Cedar Grades for Fence

Cedar wood is a great option for residential fencing and comes in a variety of grades.

Updated on: May 21, 2025

If you're thinking about building a new wood fence, that means you have some decisions to make! One of the biggest when considering fence options is which type of material and fencing grade you're going to use to construct the fence.

A lot of homeowners choose cedar fencing for its many benefits: it is lightweight and resistant to decay, not to mention aesthetically-pleasing with its distinctive red coloring. Among the different types of cedar, Western red cedar is among the largest and finest grown anywhere in the world. It is known for its durability and for being a quality fence that can last for decades with proper maintenance.

Once you've decided on the type of wood, you'll also need to determine which grade you want for your fence boards.

Although you may have thought all cedar fencing is created equal, there are nuances to lumber grades that are important to become familiar with before you choose your fence boards. We'll go over the different grades of cedar and how they are determined to make this decision a little easier for you.

Grades are assigned to lumber in the U.S. in order to establish a consistent way to categorize quality. Wood is graded for its clearness and the amount of defects in the lumber. Because your cedar wood fence boards will come from lumber sawn from harvested trees, they will by nature not be uniform and some pieces may have defects or other differences in appearance.

Let's go over the grades of Western red cedar lumber so you can be ready when deciding on your cedar fence materials. According to the West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau, there are three basic grades for this type of Western red cedar: No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 (rustic). Additionally, while not the most common grade for fence boards because of its price, there is an even higher grade of Western red cedar known as Clear Grade that we will also describe.

Clear Grade

Clear grades of cedar don't have any rings, knots or other imperfections which gives the fence a uniform appearance. This grade of western red cedar includes only heartwood pieces. Heartwood is the dense, innermost part of the tree and is the hardest wood. Because this is the highest grade of Western red cedar, it is also the most expensive.

Within this grade, clear cedar can be further broken down into additional grades including:

• Clear vertical grain: Vertical grain means that any rings in the lumber are parallel to each other when you look at the boards. This grade of lumber is made of decay-resistant heartwood.
• A & better clear grain: These can have some growth characteristics like small knots, but only up to two of these.
• C & better clear cedar grain: These boards might have sap stains, pitch streaks and more than two small knots.
• D & better clear cedar grain: This grade can have up to two larger knots, pin holes, and other imperfections.

No. 1 Fencing (Select)

No. 1 fence boards, like the other grades, are graded based on the best face. This grade of cedar comes from closer to the heart of the tree than No. 2 and has fewer, smaller knots.

Some imperfections that can be found in No. 1 fence boards include:

• Checks: small ruptures in the wood grain
• Pinholes: very small knots
• Shakes: lengthwise separation of the wood occurring between or through the annual growth rings

No. 2 Grade

In No. 2 Grade cedar, there can be a few knots, imperfections and discolorations that you wouldn't see in No. 1 Grade cedar boards. Most of the knots will be small but there might also be some large knots as well.

No. 3 Grade and Below

This grade of cedar offers a more rustic appearance. It can have numerous knots and imperfections that give it an interesting look but could also reduce the durability of the fence.

Selecting your grade

Hopefully, selecting a grade of Western red cedar for your fence project should be a little more "clear", pun intended, after reading through this post. Keeping these things in mind when you are talking with a fence company or lumber retailer about building your new Western red cedar fence will help you achieve the goals that are important to you for your project!