Western Red Cedar decking — every stage of its life

Cedar's appeal is the natural look — no green tint, beautiful reddish-brown grain, no chemical treatment required. Western Red Cedar has natural rot + insect resistance from thujaplicins (organic preservatives in the heartwood). Downsides: cedar costs ~2-3× pressure-treated, it's softer (dents easier from chairs / dog claws), and it greys faster without maintenance. The buyer choosing cedar over PT is buying aesthetics, not value.

Western Red Cedar 5/4×6 decking runs $4.50-6.50/lf vs $2.40-2.80/lf for pressure-treated — roughly 2-2.5× the material cost. The gap narrows over time: cedar requires only stain refresh (no replacement boards typically needed for 25-30 years), while PT typically sees 10-20% board replacement by year 12-15. 25-year total cost is similar; cedar just front-loads the spend.

Not structurally — cedar's natural extractives provide ~20-25 years of rot resistance with zero treatment. But cosmetically yes if you want to keep the warm cedar tone. Untreated cedar fully silvers within 12-18 months in full sun (faster than PT). Stain refresh every 2-3 years keeps it amber/red-brown indefinitely. Some homeowners prefer the silvered look and skip sealer entirely.

Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata) — Pacific Northwest, larger boards, deep reddish-brown heartwood, stronger rot resistance. The standard for premium cedar decking. Eastern White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis) — smaller boards, lighter tan color, less rot resistance, slightly cheaper, more available in the Northeast and Eastern Canada. Western Red is the gold standard; Eastern White is the affordable cousin. Most lumber yards stock WRC by default when you ask for 'cedar decking.'

Yes for pools (cedar's natural rot resistance handles wet exposure well), but with caveats: (1) chlorine accelerates the silvering process — expect grey within 6-9 months instead of 12-18, (2) bare feet on cedar over time scuff the soft surface, (3) annual cleaning + stain refresh is more important than in dry-zone decks. For hot tubs the issue is structural — cedar is softer than PT and tends to compress under sustained heavy loads. Doable but PT or composite is better load-bearing.

25-40 years structurally with reasonable maintenance. Western Red Cedar heartwood is one of the most rot-resistant North American softwoods — outlasts white pine by ~3×, comparable to PT. Failures usually aren't the boards themselves; they're fasteners (use stainless or hot-dip galv only — cedar's natural acids corrode standard galv) or substructure (PT joists rot faster than the cedar surface they support). Pair cedar decking with PT joists + stainless screws and you've built a 30+ year deck.

Depends on grade. Clear grade has minimal knots ($$$, used for visible decking faces). Select Tight Knot (STK) has small tight knots — most common residential grade, looks natural without being rustic. Number 2 or 'Knotty' grade has larger sometimes loose knots — character-rich, cheapest cedar option, fine for less-visible installations. Specify grade when ordering; defaulting to whatever the yard has is how you end up with a knotty rustic deck when you wanted clean.