Meranti vs Western Red Cedar Cladding Installation

Published: February 25, 2026 | Author: Shannon RogersLeave a Comment

I’d call this less of a versus comparison and more of a best practice guide. Both Meranti and Western Red Cedar are exceptional cladding and soffit materials. But there are some differences that I find make Meranti a bit easier to work with. This doesn’t mean Cedar is necessarily hard to install. In fact the nailing test we did in our video shows how forgiving Cedar can actually be. But the fact that Meranti took whatever ever we threw at it just makes it a bit more straightforward to install. Especially if you don’t have a lot of experience installing solid wood cladding.

What has been your experience with Meranti and/or Cedar? Any tips and tricks to share about your installation methods?

About Shannon Rogers

Director of Marketing, J Gibson McIlvain Company

Shannon is a wood nerd, nuff said. As a woodworker, furniture maker, podcaster, blogger, teacher, and Director of Marketing for one of the oldest Lumber companies in the country, he really can't stop talking about wood and the beautiful ways it can be used.