Help choosing lumber please.

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  • wd4lc
    Established Member
    • Nov 2008
    • 125
    • Houston, TX
    • Ryobi BT3100-1

    Help choosing lumber please.

    Will you please give me some advice on a lumber choice.

    I'm going to be building an indoor pet enclosure. It's basically frames of 2"x2" lumber with a poultry or welded wire stapled to the frame. In the past I've used rough cut (red colored) cedar (for the natural properties). I've just found out that the lumber yard also carries Douglas Fir in the 2"x2" size as well.

    Which of the two are considered more durable overall for all applications....if there is a different between the two?

    And more specifically which do you believe would be harder for cats to scratch and wear down (like a scratching post)?

    I called the lumber yard that I usually go to. He said Douglas Fir was more for looks and less durability (I'm not sure if he was talking 2"x2" or other dimensionals like 1"x12"). That surprised me based on what I had read. He didn't seem to have an answer over which of the two were more durable. I've read differing reports online about the durability on the DF lumber....some say durable and some say moderately durable.

    Any ideas or opinions on which of the two would be more appropriate for this application? Thanks.
  • atgcpaul
    Veteran Member
    • Aug 2003
    • 4055
    • Maryland
    • Grizzly 1023SLX

    #2
    I think you can equate durability to hardness. Doug fir has a Janka hardness of 660. Eastern red cedar has a Janka hardness of 900. Western red cedar is just 350. Red oak is 1290.

    So depending on which cedar your guy is selling, you're going to be on one side or the other on the scale compared to Douglas fir.

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    • wd4lc
      Established Member
      • Nov 2008
      • 125
      • Houston, TX
      • Ryobi BT3100-1

      #3
      Originally posted by atgcpaul
      I think you can equate durability to hardness. Doug fir has a Janka hardness of 660. Eastern red cedar has a Janka hardness of 900. Western red cedar is just 350. Red oak is 1290.

      So depending on which cedar your guy is selling, you're going to be on one side or the other on the scale compared to Douglas fir.
      Thank you, atgcpaul. Great to know about the Janka scale. I had no idea that type of measurement existed. Good to know moving forward when checking out lumber choices.

      I found out that the cedar is a Western cedar but also found out via another location of the same lumber company, that the Fir is not a "Douglas" Fir (unlike what the other person stated).....he didn't elaborate beyond Fir. He stated as the other guy that it's meant more for looks and indoors and suggested that the cedar is the better choice.

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      • radhak
        Veteran Member
        • Apr 2006
        • 3058
        • Miramar, FL
        • Right Tilt 3HP Unisaw

        #4
        Douglas Fir is just one of a type of Fir wood; any Fir you get will have similar features. I have used some, and find them good looking for cheap, and as strong as - if not stronger than - pine.

        As for Cedar, if you are building for cats, please research a bit - cats are supposed to dislike the aroma of cedar, which is even recommended as a 'repellant' against cats! Your cats might tolerate them on the post, may just avoid scratching them (if that's what you want), or they might hate it totally.
        It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
        - Aristotle

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        • Black wallnut
          cycling to health
          • Jan 2003
          • 4715
          • Ellensburg, Wa, USA.
          • BT3k 1999

          #5
          If I was building something for a cat I would use doug fir rather than cedar. Western red cedar can splinter easily.
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          marK in WA and Ryobi Fanatic Association State President ©

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          • vaking
            Veteran Member
            • Apr 2005
            • 1428
            • Montclair, NJ, USA.
            • Ryobi BT3100-1

            #6
            I believe cedar has good weather resistance but if you are building indoor - you don't care about it. For indoor I would use fur.
            Alex V

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            • jdon
              Established Member
              • Feb 2010
              • 401
              • Snoqualmie, Wash.
              • BT3100

              #7
              For indoor I would use fur.
              Unless your pet is a reptile

              Cedar splinters and splits more easily than most commonly available woods (one reason why it's used for shakes and shingles). It sounds as though this will not be a family heirloom- so go with the cheapest wood you can find.

              Comment

              • wd4lc
                Established Member
                • Nov 2008
                • 125
                • Houston, TX
                • Ryobi BT3100-1

                #8
                Originally posted by radhak
                Douglas Fir is just one of a type of Fir wood; any Fir you get will have similar features. I have used some, and find them good looking for cheap, and as strong as - if not stronger than - pine.

                As for Cedar, if you are building for cats, please research a bit - cats are supposed to dislike the aroma of cedar, which is even recommended as a 'repellant' against cats! Your cats might tolerate them on the post, may just avoid scratching them (if that's what you want), or they might hate it totally.
                Thanks for the tips. I've read up on that cedar thing in the past as well. There are some cats that don't like the smell and some cats that love it (just like anything else I guess). I believe it's that a minority of cats are allergic to properties in certain types of cedar (and I've even read from certain parts of the cedar tree...how they figured that out is beyond me). The same goes for pine wood which I imagine can be found in furniture and house trim.
                Cedar shelters, cedar shavings/bedding and even litter are manufactured and provided for pets. Go figure.

                Thanks everyone for the info and suggestions. I got the cedar before reading the remainder of the thread (bt3 never sends me thread updates on time, if I'm lucky enough to get them at all). I'll likely get a piece of their fir on down the line and test it out a bit.

                Thank you.

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