Redwood (old-growth) (Sequoia sempervirens) in numbers: hardness, weight, strength, shrinkage, movement and decay resistance, taken from the tables of the USDA Forest Products Laboratory’s Wood Handbook, followed by what the wood is like to work and what it is used for. The values are averages from small, clear, straight-grained test specimens; real boards with knots, sloping grain or a different moisture content will differ.
| Property | Redwood (old-growth) |
|---|---|
| Janka side hardness, 12% moisture | 480 lbf (2,135 N) |
| Janka side hardness, green | 410 lbf |
| Hardness rank | harder than 25 of the 168 woods with a 12% hardness value in our database |
| Density at 12% moisture | 28.0 lb/ft³ (448 kg/m³) |
| Weight per board foot (12%) | 2.33 lb |
| Specific gravity (ovendry weight, green volume) | 0.38 |
| Specific gravity at 12% moisture | 0.40 |
| Bending strength (modulus of rupture), 12% | 10,000 psi |
| Stiffness (modulus of elasticity), 12% | 1.34 million psi |
| Crushing strength (compression parallel to grain), 12% | 6,150 psi |
| Shrinkage green to ovendry: radial / tangential / volumetric | 2.6% / 4.4% / 6.8% |
| Tangential / radial shrinkage ratio | 1.69 |
| Dimensional change per 1% moisture (radial / tangential) | 0.0012 / 0.00205 |
| Impact bending (drop height to failure), 12% | 19 in. |
| Heartwood decay resistance | resistant |
The species in this group
Lumber is often sold under a group name. These are the species the Wood Handbook reports for this group, with the same properties side by side.
| Species | Janka (lbf) | Density (lb/ft³) | Bending (psi) | Stiffness (Mpsi) | Crushing (psi) | Shrink T/R (%) | Decay resistance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redwood (old-growth) Sequoia sempervirens | 480 | 28.0 | 10,000 | 1.34 | 6,150 | 4.4 / 2.6 | resistant |
| Redwood (young-growth) Sequoia sempervirens | 420 | 24.5 | 7,900 | 1.1 | 5,220 | 4.9 / 2.2 | moderately resistant |
What it is
Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), also called coast or California redwood, grows on the coast of California, and some trees are among the tallest in the world. Its relative, giant sequoia, is volumetrically larger but its wood is little used. All redwood lumber is produced in California. The heartwood ranges from light “cherry” red to dark mahogany; the narrow sapwood is almost white.
Working properties
Old-growth redwood is moderately lightweight, moderately strong and stiff and moderately hard. It is easy to work, generally straight grained, and shrinks and swells comparatively little. The difference between old and young growth matters most for durability: old-growth heartwood has high decay resistance, while heartwood from second-growth trees generally has low to moderate resistance (Table 14-1 puts young-growth redwood in the moderately resistant class). For ground contact, use treated lumber.
Weight and density
At 12% moisture content redwood (old-growth) weighs about 28.0 lb per cubic foot, so one board foot (144 cubic inches) weighs about 2.33 lb. An 8 ft board of actual size 3/4 × 5-1/2 in. (a 1×6) holds 0.229 cubic feet and weighs about 6.4 lb; an 8 ft piece 1-1/2 × 3-1/2 in. (a 2×4 size) weighs about 8.2 lb. Green wood is much heavier because of the water it holds.
Density here is ovendry weight plus 12% water, divided by volume at 12% moisture content (Wood Handbook Eq. 4-12: density = specific gravity at 12% × 62.43 lb/ft³ × 1.12).
Wood movement
The Wood Handbook gives dimensional change coefficients for each species: the fraction of its width a board gains or loses for every 1% change in moisture content, between about 6% and 14%. For redwood (old-growth) they are 0.00205 across a flatsawn face (tangential) and 0.0012 across a quartersawn face (radial).
Worked example: a flatsawn board 7-1/4 in. wide (a nominal 1×8) that goes from 6% moisture content in a heated winter house to 12% in a humid summer changes width by 7.25 × 0.00205 × 6 = 0.089 in. (about 3/32 in.). The same board quartersawn moves 0.052 in. (about 1/16 in.). Allow for this in panels, tabletops and floors; the wood movement calculator works it out for any size and moisture range.
How it compares
| Species | Janka (lbf) | Density (lb/ft³) | Bending (psi) | Stiffness (Mpsi) | Tangential shrink (%) | Decay resistance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redwood (old-growth) | 480 | 28.0 | 10,000 | 1.34 | 4.4 | resistant |
| Western redcedar | 350 | 22.4 | 7,500 | 1.11 | 5.0 | resistant |
| Baldcypress | 510 | 32.2 | 10,600 | 1.44 | — | resistant (old growth); moderately resistant (young growth) |
| Douglas-fir (Coast) | 710 | 33.6 | 12,400 | 1.95 | 7.6 | moderately resistant |
| Eastern white pine | 380 | 24.5 | 8,600 | 1.24 | 6.1 | moderately resistant (old growth only); otherwise slightly or nonresistant |
| Ipe | 3,680 | 64.0† | 25,400 | 3.14 | 8.0 | very resistant |
Uses
Building, siding, sashes, doors, blinds and millwork; decking, outdoor furniture, cooling towers, tanks, silos and wood-stave pipe; farm buildings and equipment.
Frequently asked questions
Is redwood rot resistant?
Old-growth redwood heartwood is rated resistant to decay. Young-growth heartwood is only moderately resistant (Handbook Table 14-1), and sapwood is not resistant, so ask which you are buying.
How much does redwood weigh?
About 28.0 lb per cubic foot at 12% moisture content for old growth and 24.5 lb/ft³ for young growth.
How hard is redwood?
Old-growth redwood averages 480 lbf on the Janka test and young growth 420 lbf, softer than Douglas-fir (710 lbf).
Sources
- USDA Forest Products Laboratory. Wood Handbook: Wood as an Engineering Material. General Technical Report FPL-GTR-190, 2010. Chapter 2 (species descriptions), Chapter 4 (Tables 4-3, 4-4 shrinkage; Eq. 4-7, 4-9, 4-12 density), Chapter 5 (Tables 5-3b, 5-5b strength and hardness), Chapter 13 (Table 13-5 dimensional change coefficients), Chapter 14 (Table 14-1 decay resistance)
- USDA Forest Products Laboratory. Wood Handbook, 2021 edition (FPL-GTR-282)
Last reviewed: 22 October 2026. Numbers are generated from our parsed copy of the Handbook tables, so every page uses the same data. Values marked * are estimates computed with the Handbook’s own equations. Spotted an error? Please let us know.