Deodar Cedar
Cedrus deodara
Also known as deodar, Himalayan cedar, diyar, devdar · Botanical Cedrus deodara
Revision history
- — Data re-verified in site-wide audit (formulas, sources, durability classes)
- — Working properties and comparable-species data cross-checked against listed sources
About Deodar Cedar
Deodar Cedar (Cedrus deodara) is a soft timber that works easily but bruises and dents in service, with a Janka hardness of 580 lbf (2,580 N) and a density of about 0.48 g/cm³. It grows in India and South Asia.
Tangential movement of 4.5% against 2.0% radial puts the T/R ratio at 2.25. That is the ratio to watch: it predicts cupping in wide flatsawn boards better than either figure alone. Its fibre saturation point is near 30%. Below it movement is modest at 4.5% tangential, but the 2.25 T/R ratio means one-sided sealing will still pull a panel out of flat.
At 480 kg/m³ a cubic metre of Deodar Cedar weighs about 480 kg air-dry — that figure, the 4.5% tangential and 2.0% radial movement and the 580 lbf hardness are the three inputs the calculators below actually consume. Select Deodar Cedar in any of them to get species-specific results for weight, moisture, shrinkage and hardness.
Working properties
How Deodar Cedar behaves at the bench and on the machine, drawn from Indian and Himalayan forestry references and international wood-technology data.
Durability & use classification
Deodar is rated durable (EN 350 Class 2) — genuinely unusual for a softwood — and the reason is its aromatic oils, which are antifungal and insect-repellent. The property is so well established that rooms built of deodar are traditionally used to store grain and meat in Himachal Pradesh, and its oil is extracted as a natural insecticide. The honest limitation: durable does not mean strong. Deodar is brittle and not a strong timber, so it is unsuited to delicate load-bearing work such as chair-making.
Typical applications & suitability
Indoor Outdoor — Durable enough for exposed construction and long trusted for it, but choose it for stability, aroma and decay resistance rather than strength.
Documented end-uses: house construction, beams and support timbers, floorboards, doors, door and window frames, furniture, temple building (its historic use — the name derives from Sanskrit devadāru, “wood of the gods”), Kashmiri houseboats, railway carriages and sleepers, barracks and bridges, plus cedarwood oil for perfumery and insecticides.
Comparable species
Species closest to Deodar Cedar by density, hardness, stiffness and bending strength, computed directly from the Vriksai species dataset rather than hand-picked.
Trade alternatives. Within the region, Kail (Blue Pine) is the common lower-cost softwood alternative; for a durable aromatic softwood elsewhere, Western Red Cedar plays the same role, and Sugi in Japan.
Alternatives to Deodar Cedar
Deodar Cedar measures 580 lbf Janka at 0.48 g/cm³, EN 350 durability Class 2, movement rated Moderate. Because Deodar Cedar is exterior-rated at Class 2, every candidate below is too. A substitute that quietly drops a durability class is the expensive kind of mistake. Read the numbers against the Janka scale and EN 350 durability classes.
For exterior joinery, cladding and garden work that also has to resist knocks. Harder means more dent resistance but heavier sections and more machining time.
Easier to work and lighter to fix, without dropping below the exterior durability you already have.
Cladding boards and exterior joinery live or die on movement. These give you less of it at equal or better durability. Size the gaps with the shrinkage predictor and EMC calculator.
If Deodar Cedar is unavailable and the specification cannot change, these are the nearest substitutes across hardness, density, movement, stiffness, bending strength and durability class together — not on any single property. Lower distance means a closer match.
Computed from measured properties only — hardness, density, movement, stiffness, bending strength and EN 350 class. Price, availability and appearance are never inputs. Figures are representative values, not consignment absolutes: two species within a few percent are equivalent until verified on the material. Full method and the rules the engine cannot break.
Substituting outdoors is a match on durability class and movement first. Colour and grain can be matched later; a wrong durability class shows up as a callback in three monsoons. Where two candidates are close, compare them directly before specifying.
Compare Deodar Cedar side by side
These are the head-to-heads that decide cladding, decking and exterior joinery specifications. Every pairing shows the measured figures side by side; full matrix in the comparison index.
Calculators relevant to Deodar Cedar
Aimed at exterior detailing in Deodar Cedar: coverage, gaps, coating and durability checks. Full set in the tool index.
Understand the figures
Durability & fire — EN 350 classes and E84 ratings · Thermal conductivity — k-value and insulation behaviour · ThermoWood species guide — Thermo-D/Thermo-S treatment classes · Janka hardness scale — how the lbf figure is measured.
Further reading. What is ThermoWood? · Wood moisture content explained · How to calculate board feet.
Common questions about Deodar Cedar
unverified no published source for this figure · FPL USDA FPL Wood Handbook GTR-190 · calc derived from the figures above · — no published source found
A note on these figures. We have not been able to trace the numbers in the panel above to a named authority. The Wood Database has no Deodar (Cedrus deodara) entry and the USDA FPL Wood Handbook does not list it; the references cited below cover durability and oils, not strength. Where we have been able to check pages sourced this way, the figures have usually been wrong — so treat these as indicative rather than measured. The durability class, working properties and uses below are attributed to the bodies named in the sources list. If a number here matters to your work, verify it against a source you are willing to rely on, or test your own stock.