Is Douglas Fir A Hardwood Or Softwood

Wikimedia commons douglas fir is another softwood that plays a vital role in making furniture and several other wooden items.

Is douglas fir a hardwood or softwood.

Hardwood is typically more expensive than softwood. Most softwoods have a lower density than most hardwoods. The heartwood is moderately decay resistant. Douglas fir has a high bending strength shear strength and stiffness.

Straight grained and moderately heavy with limited resin this is one of the most attractive and strongest of the western softwood species. Most hardwoods have a higher density than most softwoods. That reasoning doesn t apply in every instance but in this case it does. However douglas fir which is a gymnosperm or softwood is actually harder than chestnut an angiosperm that most people would call a hardwood.

Red oak wood is almost exactly twice as hard as douglas fir wood and white oak wood is even harder. Douglas fir is a large tree reaching 85 metres on bc s coast and 42 metres in the interior. Examples of softwood trees are cedar douglas fir juniper pine redwood spruce and yew. Oak is a hardwood and douglas fir is a softwood which means that oak is harder right.

Due to its strength it is used for building and construction and is one of the finest timbers for heavy structural purposes including glulam beams and roof trusses. Such a gorgeous scandinavian style floor our most popular floor dubbed the world s most beautiful floor but the most problematic that we produce. Spruce pine fir south this species combination classed as moderately strong is cross continental in origin. It is a very durable wood which is used extensively in industrial applications for wharves trestles and heavy construction.

Douglas fir douglas fir wood image. Softwood is typically less expensive compared to hardwood. Many people are unaware that douglas fir is a softwood and will mark dent easily it also has a tendency to split and crack. It is a hard species and is suitable for use where wear is a factor.

The heartwood is light tan to medium brown changing to orange brown due to exposure to sunlight and age. It dries evenly and stays stable during use. You may not find this wood as readily as pinewood as it mostly comes only from the west coast or eastern asia. This softwood lumber dries well with good dimensional stability.