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 specialize in working with customers with unique needs all over the US! If you can design it, we can have it made! When a company that specializes in multi-family construction remodels contacted us to help him manufacture a cedar rail cap to an exact profile to match what was used on a property previously, we were able to have it made from this full, rough cut Western Red Cedar lumber.
Made from high-quality Select Tight Knot Western Red Cedar, this rail cap will be installed at a condominium complex in Idaho after we have it sent out for a factory pre-prime with oil-based primer, so that it is ready to install when it arrives on the job site. Our factory pre-stain process saves money and time on the job, helps to protect your material on the job site, as well as during installation.
With shipments of high-quality Western Red Cedar, Alaskan Yellow Cedar lumber, siding, shingles, shakes, timbers, (as well as other specialty building materials in various hard and softwoods), 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 ship nationwide!
Grown only in the Pacific Northwest, Thuja plicata, commonly referred to as Western Red Cedar, is the ultimate building material for outdoor applications due to its natural durability and workability. It is resistant to rot, decay, and insect attacks. This means that anything built with it will last longer and require less maintenance. Aesthetically, there is no parallel for the natural beauty of Western Red Cedar.
Western Red Cedar is available in different grades, including the one that is just right for your project. From casual knotty grades to clear grades, each offers its own unique style to help you achieve the architectural element you desire.
When a motivated homeowner in California contacted us about supplying him with Western Red Cedar for a fence he wanted to build, he also provided us with pictures he found on Pinterest. This helped us determine what grade and dimension of Western Red Cedar he was interested in using for his custom fence.
With his handy work, and our high quality, clear Western Red Cedar, he was able to create an amazing feature on his property that will last for many, many years!
“Michele – G’Morning. I wanted to thank you for all you did and for providing the Cedar Lumber. I wanted to send you a couple of pictures of the end result, it turned out amazing” – Rick
When specifying materials for your next project, don’t be disappointed, insist on Western Red Cedar, the Cedar that is grown in our back yard! Even with shipping (in most instances), the pricing is comparable to your local lumberyard, with the quality and supply much better.
If you can dream it up or need to match up a wood pattern that is no longer made, we work with a team of skilled mills that can help you achieve the custom pattern you desire or need in Western Red Cedar, Alaskan Yellow Cedar, Douglas Fir and just about any other hard or softwood. From exterior siding and cladding patterns to interior or exterior paneling, to airfoils and louvers, truly dimensional lumber…and everything else in between!
Custom Douglas Fir T&G Paneling adds warmth to this waiting room
Historical Wood Patterns
As the decades have passed, trends, as well as manufacturing practices, have come and gone in building materials. When the time comes for restoring or repairing wood in vintage or historical buildings, it can often be difficult to find truly dimensional lumber and/or match old wood patterns.
Whether it be exterior siding patterns, interior wall, or decking patterns that need to be matched up, we can help! The best place to start is to get us a sample of the pattern that needs to be matched, such as this double tongue and groove that measures 3-1/2” x 5-1/2” that was manufactured from clear Western Red Cedar well over 100 years ago. By carefully inspecting and measuring this sample, we were able to have this double tongue and groove timber created to the exact specifications of the piece that was provided for the historical restoration after a recent fire.
New Wood Patterns
With the current trend in custom building and remodeling, including so much exterior and interior paneling for accent walls and ceilings and lining closets and bathrooms, if there is a specific wood pattern your architect has dreamed up that hasn’t been done before, we can help! Since it hasn’t been produced before, a line drawing is created before production with the exact measurements noted, and a recommendation of what grade and species of wood would work best for the application will be discussed.
Note in this pattern that a special bevel is added to the profile to drain water away since this T&G will be used outdoors as cladding. We recommended that this pattern be manufactured out of clear Western Red Cedar for optimum performance.
Another new trend we are seeing quite a lot of in commercial building, as well as residential, is the use of wood louvers. Naturally beautiful with the look that only real wood can provide. Whether it be boards cut to specific dimensions or shaped into airfoils, such as this one, we work with mills that specialize in creating the perfectly sized and shaped louvers for your project in Western Red Cedar, Alaskan Yellow Cedar, Douglas Fir, or most any other soft or hardwood desired.
To save money and time on the job, we can arrange to have your specialty wood pattern pre-primed or stained in almost any color imaginable!
Before your next project, be sure to visit us! We ship nationwide!