Wood elements can add so much character and warmth to the exterior of a house. But what is the best type of wood to use?
There are several factors to consider, but the most important should be weather resistance. Cedar, Cypress, and Redwood are extremely weather-resistant compared to other woods. Because of this and the fact that they are relatively easy to find, these three are the most commonly used woods on the exterior of a home.
Cedar vs Redwood vs Cypress
If I was to recommend one type of wood first, Cedar would be it, followed by Redwood. Both are extremely softwoods and are resistant to rot and decay and resistant to termites which is a big plus! Although they do tend to have a pinkish tint in color, staining is always an option and is usually the route most people take with these woods.
On our current house, we used Cedar in several different places as accents to add warmth and interest to the white painted brick and black windows.
Cypress is another wood that is commonly used on the exterior of a house. It is also a softwood that is resistant to rot and decay, but the appearance is somewhat lighter than that of Redwood and Cedar.
However, Cypress is more difficult to get and is more expensive than Cedar. It also has a sour smell compared to the lovely aroma of Cedar. Not that smell is too big of a deal for exterior use.
Exterior Uses and Ideas
There are lots of ways to use wood elements on the exterior of a home. We have always used wood as more of a subtle touch to warm up painted brick or siding. Of course, it can be used in abundance such as cedar shake siding which is an absolutely amazing look, but very expensive! Maintenance is also something to consider when using lots of wood on the exterior.
One of the most common ways to add wood to the exterior is by using wood posts on porches. We did this on our front and side porch and added some arched brackets on the front porch posts for some added detail.
Another option is adding wood shutters. Wood shutters can be purchased or even DIYed if you want to get creative and save some money. Wood shutters add a nice detail to a painted exterior home. Making sure to add some stain and poly will help preserve the life of the wood.
Another great idea is using wood headers or lintels above the windows. We chose to do this on our current home with Cedar. We had custom sized blocks of Cedar cut 8 inches tall and 3 1/2 inches thick, and they extend about 3 inches past the window on each side.
It’s a subtle detail that goes a long way. We stained them with Minwax Special Walnut to create a lot of contrast with the painted white brick.
18 Comments
Thank you for sharing this article. What brand and color of shingles did you use for your roof?
August 21, 2020 at 11:09 pmYou’re welcome. It’s Owens Corning Onyx Black.
August 22, 2020 at 5:19 pmWe are building a house and will be using cedar over the windows like you did. Did you stain the cedar that you used? If so what color did you use?
August 28, 2020 at 1:45 amYes, we did stain the cedar. We used Minwax Special Walnut.
August 30, 2020 at 1:15 pmHi Henry, the home we’re building also has cedar accents and post on the exterior. In addition to the Minwax stain, did you also add a sealer?
October 9, 2020 at 7:07 pmWhat brand of paint & color did you use for exterior? Thx!
April 4, 2021 at 3:30 pmHi Henry. We are building and would like cedar lintels above our windows. Our builder is advising against for structural reasons. He suggests putting the cedar over the brick for the effect. If I’m reading your post correctly, this is what you did? Yours are not supportive, correct? Thanks!
October 26, 2020 at 4:34 pmHi Kim. Your builder is right. Wood lintels should not be used to support the weight of the brick, but I don’t recommend a thin piece of cedar on top of the brick. We used steel lintels above the wood lintels. The masons laid the brick as usual, but basically left a space for the block of cedar above each window. Our lintels are 3 1/2 inches thick, same as the brick.
October 26, 2020 at 5:06 pmGreat to hear how you did this – we are planing to do the same on a few of our windows. How do you install and secure the beam? Does it just fit in with friction? Do you use lag screws and then go back to fill the holes? Or is it glued? Does it have space between it and the house sheathing? Do you have any thoughts on rough sawn fir? We’re considering using fir on our porch beams too. Thanks!
December 12, 2020 at 9:00 pmIs the Onyx black roof showing more charcoal lighter than traditional black or is this just the way the photo picks it up? I really like the color and usually veer away from black roofs. Beautiful!
February 22, 2021 at 3:56 amHenry, We are building a house and want to add cedar lintels over a couple windows on the exterior of the house. I plan to install a steel lintel above the wood lintel to carry and transfer the brick load above. What I am struggling with is how best to anchor the wood lintel to the structure. I’d appreciate you sharing any detailed information on how you did this.
July 9, 2021 at 2:03 pmI am building my house, I was advised not to use the cedar because my brick installer says it can stain the white brick (my brick is white, not painted). Did anyone have this problem? Thank you
August 3, 2022 at 8:24 pmI know its been over a year and you probably will not see this but we are currently trying to figure out the same thing so it can’t hurt to try! Do you mind sharing how you ended up getting the wood lintels attached and if you did this before or after the masonry work? Our mason said he would need them on before as opposed to leaving a place for it. Thank you!
November 18, 2022 at 11:41 pmHave the mason add some temporary 2x4s to the wall cut to the size of your headers. Then they can lay the brick around those. They will still need to use steel lintels. Then after the brick is laid and painted the cedar lintels can be installed.
November 19, 2022 at 1:14 amI love this look and want to create on my brick. I’m getting it painted in a month. Do I just the wood cut and then stain it? Can I get from Home Depot? Also how to I attach it on to of the brick?
April 22, 2022 at 2:57 amHello – beautiful home! Would you mind sharing the paint color for the brick and siding please?
December 6, 2020 at 12:49 pmCan I ask where you sourced your long cedar brackets on your front porch? All I can find is 45 degree brackets and they just don’t fit the rest of the architecture of our remodel. Thx.
March 8, 2022 at 9:27 pmSo beautiful! When we do timber framing, we usually use Douglas Fir.
May 24, 2022 at 5:35 pm