05 Jun

Material Guide: The Benefits of Building with WILLIWAW

By Nicole Meehan In Alaskan Yellow Cedar, Exterior Cladding, Interior Cladding, Wood University / No Comments

Wood is one of the earth’s most renewable resources and has a low environmental impact compared to alternative building materials that are often used during the construction process. We believe if architects and builders want to provide clients with high-quality, sustainable building materials that will last over the lifespan of the structure, they must choose high-quality materials. We invest in quality, sustainably rich materials like Alaskan Yellow Cedar, so end users can rest assured that their cladding is going to last for many years to come. In this article, we will discuss the benefits of one of reSAWN TIMBER co.’s most specified product, WILLIWAW Alaskan Yellow Cedar (AYC).

Benefits of WILLIWAW

WILLIWAW features pre-weathered Alaskan Yellow Cedar that is sourced anywhere from Alaska to Oregon and is intended to provide a high-performing, natural material with a clean weathered aesthetic.

WILLIWAW can be used for interior or exterior wall cladding and is available in clear vertical grain. Clear vertical grain Alaskan yellow cedar contains few character marks.
WILLIWAW is durable, dimensionally stable, resistant to rot and insects, and has a light tan/gray, weathered look.
WILLIWAW can be treated to Class A Fire Rating for Interior Applications.
WILLIWAW is known for its ability to withstand harsh weather conditions, coupled with its aesthetic appeal, making it a favored choice for both functional and decorative applications in various architectural and design projects.
Each WILLIWAW product is meticulously crafted to showcase the natural characteristics of the wood, such as grain patterns, and color variations.
As a natural building material, wood cladding weathers inconsistently and can be unpredictable. WILLIWAW provides an exterior material with minimal aesthetic variation regardless of UV exposure.
WILLIWAW is designed to be versatile and can be used in both high-end residential and commercial settings.

The combination of expert craftsmanship, sustainable practices, and the inherent beauty of wood makes WILLIWAW a popular choice among designers, architects, and homeowners looking for exceptional wood products.

reSAWN’s Lumber Warehouse Featuring WILLIWAW- Day One

reSAWN’s Lumber Warehouse Featuring WILLIWAW- 2 Years Later

Why WILLIWAW?

reSAWN TIMBER co. offers a variety of Alaskan Yellow Cedar options that all contain the incredible benefits of this species. WILLIWAW not only has all of those benefits, but is loved for its natural variation, pre-weathered features, and low maintenance.

From afar, WILLIWAW exhibits a light beige color with gray undertones, making it unique looking in every kind of lighting. Its color compliments every environment it’s surrounded by whether it’s mountains or beaches, sun or snow, it provides a natural look as if it has always belonged there. The natural color variations in Alaskan Yellow Cedar wood are primarily due to the wood’s interaction with minerals found in the soil of its growing environment. As the tree absorbs water and nutrients from the soil, it also absorbs trace amounts of minerals present in the surrounding environment. These minerals can include iron, copper, manganese, and others, each imparting its own color properties to the wood. The mineral composition of the soil plays a crucial role in determining the color variation.

Air Lease Corporation- WILLIWAW Alaskan Yellow Cedar

WILLIWAW is prefinished in plant-based, zero VOC finish, allowing it to accept and hold finishes with minimal aesthetic variation throughout its installation lifecycle. reSAWN’s products arrive at job sites prefinished to avoid minor mishaps that can occur on job sites like oversprays, streaks, drips, or lap marks. Drying racks that are used to hold wet cladding on a job site are costly and take up much-needed space. Prefinished wood materials like WILLIWAW are finished and dried in a controlled environment prior to arriving on a job site. With factory-finished products, they have already undergone quality control, inspection, and back coating to ensure the material is in perfect condition before it arrives at its destination.

WILLIWAW is offered in a clear vertical grade, meaning the growth rings are parallel to each other on the face or the board, and very light skips on the non-graded face. Architects and builders often seek out select grades because it has very few imperfections or character markings, making it look smooth and clean. Additionally, WILLIWAW is utilized for both interior and exterior purposes, making it versatile and flexible for all styles of design.

WILLIWAW is currently being installed on homes in different climatic zones across the country in South Carolina, Minnesota, California, Florida, and Canada. Below is the Red Mountain Residence in Aspen, Colorado on its way to completion.

Red Mountain Residence- WILLIWAW Alaskan Yellow Cedar

What is Alaskan Yellow Cedar?

AYC is a remarkable species that is located in the coastal regions of Alaska, British Columbia, and the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It is grown in climates that have mildly wet winters, and cool damp summers. This species is often found on higher elevations and thrives in diverse forest ecosystems.

Unfinished AYC exhibits a pale yellow to golden color, often with subtle streaks of reddish brown, which deepen and become richer with age and exposure to sunlight. In addition to its physical attributes, the species possess a pleasing aroma that emanates from the wood, which adds to its allure and sensory appeal. Its scent is often described as sweet, reminiscent of cedar and citrus.

Hartheimer Residence-WILLIWAW Interior Wall Cladding

Alaskan Yellow Cedar Benefits

At reSAWN, our Alaskan Yellow Cedar products like WILLIWAW are ideally suited for any interior and exterior project, including wall and ceiling cladding. With its versatility, comes many remarkable benefits.

Durability– AYC has exceptional resistance to decay, rot, fungi, and insect damage. Due to their natural extractives such as Thujaplicans and Phenolics, they act as a defense mechanism for decay-causing organisms and pests. The natural oils also act as a natural barrier against moisture, helping to repel water. This contributes to the long lifecycle of the wood.
Strength– The low density and compact characteristics of the species make it more resistant to wear, impact, checks, and twists. Additionally, its straight grain pattern contributes to the strength of the wood. The fibers in AYC run parallel to the board’s length, providing structural integrity, making it less susceptible to shrink, and enabling it to withstand various environmental and structural stresses.
Insulation– The species’ tightly packed fibers and low density allow the wood to be thermally insulated.
Fire Resistant– When exposed to fire, AYC tends to have a slower burn rate. It releases heat at a slower pace and retains its structure for a longer period. reSAWN’s AYC has a Flame Spread Index of 40 and a Smoke Developed Index of 140, giving it a Class B Rating.

Our Mission

The building industry continues to produce unsustainable materials to mimic the aesthetic of wood and advertise them as sustainable products. However, some contain toxic chemicals, are unethically manufactured, and have a short lifespan because it is less expensive to do so. Additionally, their life cycle produces a mass of carbon emissions whereas products like WILLIWAW act as a carbon sink, absorbing carbon from the atmosphere.

At reSAWN TIMBER co., we bear the responsibility to become mindful educators, while nurturing and preserving earth’s ecosystems, cherishing its biodiversity, and embracing sustainable practices. We provide sustainably sourced products that will look beautiful on day one and continue to weather as nature takes over, with little to no aesthetic maintenance needed. This leaves more time to enjoy the product and less time to maintain it.

What does it truly mean to be an environmentally conscious wood manufacturer? In an industry that runs on nonrenewable, disposable resources beyond what is necessary, healthy, or sustainable, we choose to change the narrative. At reSAWN TIMBER co., we research, study, and observe every product we sell to not only protect our planet, but future generations. We carefully craft quality products that are durable and sustainably sourced to keep our promise to nature and end-users.

There is a reason why WILLIWAW Alaskan Yellow Cedar continues to be one of our most specified products. It is durable, dimensionally stable, rot and insect resistant, versatile, and exceptional at withstanding all weather conditions. Architects and builders continue to choose WILLIWAW for their projects because it promises to keep a home aesthetically beautiful and safe for years to come.

Want to see how WILLIWAW will look on your next project? WILLIWAW samples are available for architects and designers at no cost and shipped via UPS Ground. Click on the button to get started.

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26 Jan

The Importance of Field Mockups for Exterior Wall Cladding Assemblies

By Jocelyn Mahan In In the Field, Mockup Program / 2 No Comments

Given rising labor & material costs and ever-expanding lead times, even the smallest element executed incorrectly can have detrimental implications to a project’s budget and schedule. Solid execution is particularly critical for exterior features that safeguard a structure from the elements. That is why field mockups for exterior wall assemblies have become such an essential part of planning during residential and commercial projects.

Mockups provide architects, designers, contractors, and owners the opportunity to assess an in-person, three-dimensional representation of a design so that functionality, aesthetics, and quality can be evaluated down to the smallest detail.

Knight wall rainscreen System. — Lakeshore Drive Residence – Newtown Square, PA – Knight Wall Rainscreen System Mockup – *Hidden Gutter System*, reSAWN TIMBER co. NIGIRI & WABI SABI Cladding, Marvin® Windows, and 6” stone

The building enclosure (envelope, skin, facade, etc.) represents one of the greatest risk elements of construction. Water penetration, air leakage, and increased energy consumption are common consequences of poorly designed and constructed building enclosure assemblies.

Exterior wall cladding is the visible and exposed surface of a wall assembly and the primary water-shedding layer. It is subjected to the elements and must be constructed to endure long-term deterioration and weathering.

Center for Coastal Studies, Scripps Institution of Oceanography:: MARTELL Shou Sugi Ban Charred Western Red Cedar Exterior Cladding/Siding — reSAWN TIMBER co. MARTELL Shou Sugi Ban – La Jolla, CA

Sleek Mountain Manor featuring GRAPHITE Abodo Vulcan Cladding — reSAWN TIMBER co. MARTELL Shou Sugi Ban – La Jolla, CA

Fortunately, a wall surface does not have to be completely waterproof in order to resist rain and snow. It simply needs to be able to prevent water from getting past the surface material and into the rest of the wall assembly. This concept is what led to the development of rainscreen layered wall assemblies – one of the most reliable ways of keeping exterior walls dry or allowing them to dry out when they do get wet. It’s reSAWN’s preferred method.

reSAWN TIMBER co. lakeshore Drive Mockup — Lakeshore Drive Residence – Newtown Square, PA – Knight Wall Rainscreen System Mockup – Spire Builders

Rainscreen assemblies are built on the assumption that water does not move on its own. Rain and snow, the two most common types of water that fall on an exterior wall, are either pushed downward by gravity or pushed sideways by the wind. The airspace behind a building’s cladding or exterior finish has a significant impact on the physical consequences of rain on built environments and their ability to dry after getting wet.

A rainscreen deploys an outside surface – a rainscreen cladding layer – to break the power of sideways, wind-driven water movement, allowing any water that passes through the microscopic gaps in the surface to lose speed. The majority of water merely bounces off the surface or runs down the side of the building.

Commerical Rain Screen Wall Cladding Assembly – Telford, PA, reSAWN TIMBER co. WILLIWAW – Weathered Alaskan Yellow Cedar

Why Do a Field Mockup for Exterior Wall Assemblies?

When specifying wood cladding materials for exterior applications, weathering is something that architects, interior designers, and building owners should keep in mind. Since wood is a natural material, when it’s continually exposed to environmental elements such as moisture, sunlight, and wind, the physical attributes of the material change and weather over time. With an exterior wood cladding assembly mockup, specifiers can choose products confidently, knowing that the cladding suits the exact exterior conditions where the structure is being built, by observing how it weathers and moves over time in a project-specific climate.

reSAWN TIMBER co. SURETO Cypress Shou Sugi Ban – (not shown in image) – Norwalk, CT – White Architects

Mockups create an opportunity to refine a design approach before the actual fabrication of components begins and before any unresolved or unknown issues are constructed into the building. Once completed, exterior wall assembly mockups serve to establish the technical, quality, and aesthetic standards for the wall cladding and the project.

The integrity of an exterior wall assembly depends on the performance of its individual components & systems and the transitions between said systems. By taking the time to construct and test a mockup, architects, designers, and contractors can be sure they have the proper materials, a working assembly, and quality execution.

Even with today’s photorealistic rendered images through building information modeling (BIM), full-scale mockups do more than a drawing or rendering can.

Butter Lane Charred Accoya — reSAWN TIMBER co. **IKIGAI** Accoya® Shou Sugi Ban Rendering – Bridgehampton, NY – Architect: Young Projects

Exterior wall system mockups allow project teams to touch, see and interact with the finished product while it’s still early enough to make changes without cost impact. Furthermore, since every structure and location is unique, and there are innumerable building material possibilities available, BIM or computer-aided design (CAD) detailing cannot resolve field-dependent variables the way a full-scale field mockup for exterior wall systems can.

reSAWN TIMBER co. **IKIGAI** Accoya Shou Sugi Ban Field Mockup – Bridgehampton, NY – Architect: Young Projects

SURETO Western Red Cedar shou sugi ban
Asheville, NC
Carlton-Edwards Design Build — reSAWN TIMBER co. SURETO Charred Western Red Cedar Shou Sugi Ban – Asheville, NC – Architect: Carlton-Edwards Design Build

When done correctly, the construction of a mockup allows a project team to collaboratively work out detailing and compatibility issues that arise during the course of construction, verify the proper function of the intended construction, and apply the results from the process to the project, thereby avoiding costly repeated defects in the completed residential or commercial building.

Benefits of Field Mockups for Exterior Wall Cladding Assemblies

Specify material confidently, knowing that the product suits the exact exterior conditions where the structure is being built.
Observe some amount of wood weathering in a project-specific climate.
Observe tolerance for wood movement in a project-specific climate. Most wood movement occurs in the first 6-8 months after installation.
Understand wood cladding appearance over a larger field of material.
Monitor effectiveness in rear ventilation & drainage through assembly details (i.e. rainscreens).
Mockups are useful for obtaining approval from stakeholders who may find it difficult to understand drawings and specifications.
With a mockup, project teams have the chance to see how the material will perform at the project site prior to full-scale construction.
Performance mockups provide assurance that the specified materials will function as required under a variety of extreme climatic conditions.
The most seasoned trade partners can benefit from using a exterior wall cladding assembly as a teaching tool to show teams how the work should be done. This reduces the risk of quality issues while improving the speed of construction.
In the interest of sustainability, creating a mockup to to help ensure materials will only have to be installed once, can proactively reduce waste on a construction project.
Creating and testing a building enclosure mockup on a small scale, ensures it is done right on a grand scale. It saves project time, money, aggravation, and waste.

reSAWN TIMBER co. Mockup Program — This reSAWN made mockup was placed at an elevation of 7,000 feet near Lake Tahoe, California. The materials endured two consecutive harsh winters with heavy snowfall, ice, wind, and rain. The materials are weathering well despite the exterior conditions.

If you’re interested to see how reSAWN TIMBER co.’s exterior cladding will perform on your project site, we offer field mockups for wall cladding assemblies.

We meet the needs of architects, designers contractors, and building owners by designing modern, high-performance exterior products that are meant to age in place with grace.

Click here to get started. We’re happy to assist.

LEARN MORE :: reSAWN’s Mockup Program

02 Jan

Guinness Open Gate Brewery with reSAWN’s Shou Sugi Ban Receives Wavemaker Award

By Jocelyn Mahan In CHARRED WOOD, Featured In The News, Inspiring Designs, Product Installs / 1

We are excited to share that a project featuring reSAWN TIMBER co.’s NIGIRI shou sugi ban charred Accoya® wood won an award at ULI Baltimore’s Annual WaveMaker Awards.

ULI Baltimore’s annual WaveMaker Awards recognize outstanding local real estate development projects, as well as Lifetime Achievement and Leadership Award winners. The winning projects were selected based on the following criteria: Completeness; a Sense of Place and Quality; Sustainability; Visionary and Emulation; and a Need.

NIGIRI shou sugi ban charred Accoya in Wayzata, MN

28 Jun

reSAWN’s NIGIRI Shou Sugi Ban Charred Accoya featured in RD Magazine

By Jocelyn Mahan In CHARRED WOOD, Inspiring Designs /

In an article published in the Vol. 3 2018 issue, Residential Design Magazine featured a case study on the Wayzata Residence, highlighting the use of reSAWN’s NIGIRI shou sugi ban charred Accoya. Designed by Minneapolis-based firm Snow Krielich Architects, the Wayzata Residence is situated on a beautifully scenic location with incomparable proximity to Lake Minnetonka, one of the most popular lakes in the “Land of 10,000 Lakes”. Matthew Kreilich, FAIA, who led the design on this project, chose reSAWN’s NIGIR shou sugi ban charred accoya for the exterior cladding.