the red cedar, as far as clear lumber is concerned, is the same price as clear redwood. No knots, just beautiful clear wood, as in the red cedar table pic.
In my neck of the woods, the 1x6 boards, clear, best grade both run around 5 bucks a linear foot.
The 2x4's and the 2x6's, vary in price and I guess its due to the grade, usually the 2x4, 2x6, and 4x4 that I use, is basically construction grade, and there are knots, sometimes creating a bit of waste.
But in the same yard, the red cedar and redwood run similar in prices, in similar grades.
(this is all based on what I know, and about the questions Ive asked, and ofcourse, bottom line, the prices Ive paid)
I was lucky around year and a half ago, I purchased around 500 linear feet of redwood 1x6's at an incredible low price.
A poor guy(not moneywise, purchased it to build a play house/swing set/ for his grandchildren, then got ill and was told not to do any work, strenous physical work, so he placed an ad on Craigslist materials, and I puchased it for less than a buck a foot.
Some of it seemed almost clear, some had tons of knots.
The knotty redwood, and knotty red cedar, the yards near me dont even carry in 1x6's, because the owner explained its just too much waste.
I asked him the price, he said it generally goes for 1.40 a foot, the knotty kind.
That was over a year ago, maybe its up since then.
The guy I bought it from, also threw in 30 feet of 1x12 red oak he had laying around for another project, he just wanted his garage back. The wood was stacked straight, and had blocks in between every 2 pieces, so it was a good deal for me.
If you look at the redwood in my pic, maybe its not in that pic, you can see the knots. The redwood has split in alot of spots. Ive replaced some of the boards twice already, and have had to replace a few parts on some of the chairs Ive made as well.
I have not had any red cedar split, but the red cedar is the clear.
I guess if I had knotty cedar, the cheap stuff, it would split and crack also.
I dont know, I dont purchase it, and I dont think I will.
I know Lowes sells cedar for decking. Im guessing its white cedar, and its quite inexpensive, but the thinnest is 5/4 for decking.
So, to make it clear, although Im confused now, I believe red clear cedar, and redwood, clear grade, are around the same exact price.
The knotty version, where one can expect alot of waste, and cracking and splits, also run around the same money, about 1/3 the price.
I saved 4 of the clearest redwood boards I had, hoping Ill get one more request for an adirondack chair.
They are both a pleasure to work with, glue well, easy to rout, cut, and take screws great.
And from what Ive read, both red cedar and redwood are similar in characteristics.(in red cedar only, I dont know about plain cedar, or is it just referred to as white cedar?)
Does any of this help?
(originally, I believe I coated both with one coat thompsons deck waterproofing and sealent, and besides the peeling I noticed on the red cedar, the red cedar still looked pretty new after almost 2 years)
I also read that white cedar doesnt have the same sturdiness, strength as red cedar.
$25 would be a steal here.
You have said that red cedar is much more expensive than redwood and holds up better to the elements.