Redwood Lumber and Its Uses 



REDWOOD lumber was first cut in an extensive 

 way about fifty years ago. Prior to that time the 

 Spaniards and Russians in California used a 

 little of it, but when the gold fever was at its height, 

 the early American settlers made considerable use of 

 this valuable lumber. Although the redwood forests have 

 already been heavily cut, it is probable that 50, 000,000, 00(.) 

 feet can still be i)raduced before the supply is ex- 

 hausted. 



Redwood contains a large amount of tannin which 

 probably explains its great resistance to rot and insects. 

 The annual cut of 

 redwood lumber in 

 recent years has 

 a\'eraged about 

 2.50.000,000 feet 

 board measure. 

 Most of this out- 

 ])ut is used in house 

 construction, and 

 while by far the 

 greater portion so 

 far used was 

 l)ought by Cali- 

 fornia home build- 

 ers, its use is 

 steadily spreading 

 over the entire 

 country. Siding is 

 one of its impor- 

 tant uses, but the 

 lumber is used for 

 every part of the 

 house, such as raf- 

 ters, joists, stud- 

 ding, cornice and 

 l)orch c ol u m n s. 

 Even floors of red- 

 wood are laid but 

 the wood is con- 

 sidered by many to 

 l>e too soft for 

 t h is use. For 

 years, largely on 

 account of lack of 

 transportation fa- 

 cilities, redwood 

 was little known 

 outside of the Pa- 

 cific Coast terri- 

 tory, but with the 

 recent completion 

 of direct rail con- 

 nection from red- 



THK BASE OF A BIG ONE 



From two to three thousand years ago this majestic growth was a thin and tender redwood 

 sprout seeking its way skyward in a grove of patriarchal redwoods as large, and doub.Iess 

 larger, than it is now. 



wood stands and the Panama Canal this lumber prom- 

 ises to soon become one of the important building woods. 

 The imperviousness of redwood to decay has long 

 been known, and therefore its use by the home builder 

 for foundations is not only natural but advantageous. 

 Homes in Humboldt and Mendocino counties, California, 

 were built on redwood foundations as long as fifty years 

 ago, and the original sills are at the present day as sound 

 as when first laid down. The weather resisting qualities 

 of redwood, even when unpainted, are proverbial, and 

 make it preeminent for exterior use. ISarns erected in 



f lumbold t and 

 Mendocino coun- 

 ties as early as 1855 

 were sided with un- 

 painted redwood 

 boards and covered 

 with redwood shin- 

 gles and shakes, 

 none of which to- 

 day show the slight- 

 est deterioration 

 from exposure. 

 T he Russian 

 Church erected at 

 Fort Ross, Cali- 

 fornia, in 1811, was 

 built entirely of 

 hewn redwood, and 

 although the build- 

 ing was completely 

 wrecked by the 

 earthquake in 190(1, 

 the redwood itself 

 is as sound today 

 as when the trees 

 from which it was 

 hewn were felled. 

 Redwood for in- 

 terior finish gives 

 the home builder 

 a wide range of 

 possibilities. It has, 

 in the first place, 

 all the merits of 

 any other wood e.x- 

 cept the hardwoods, 

 and in addition, the 

 entire absence of 

 pitch renders it es- 

 pecially adapted to 

 take and hold paint 

 or enamel. How- 

 ever, the beauty of 

 329 



