Guide
Western Red Cedar or rough-cut Douglas fir: the best wood for a Texas pergola
Western Red Cedar and rough-cut Douglas fir compared for pergolas and patio covers in Texas heat. Rot, checking, stain and upkeep, and why we skip treated pine.
Rough-cut Douglas fir
Douglas fir pergolas
Big rough-cut timber for less than cedar. 8x8 posts, deep beams, knee braces and steel brackets, on engineered piers and fully stained.
Why fir
The timber look without the cedar price on every big piece.
Douglas fir is a structural wood. It's stiff, strong and it comes in the big rough-cut sizes that make a pergola look like timber framing. On a large pergola, the posts and beams are most of the lumber bill. That's where fir saves you the most.
How we build them
- Rough-cut Douglas fir posts, beams and braces
- Posts on raised bases on engineered piers, never in the dirt
- Every cut end sealed before it goes up
- Full stain on the whole frame at the end of the build
- Permit and engineering handled
Fir or cedar
Pick fir if
- You want big timber and the budget won't stretch to cedar in those sizes.
- It's going under a roof, so the tops of the beams stay dry.
- You're fine restaining on a tighter schedule.
Pick cedar if
- It's an open pergola and every top surface takes the rain.
- You want the least upkeep over the years.
- You want natural rot resistance built into the wood.
Not sure? We price both side by side at the visit. The full comparison is in cedar or Douglas fir.
Timber work
Timber pergolas from across the service area. Ask which wood each one is at the visit.
What it costs
Priced at the visit, next to cedar.
We only publish prices that came off a signed job, and we don't have a signed fir pergola to point to yet. So we price fir and cedar side by side on your layout. See published pricing for our cedar numbers.
Is this a fit
We're probably not your builder if
- You want a kit dropped off and nothing else.
- You need a repair on a structure someone else built.
- The budget is under $20,000 for a roofed cover.
We're a fit if
- You want a cedar pergola or a roofed patio cover built right the first time.
- You want one contractor to handle design, permit, build and stain.
- You live in Dallas-Fort Worth or East Texas.
Questions
Is a Douglas fir pergola cheaper than cedar?
Usually, yes, and the gap grows with the size of the timber. Big rough-cut posts and beams cost noticeably less in fir. We price both side by side at the visit so you can see the real difference on your pergola.
Will Douglas fir rot outside in Texas?
Not if it's built and kept right. Fir doesn't have cedar's natural rot resistance, so we set every post on a raised base on an engineered pier, seal the cut ends, and stain the whole frame. It needs restaining on a tighter schedule than cedar.
Fir or cedar under a roof?
Fir does best under a roof. The roof keeps rain off the tops of the beams and rafters, which is where water sits on an open pergola. If you're building a roofed patio cover and want heavy timber on a budget, fir is a strong pick.
What does rough-cut mean?
The lumber comes straight off the saw instead of being planed smooth. It keeps its full size and has a texture you can see and feel. It soaks up stain deeper and reads as timber framing, not deck lumber.
Do you build with treated pine?
No. We build with Western Red Cedar or rough-cut Douglas fir only. Treated pine tends to shrink, check and twist as it dries in Texas heat.
Read before you buy
Guide
What a cedar pergola costs in Texas
What a Western Red Cedar pergola costs in Dallas-Fort Worth and East Texas, from a signed nine-post job, and what moves the price up or down.
Guide
Pergola or patio cover: which one you actually need
The real difference between an open cedar pergola and a roofed patio cover in Texas. Shade, rain, heat, permits and what each one costs.
Get a number
Price fir and cedar side by side
Or call 469-721-0129.