Our Four Grades of Wood

Click on the thumbnails below to see larger image:
Old-Growth Redwood Select-Heart Grade (or better) Tight-Grain 30-Yr Warranty	Mature Redwood Select-Heart Grade (or better) Open-Grain 20-Yr Warranty	Young Redwood Con-Common Grade (or better) Open-Grain 10-Yr Warranty	Douglas-fir #1 Structural Select Grade (or better) Mostly Open Grain 8-Yr Warranty

 

Our Redwood and Douglas-fir is air and/or kiln-dried to a 12% moisture content and sanded to a 150 grit smooth-to-the-touch finish. Table and bench top boards are vertical grain. All boards have eased (rounded) edges to avoid splintering over time. We offer several finish options. Our standard sealant is a linseed and tung oil based product. (Click here for more information on our sealant and other finish options.)

We have warranties of up to thirty years on our furniture. Click here to read more.

Old-Growth Redwood

It is an exceptional quality wood (from trees over 200 years old). Grades are select-heart to clear-heart. Most boards have tight grain because the trees grew slowly in a competitive environment—more than 8 annual growth rings/inch. Many Old-Growth boards are clear of knots. We include interesting patterns and a few select small sound knots to add contrast and highlights to the grain. If you prefer knot-free Old-Growth, just let us know when you call. If ordering online, just write knot-free in the comment section when you check out. There is a 10% surcharge for knot-free orders.

Left out in the harsh year-round sun, rain and snow without maintenance, our Old-Growth Redwood is guaranteed not to decay in any climate for 30 years. The secret to longevity is to combine the very best wood quality with careful selection of the extra-thick timbers used in every item we build. (Click here to see how to keep your furniture looking new and lasting even longer.)

Our Old-Growth comes from logs left on the ground when the forest was first logged between 1890 and 1960. The wood is extremely resistant to decay and remains perfect after lying outdoors for up to 115 years! Some of these trees were alive over 1,500 years ago. Because of over-logging, little of this precious wood is available anywhere.

Mature Redwood

It is a beautiful high quality wood (from trees averaging 100 years of age). Grades vary from select-heart to clear heart. Most boards have open grain (less than eight growth rings/inch). Mature Redwood is usually a lighter shade of reddish brown than Old-Growth (see above photos). Many Mature boards are clear of knots. We include interesting patterns and a few select small sound knots to add contrast and highlights to the grain. If you prefer knot-free Mature Redwood, just let us know when you call (if ordering online, just write “knot-free” in the comment section when you check out). There is a 10% surcharge for knot-free orders.

Left out in the harsh year-round sun, rain and snow without maintenance, our Mature Redwood is guaranteed not to decay in any climate for 20 years. (Click here to see how to keep your furniture looking new.) Mature Redwood is our most popular grade. Its an excellent value when you combine its exceptional beauty and decades of durability in any weather.

Young Redwood

It is an attractive economical alternative (from trees averaging 50 years of age). The grades of Young Redwood vary from con-common to A-grade clear. Most boards have open grain (less than eight growth rings per inch). It is a combination of vanilla color and a light shade of reddish brown. We stain the Young Redwood furniture to match the Mature Redwood color (see photos above). The Young Redwood boards include a few select small sound knots and interesting grain patterns that add contrast and beauty to the furniture. If you prefer knot-free Young Redwood furniture, just let us know when you order (if ordering online, just write “knot-free” in the comment section when checking out). There is a 10% surcharge for knot-free Young-Growth Redwood orders.

Left out in the harsh year-round sun, rain and snow without maintenance, our Young Redwood is guaranteed not to decay in any climate for 10 years. The secret to longevity is to combine good wood quality with careful selection of the extra-thick timbers used in every piece. (Click here to see how to keep your furniture looking new.) Young Redwood is an excellent choice for most applications. Although the decay guarantee is only for 10 years. You can expect it to last much longer in most outdoor applications. And, with the standard semi-transparent finish, it is difficult to distinguish the difference between the Young and the Mature Redwood. All furniture built in the Young Redwood costs approximately 12% less than having it made identically in the Mature Redwood.

Douglas-fir

Is a very strong economical alternative (from trees averaging 50 to 80 years of age). The Douglas-fir grades vary from #1 structural select up to clear vertical grain. Most boards have open grain (less than eight growth rings per inch). It is a combination of a very light brown color with some slightly darker shades of a reddish brown. The Douglas-fir boards include a few select small sound knots and interesting grain patterns that add contrast and beauty to the furniture. If you prefer knot-free Douglas-fir, just let us know when you order (if ordering online, just write “knot-free” in the comment section when checking out). There is a 10% surcharge for knot-free Young-Growth Redwood orders.

Left out in the harsh year-round sun, rain and snow without maintenance, our Douglas-fir is guaranteed not to decay in any climate for 8 years. The secret to longevity is to combine good wood quality and carefully selected extra-thick timbers in every piece. (Click here to see how to keep your furniture looking new and lasting much longer.) Douglas-fir has significant decay resistance and is structurally stronger than Redwood. It will do well long-term in moist, dry or severe climates in the outdoor weather. It's our least expensive wood grade and an excellent way to get any item in our catalog at a fraction of the cost of it made in Redwood. For example, an identical item made in Mature Redwood will cost over 40% more than if made in Douglas-fir. 30% of the wood volume of our forestlands is Douglas-fir. We’ve been building furniture for employees and for custom orders out of Douglas-fir with amazing results for years. So, in late 2008, we finally decided to let the secret out of the bag: Douglas-fir is the best bang for your buck in both outdoor and indoor furniture. Give it a shot, you’ll be pleasantly surprised while saving a chunk of change.

Restoration Forestry

Old-Growth Again practices restoration forestry. Restoration forestry severely limits timber harvesting so the forest will mature to old-growth again. Restoration forestry is a gentle approach that truly protects and restores forestland in stark contrast to the standards of industrial forestry. Restoration forestry is true conservation forestry with much higher standards than the “sustainable forestry” practices now in widespread use. To learn more about our forestry practices, please click here.

The photos above are good color and grain examples of our three Redwood grades. The standard option is for sets made with Old-Growth or Mature Redwood to ship with our transparent sealant. Young-Growth Redwood sets ship with a stain to match the color of the Mature Redwood (see photo above). If you prefer, we also offer an Old-Growth stain option that changes the Mature or Young Redwood's color to match the darker Old-Growth color as shown in the photo above.

Redwood takes well to most stains. You can order your furniture unfinished and apply almost any stain you like. One online option is Superdeck transparent and semi-transparent stains. Superdeck's website offers 73 stain options with good quality and “where to buy” local store information: www.superdeck.com.

Our Forever Redwood Furniture is built to last for decades without maintenance. The secret is in the wood. Although many furniture outlets advertise as "heavy-duty" or "made to last," you can easily separate fact from fiction by checking the weight. If a piece is light, it is made from thin wood and the odds are poor that it will last for decades in year-round weather.

Forever Redwood furniture is unique because we mill our own wood to full inch dimensions. For example, a standard 2 by 6 is actually only 1½” thick and 5¼” wide. Our full-dimension 2 by 6 is 2” thick and 6” wide with 52% more wood. The thick timber significantly increases the feel, appearance, sturdiness and durability of the furniture. For example, our Eight-Foot Picnic Table with attached benches weighs 250 pounds.

Wood quantity and resistance to decay increases as a tree ages. Because of over-logging, almost all wood available today is from young trees. Although a few other tree species also have excellent resistance to weather, the reputation of wood to resist decay was established in decades past when old-growth (over 200 year-old trees) was plentiful. Compared to old-growth, young wood has less resistance because it takes centuries of slow growth to develop great decay resistance.