Cedar and Landscaping

[rifken2]

I live in a home from the late 70s. I have a lot of landscape work I need to do, among other things. I need to build some small retaining walls, mainly for aesthetics, not for drainage or erosion control. I want to level out some areas in front of the home. I live in Northwest Arkansas. The climate here is hot in the summer, wet in the spring, maybe 12" of snow over the coarse of winter.

I have around 80 cedar logs. I plan to get them milled into boards. the logs vary from 10" to 24"+ inches in diameter. They are also about 15 feet long each. I know I have a lot of wood here if I have it milled.

My question is A, can I use cedar for something I want to be low maintenance, B, what's a good size board for this type of work? I know I'll want some 4x4 and some 2x4 just because those are handy to have. Should I do 2x6, 2x8? Maybe 1x6? I have no clue here.

I have looked at some photos online and I really like the creations I have seen. I am not sure how durable cedar is, but from my understanding, it doesn't rot and lasts next to forever, as long as it isn't contacting soil? If I planned on backfilling the walls with soil, I suppose this is a no go? What if I use mulch? My in laws have a ton of it from shredding trees after the last winter storm so I have access to as much I would need. However, backfilling with mulch would prevent me from planting shrubs and flowers and such???

Sorry for being disorganized in my thoughts here. Type to them out and stay on task at work.

Thanks!

 

[boomerang]

Cedar does rot and it does not last forever. I built a deck using cedar deck boards and I can attest to this. But all wood in contact with the ground will rot, it's just a matter of how long it takes.

You should research the cost of getting lumber milled from your logs. You also need to be aware of what species of cedar those logs are. Some are rot resistant and some are not.

 

[rifken2]

there is a guy up here that will come on site and rip them for $50 an hour with a 4 hour minimum. Not sure how long it will take to rip them, but I figure I could get them ripped for around $400, or at least I would spend the $400 and get as many as I could in that amount of time.

As far as the species, I have zero clue. My FiL bought the timber at an estate auction last year and gave the wood to me and my BiL. BiL has used up his part of the timber and I have about 70 to 80 for my use. I don't even know how to find out what kind of tree it is.

I would love to use stone, but, the cost seems way high...

 

[Mandres]

Don't forget that for most purposes those boards will have to be dried after you mill them. Plan on 9-12 months per inch of thickness if you're air drying.

 

[rifken2]

ugh... seriously... fudge.

 

[mizzou]

Why not use the logs themselves for retaining walls? All you need is some measuring tape and a saw...and some big ol' driving nails (and a drill)

I'm assuming your logs are log shaped, not tree trunks

 

[Vdubchaos]

Cedar does rot and it does not last forever. I built a deck using cedar deck boards and I can attest to this. But all wood in contact with the ground will rot, it's just a matter of how long it takes.

EVERYTHING will rot when it's in contact with the ground....even pressure treated wood.

Trick is, keep it off the ground few inches.

 

[rifken2]

The logs are logs, not trunks... I thought about doing just that, logs, but I would like a finished look, not the rustic log cabin look. Don't get me wrong, I like the look, just not with this house.

I priced out doing 12" stone from Lowes and that was going to be about $5.60 a foot (I want about 24" to 30" of height). I need to call some of the local places and see if they have better pricing.

 

[mizzou]

The logs are logs, not trunks... I thought about doing just that, logs, but I would like a finished look, not the rustic log cabin look. Don't get me wrong, I like the look, just not with this house.

I priced out doing 12" stone from Lowes and that was going to be about $5.60 a foot (I want about 24" to 30" of height). I need to call some of the local places and see if they have better pricing.

don't buy stone or landscaping supplies in bulk from big box retailers. Get them from a landscaping supply store! You will save hundreds if not thousands of dollars AND get better quality.

Need a few bags? Just fine @ lowes, but anything substantial you are wasting money.

 

[Howard]

EVERYTHING will rot when it's in contact with the ground....even pressure treated wood.

Trick is, keep it off the ground few inches.

Black locust and lignum vitae will probably last longer than anyone would care to want.