Free Building Plans for Fun Outdoor Projects

Have you ever made a cool outdoor project with redcedar? We have. Many, many times. It’s awesome! We love making things with red cedar and we think you will too.

“But I’m not a builder”, you say. “I’ve never made anything with wood before.”

So what? Remember that LEGO Millennium Falcon you built? Sure, it took 7 hours, but you faithfully followed the directions, and the end result perfectly matched the photo on the box. And there wasn’t a single leftover piece, either. Or how about those glazed pork chops you made in 2005 that everyone still talks about? All you did, then, was humbly follow the recipe to the letter. And that was just a single meal that didn’t last two hours. What if you made your own red cedar adirondack chairs, cedar dart board cabinet, or tiki bar? Do a good job on those, and they’ll probably still be out there years from now. All you need is a little determination and a good set of building plans.

Working from a set of building plans really isn’t that different from following a recipe in a cook book, or the instructions that come with a LEGO set or a piece of IKEA furniture.  

Most wood project plans include a list of all the materials and tools that you’ll need, pro tips for helping the project go smoothly, technical illustrations, and and step by step instructions that guide you from the first cut to the final nail. Some project plans  - like these free DIY plans at realcedar.com - even have 3D Google Sketch Up renderings, and videos that show the completed project.

 

Most of the projects at realcedar.com are beginner-friendly with lots of, simple, straight cuts - Perfect for a weekend project the whole family can help with. Just choose your project, download the plans, pick up the tools and lumber you’ll need, and follow the directions. You’ll surely succeed and want to build another cedar project. Before you know it, you’ll have heaps of cedar sawdust in the garage, and an assortment of beautiful red cedar garden benches, pergolas, picnic tables, and adirondack chairs - all of which you made yourself.

 

And just because the free DIY plans are there to help sell Western Red Cedar, doesn't make these outdoor projects any less awesome. 

After all, Western Red Cedar is certainly well suited to these outdoor projects. But you can easily substitute other long-lasting wood varieties, and if you live in the Eastern half of the US, you may find that Eastern Red Cedar is just as durable outdoors - perhaps even more durable -  but is easier to find and costs less. 

But the plans call for REAL CEDAR. So which redcedar variety is the REAL CEDAR -  Eastern or Western Redcedar? 

 Both of these redcedars are actually members of the Cypress family, and both are famously resistant to insects and decay. But they are two distinctly different tree species. Western Redcedar,Thuja plicata, grows in the Pacific Northwest, from Southeast Alaska to northern California. Eastern Redcedar, Juniperus Virginiana L. is the most widely distributed eastern conifer tree species - native in 37 Eastern US states.

We’ve built many outdoor projects with both Eastern and Western redcedar, and have found them both to live up to their storied reputation for outdoor durability.

If polish and presentation are any measure, then it would seem that the humble Eastern redcedar falls short of its well-branded western cousin. After all, they have professionally produced videos with actors wearing branded apparel. We don’t even have a logo. Heck, we’re still out at the sawmill in overalls and bare feet. And the last thing we need is another East Coast/West Coast rivalry, but our aromatic Eastern redcedar sure does smell good and that iconic grain pattern makes any outdoor project more special.

 

 “But enough!”, you say, “which one is the REAL cedar?”

 Maybe it just depends on where you live and who you ask. 

 According to one veteran sawmill owner, “The only true cedar in the world is the Cedar of Lebanon, Cedrus Libani”.