Understanding Redwood Fencing Grades

SAN JOSE — Redwood is known for being one of the best natural wood fencing materials available. However, since it comes in varying grades of quality, it’s important to know exactly what you’re getting when you hire a fence builder. Here are some general facts about redwood grades:

•  Grades designated as “heart” (example: Construction Heart) are sourced from the inner part of the tree, known as heartwood. Grades designated as “common” (example: Construction Common) are sourced from outer parts of the tree, known as sapwood. Most “common” grades contain a combination of heartwood and sapwood.

•  In general, the higher a redwood’s grade, the fewer/smaller knots it will contain. Higher grades also tend to be more consistent in color.

Let’s look at a few examples of redwood grades:

•  Construction Common consists largely of outer cuts (sapwood) of the tree. As a result, it tends to have more/larger knots that higher grades.

•  B-Grade looks similar in color to Construction Common (with a tint that ranges from pinkish/reddish to gold) but only contains knots smaller than a dime in size.

•  Construction Heart is on the high end of the quality spectrum. Consisting of inner cuts of the tree (heartwood), it has fewer knots and more consistent color than lower redwood grades.

Due to the complex variety of redwood grades, plan to discuss this with your fence contractor and make sure their proposal specifies the products to be used.