevel siding should be face nailed to studs with 1-1/4″ good penetration into solid wood. Place nail just above the overlap, using one nail per piece, up to a maximum of 24″ apart. Fasteners should be corrosion resistant and approved for installing Western Red Cedar. Either natural or color-matched stainless steel nails are a popular choice when installing premium clear Bevel siding. No caulking should be used between joints to allow the wood to expand and contract. Please see our blog General Guidelines for Installing Western Red Cedar Siding for more tips.
Before your next project, be sure to visit us! We ship nationwide!
During Christmas time and the closing of 2020, we want to sincerely thank our employees, customers, vendors, colleagues and friends for their support of our small business. We couldn’t do it without each and every one of you!
So our staff can spend time with their families, as well as ring in 2021, we will be closing early on Christmas Eve and closed all day Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. May your Christmas be merry and bright and the New Year bring everything you deserve.
This stunning Western Red Cedar Pavilion is the creation of our friends at Minnesota Pergolas. Western Red Cedar is the preferred choice of wood for all the custom outdoor structures created by Minnesota Pergolas in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. Due to the hot summers in the mid-west and cold winters, a covered Cedar pavilion will provide outdoor living space for these happy homeowners all year long!
With shipments of cedar lumber, siding, shingles, shakes, timbers, as well as other specialty building materials leaving our warehouse daily to all over the US, our customers value the quality of our products and our honest business practices, combined with excellent customer service and superior product knowledge. Before your next project, be sure to visit us!
We are so thankful for our employees, customers, friends and colleagues. In observance of Thanksgiving, we will be closed Thursday, November 26 & Friday, November 27.
We will be back in the office bright and early on Monday, November 30th to help you will your specialty building materials needs.
Before your next project, be sure to visit us! We ship nationwide!
Arbors, trellises and living fences are organic, beautiful ways to define outdoor living spaces, as well as create visual interest. Combined with natural plants, these defining elements create and support ecological diversity by serving as habitats for insects, birds and other small animals. On sloped properties, these structures and their plants can also help immensely with erosion control.
While there are many building materials that arbors, trellises, and fence framework can be made from, Western Red Cedar is an especially popular and eco-friendly choice. Naturally resistant to rot and decay, Western Red Cedar requires no additional treatment to preserve the wood, so there is no need to worry about chemicals seeping into the surrounding soil. Sourced from renewable resources, it is lightweight and easy to work with, and completely recyclable at the end of its useful life.
In addition to defining an outdoor space, a living fence can also add privacy, as well as wind block. In these photos, our customer used our clear Western Red Cedar 2×2″s to create a gridwork for ivy to grown on. While it will take a little bit to get this privacy fence covered in ivy, it is an exceptionally pretty structure to look at in the meantime.
In this photo, a large backyard is defined into a cozy outdoor living space with a network of Western Red Cedar arbors and tumbling evergreen clematis and wisteria vines, string lighting, and horizontally installed fencing.
