Redwood | alamo hardwoods | san antonio |lumber millwork exterior

Redwood

The American Redwood is one of the wonders of the world. An ancient species closely related to the Baldcypress, It is the tallest tree in the world and the largest living thing on the planet. When reports of these amazing trees reached the early settlers, they couldn't believe that such things actually existed. Eventually they became tourist destinations and people would come to stare in awe at trees over 300 feet tall! Some were wide enough to drive through. Over millions of years it has learned tricks to survive to be thousands of years old. It develops bark as thick as a foot to protect against the fires so common in Northern California. The wood has also developed natural fire retardant properties, which make it also very rot and insect resistant. The lumber is very soft and therefore not used for floors or durable millwork. It was a natural for exterior shingles and shutters and sidings and fencing. Recently, all old trees have been removed from the cutting cycle, so all redwood currently being harvested is from young, planted trees on managed lands. This means that the lumber currently on the market, regardless of grade, is not especially rot resistant. Wood needed for exterior purposes must be hand selected from existing stock, or cut from stumps or salvaged from buildings.