Redwood vs. Western Red Cedar: Which Softwood Wins for a California Custom Gate?

Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and western red cedar (Thuja plicata) are both conifers native to the Pacific Northwest and coastal California. Old-growth redwood was one of the most durable woods on Earth. Old-growth cedar was similarly exceptional. Both species are now harvested almost exclusively from second-growth plantations, and the material available today is softer, lighter, and less decay-resistant than the wood that built California's reputation for outdoor construction.

The critical difference for gate builders is density. Western red cedar averages 23 pounds per cubic foot. Modern second-growth redwood averages 28 pounds per cubic foot, with old-growth heart redwood reaching 32 to 35. That 20 to 50 percent density difference translates directly to how well each wood holds a mortise, resists denting, and absorbs operator load on an automated gate.

Cedar contains thujaplicins — natural extractives that are among the most effective decay-resistant compounds found in any North American softwood. Even second-growth cedar retains enough of these compounds to earn a USDA rating of 'resistant' to rot. Redwood contains tannins that are also effective, but modern second-growth redwood has significantly lower tannin concentration than old-growth material, and the sapwood content is higher.

In the humid fog belt of Mill Valley, Tiburon, and the Santa Cruz Mountains, cedar's decay resistance shows up in service life. We've seen cedar gates in those microclimates outlast redwood gates by five to eight years when both were built with the same joinery and finish schedule. In dry inland heat — Concord, Walnut Creek, Pleasanton — the gap narrows, and redwood's structural advantages become more important.

Cedar is one of the most dimensionally stable softwoods in North America. It moves very little across humidity swings, which means joints stay tight and finishes don't crack as the wood breathes. This is why cedar is the default for sauna construction, boat building, and any application where moisture cycling is extreme.

Redwood is also stable — more stable than most domestic softwoods — but it moves roughly 30% more than cedar across the same humidity range. In Concord's dry-summer, wet-winter climate, that difference is small enough to ignore. In fog-belt Marin, where humidity sits above 70% year-round and swings are damp-to-wetter rather than dry-to-wet, cedar's extra stability prevents the checking and seam-opening that redwood can develop.

Gate joinery is where redwood's extra density pays back. A mortise cut into cedar is clean and precise, but the wood is soft enough that the tenon shoulders can compress under load over time. On a heavy automated driveway gate, that compression eventually shows up as a slight rack or sag at the latch stile.

Redwood holds mortise and tenon joints more firmly. The extra density means the tenon shoulders bear against the stile cheeks with less compression, and the drawbore pin seats more securely. For automated gates over 8 feet wide in dry inland climates, we typically specify redwood over cedar for exactly this reason — the structural behavior is measurably better.

For pedestrian gates, garden gates, and any gate under 6 feet wide where the structural loads are modest, cedar's joinery performance is perfectly adequate. The choice then becomes aesthetic and climatic rather than structural.

Both species weather to silver-gray if left unfinished. Cedar gets there faster — often within a single summer in full sun. Redwood holds its color longer, passing through a longer orange-pink phase before silvering. Clients who want to maintain a warm tone will need to refinish cedar more frequently.

Penetrating oil finishes (we specify Penofin Marine Oil, Armstrong Clark, or Messmer's UV Plus depending on the site) perform well on both species, but cedar's lower density means it absorbs more finish per coat and may need an extra coat to achieve the same surface saturation. Film-forming finishes (varnish, polyurethane) are a poor choice on both species outdoors, but especially on cedar in humid climates, where trapped moisture causes peeling within two years.

Clear vertical-grain western red cedar and clear all-heart redwood are priced within 10% of each other in the Bay Area market — typically $8 to $14 per board foot for either species in gate-grade material. Construction-grade versions of both are cheaper but unsuitable for a gate that is meant to last.

FSC-certified cedar is more readily available than FSC-certified redwood in the current market. Both species can be sourced sustainably; we specify FSC stock when the client requests it. Transport energy is lower for redwood (it grows in California and Oregon) than for cedar (primarily Washington and British Columbia), though the difference is modest.

For fog-belt and coastal North Bay properties — Mill Valley, Tiburon, coastal Sonoma — we recommend western red cedar. The decay resistance and dimensional stability are worth the softness penalty, and the regional architectural vernacular expects cedar anyway.

For inland East Bay and Sacramento Valley properties — Concord, Walnut Creek, Pleasanton, El Dorado Hills — we recommend clear all-heart vertical-grain redwood. The drier climate reduces cedar's rot-resistance advantage, and the structural demands of wide automated gates favor redwood's extra density.

For clients who want the best of both worlds, we offer hybrid gates: a redwood or hardwood structural frame with cedar cladding on the visible faces. This is especially popular in transitional microclimates like Berkeley and Oakland, where the fog rolls in some mornings but the afternoons are hot and dry.