The Redwood trees of California are the largest of any trees in the world reaching diameters of 20 + feet with heights of 350 feet. It is a highly prized lumber product renowned for several unique features. One of the most dimensionally stable of the western softwoods, Redwood is not prone to checking and splitting, and therefore is less damaged by weathering. It is decay-resistant in all heartwood grades, so heartwood can be used near the ground.

Redwood is more insect repellent in all-heartwood grades than other woods, yet it is lightweight. Despite being one of the lightest of softwoods, Redwood provides adequate strength for a wide variety of uses. It is superior in insulation values. The minute cell structure with thousands of air-filled cavities accounts for Redwood's incredible thermal insulation values. Redwood is easily machined, easy to saw and nail, and has superior gluing properties as well as superior finish-holding ability. Redwood has an open-celled structure and contains little or no pitch or resins. This enables redwood to absorb and retain all types of finishes extremely well.

California Redwood is known for its easy maintenance and beautiful color: a deep reddish brown that darkens with age. Redwood is most often used for applications where high moisture levels are a problem for other types of wood. It is also specified for its exquisite coloring. Redwood has qualities not found in other woods--even woods treated with chemicals. Redwood performance characteristics include resistance to shrinking, warping and checking in addition to durability. This means redwood projects age beautifully. Decks, fences and shelters made with Redwood simply look better ten, fifteen and twenty years after construction.

According to reports from the Forest Products Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Redwood has less volumetric and tangential shrinkage than other common domestic softwoods. In exterior use, this means Redwood stays flat and straight with minimal warping, cupping or checking.

Arc Wood & Timbers only sources Redwood from independently certified and sustainable forestlands that are accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI SM) program.

The below is an excerpt from the California Redwood Association:

Four of every five acres of commercial redwood forest are now independently certified as well managed and harvested on a sustainable basis. The major redwood lumber mills and landowners have completed independent third-party certification of their redwood forestlands. As a result, over 1 million acres, approximately 80 percent of the available redwood commercial forest are certified under one of the two most widely recognized certification programs: Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI SM ) program.

There are 1.74 million acres (1) of Coastal Redwood forests on California's north coast. About 26 percent, or 450,000 acres of these forests are preserved in national, state and municipal parks, national monuments and other administratively withdrawn lands (2) where harvesting is prohibited. Of the remaining 1.29 million acres where harvesting can take place, approximately 1.03 million acres (3) (80 percent) are currently being well managed according to independent third-party certification programs.

Forest certification provides consumers with assurance that the redwood products they purchase have been harvested in an environmentally sound manner. The basic tenants of certification programs include:

• sustainable forestry
• prompt reforestation
• protection of water quality
• enhancement of wildlife habitat
• minimizing the visual impact of harvesting
• protection of unique sites
• improvements in wood utilization

These voluntary third-party certification programs are in addition to the mandatory requirements of California's Forest Practices Act, recognized as the most thorough timber harvesting regulation in North America. Section 913 of the Forest Practices Act requires that any company owning commercial forests greater than 50,000 acres prepare a Sustained Yield Plan. These plans must project an equal balance of growth and harvest over a 100 year period while ensuring sustainability of all forest resources, including wildlife, watershed and soil.