Cypress vs Cedar Wood | Which one is best for you?

Old-growth cypress is more durable, dense, and heavier than cedar wood. Both are resistant to insect attacks. 

Both Cypress and Cedar are excellent wood. It is difficult to choose one of these. Let us know about them in detail.

Cypress

Cypress wood is used for indoor and outdoor furniture, and construction applications. It is known for its durability and moderate rot resistance. But younger cypress has moderate durability. 

Cypress is also a group of many species. Cypress trees are coniferous trees in the cypress family Cupressaceae. 

Real cypress trees have soft, evergreen foliage and produce cones. Some famous species are as follows: Monterey cypress, Italian cypress, Moroccan cypress, Saharan cypress, and Arizona cypress.

Cedar

Cedar is a very durable, naturally weather and insect-resistant softwood. This gives it a rich appearance, which makes it an ideal choice for interior and exterior furniture.

There are four types of true cedar trees. We can say, in other words, trees that belong to the Cedrus genus. Lebanon cedar, Atlas cedar, Deodar cedar, and Cyprus cedar. All these species have almost similar properties and characteristics.

#	Cypress	Cedar
Durability	Very durable	Moderately durable
Workability	Generally easy to work	Easy to work with both hand or machine tools,
Rot-resistant	High rot resistant	Moderately rot-resistant
Type	Softwood	Softwood
Wood color	Yellowish brown	Pinkish-red
Common Uses	Exterior construction, docks, boatbuilding, interior trim, and veneer.	Shingles, exterior siding and lumber, and boatbuilding

Cypress and Cedar Uses

Cypress is more popular in the East. It can be used very easily and requires low maintenance. It is very durable, stable, water, and rot-resistant.

So it can be an excellent option for exterior construction such as docks, boatbuilding, interior trim, bridges, and veneer.

Cypress wood does not complain of splintering, cracking, warping, or splitting. So cypress wood is favored for a variety of uses. Thousands of years ago, Egyptians used cypress wood to make mummy cases.

Cedar Wood is famous for its great texture and is extremely versatile. Cedar is used in many applications such as fencing, decking, siding, and trim. 

It is more durable even after exposure to soil and moisture. Therefore, it can also be used outdoors.

Real cedar has a pleasant fragrance and is also naturally rot-resistant. So it is widely used for making wardrobes.

Read Incense Cedar vs Western Red Cedar

Workability

Easy to work with hand and power tools. According to experts: Cypress requires a sharp-edged tool and blade for cutting and carving. 

It has good gluing, finishing, and paint-holding properties. Because of its good density, it holds the nail and screw well.

Cedar also has great workability. Hands and machines can be easily operated. It is easy to cut and carve. Because of its softness, it is prone to dents and scratches.  It has great gluing, finishing, and paint-holding properties.

Durability

Old-growth cypress is more durable than young cypress. But only the heartwood part is durable; sapwood is not. For example, if the wood is being used for ground contact or exterior, then the durability will be less. 

Some cypress species perform well outdoors, such as Monterey Cypress. It has been proved in research, that Monterey Cypress is an excellent choice for outdoor purposes. It lasted longer than about 40 years.

Cedar has weather-resistant and rot-resistant properties. It can be used for exterior applications. 

But not all species of cedar are rot resistant. Some species are very soft. So it is not a good choice for heavy construction and outdoor furniture.

Identify by Foliage

Cypress

Cypress foliage has shades of green, from dark green to light bluish-green depending on the type of cypress. 

Italian and Monterey cypresses have dark green foliage. The leaves on cypress trees turn dark brown in autumn and fall with cones. 

A few months later, new leaves emerge which are light green, and over time they become dark green or bluish-green.

Cedar

The Lebanon cedar has dark green foliage and blue atlas and deodar cedars have blue-gray hue foliage. The foliage of cedar cannot be bent with fingers. 

One node has two middle-like leaves. The foliage is soft and nearly fernlike. Its leaves have a fragrance. The aroma can be smelled after mashing them by hand.

The similarity between Cypress and Cedar 

Cyprus and Cedar are both softwoods. It is a strong and durable wood, which can be used indoors and outdoors.

They are widely available. There is not much difference in their price, but Cypress is usually less expensive. The wood price depends on many things, such as the quality and place of the wood.

Firewood

When cypress is used as firewood, it usually burns fairly quickly. So I think this is a better option for a starter.

Cedar is a great choice for firewood because it splits easily, and burns long and pleasant aroma.

Conclusion

Cypress and Cedar both are excellent wood species. They have their own uses and applications. When buying wood of both species, you have to pay attention because many times the wood dealer sells the customer to other species and charges more than the real price. 

To avoid this, you need basic information about cypress and cedar so that you can identify the real species. The second thing you should always buy from a trusted dealer.