Coast Redwood Siding
Redwood siding at The Sea Ranch Lodge, recently remodeled by Mithun
We recently returned from a week of camping on the Sonoma Coast and relaxing at Sea Ranch. Sea Ranch’s original designers had high aspirations for connecting to the land along the Sonoma coast, and in many ways they succeeded. One of their main responses to place was the prominent use of the defining wood of Northern California: Sequoia sempervirens, the Coast Redwood.
Redwoods are native to the coastal fog zone as far north as southern Oregon and as far south as Big Sur. These trees are fast growing but can live for thousands of years and store more carbon per acre than any other forest on earth. Almost all the original old-growth redwood forests were logged during the goldrush and successive rounds of clearcutting provided timber for many Bay Area buildings through the beginning of the Second World War.
Despite that history of poor stewardship, over 80% of current redwood timber harvesting is being done by FSC certified companies like the Mendocino Redwood Company hoping to restore sustainable forestry and thriving old growth ecosystems through selective logging and careful habitat restoration. Redwood timbers can last for many decades, making reclaimed redwood from suppliers like The Lumber Baron in Albany an incredibly sustainable choice.
As a building material, redwood is an easy-to-work softwood that is rot, insect, and fire resistant. We particularly like to use it as a siding material where it is allowed to age over time. The rich amber of freshly cut boards silvers over years of exposure to sun and moisture to a subtle grey.
Historic Barn at The Sea Ranch, 1880-2024
The historic barn at the Sea Ranch lodge showcases the longevity of redwood as well as its beauty over time. The barn was built in sometime in the 1880s and was recently repaired and restored by the team at The Sea Ranch where it is still being used by a fifth generation local rancher as an active barn for the regenerative farming sheep operation.