How To Chose The Best Timber For Your Project

The Different Types of Timber

There are many types of wood out there, making it somewhat overwhelming to decide what to use for your project. Some woods are more suitable to certain designs than others, so it’s important to consider a number of different factors before spending your money. This guide focuses on the popular timber wood, including how to choose the best type for your project.

In general, the different types of timber fall into two categories – hardwood timber or softwood timber. It’s important to know the different advantages of the two before you buy timber online.

Hardwood: While there are always exceptions, hardwood is most commonly used in outdoor constructions due to its durability and endurance against harsher weather conditions. Extreme rain, snow and direct sunlight can all cause timber to degrade over a prolonged period of time if it’s not treated properly.

Softwood: Softwood, however, is most commonly used in indoor constructions due to it being lighter in weight and more flexible. Floor joists, interior moulding, windows and interior construction framing would all most likely be used with softwood timber as it’s less dense than hardwood.

While hardwoods are sourced from broad-leafed trees, they typically grow at a slower rate than softwoods (that come from conifers). Because softwoods grow quicker and are more easily obtained and manipulated, they are usually cheaper than hardwoods.

Common Hardwoods

Oak

There are well over 600 species of oak, with this wood being one of the most popular hardwoods to use due to its strength. The timber is most commonly used for joinery, decking, furniture, flooring and panelling.

Advantages: Oak wood both stains and polishes easily, has an attractive grain, is strong and long-lasting, durable and is unlikely to warp in direct sunlight.

Disadvantages: Oak is very heavy which can make it difficult to work with, and also its high tannin content can sometimes react with oil finishes.

Mahogany 

Mainly grown in North and Central America, Mahogany is a hardwood that’s known for it’s red-brown colour. It’s commonly used for indoor furniture in the home, as well as for musical instruments, joinery and flooring veneers.

Advantages: Mahogany can be buffed to a very attractive and high shine, is durable, has good water-resistance properties. It also has a very attractive wood grain.

Disadvantages: Mahogany veneers that are thinner can sometimes react with the types of adhesive used in the veneering process, which can make the wood difficult to protect and shield against wear and tear.

Maple

There are 150 different types of maple available, with the majority of these sourced in Asia. Maple wood is often used for kitchen cabinets, furniture and joinery, but also for heavy-duty flooring like dance floors and bowling alleys.

Advantages: Maple is well-known and loved for its straight wood grain, as well as the wood’s uniform colour. It’s also a wood that stains and polishes well and is durable and long-lasting.

Disadvantages: There aren’t many reasons not to opt for maple, however the wood can be difficult to glue.

 

Common Softwoods

Pine

Pine is a super popular softwood and is arguably the most common timber used for DIY. The wood has over 125 species, and is regularly used for decking, sheds, cladding, flooring, joinery and furniture.

Advantages: Pine is known for its attractive knots and grain and is a relatively cheap wood to buy considering the number of projects it can be used for. It’s a strong material and if treated properly, can last a very long time.

Disadvantages: The main disadvantage of using pine is that the wood can begin to yellow over time when exposed to sunlight.

Yew

Yew trees are one of the oldest types of trees in the world, with the wood having long been used to make tools and machinery with. Nowadays, the softwood is most commonly used to make furniture.

Advantages: Yew is a wood that’s very resistant to shock loads, as well as being a hard and elastic material.

Disadvantages: Yew wood has a particularly high oil content, which can sometimes affect certain finishes.

Spruce

Spruce is an evergreen soft tree, well known for its light colour. Its acoustic properties make it a popular wood to use for musical instruments such as guitars and string instruments.

Advantages: Spruce is really easy to work with in terms of sawing and drilling into the wood, and it can also be bonded easily without warping or splitting.

Disadvantages: Spruce’s main disadvantage is that it can be prone to swelling and isn’t particularly weather-resistant.

 

Factors To Consider

When choosing the best timber for your project, there are many other factors to consider to make sure you’re picking the type best suited. The cost, strength and suitability of the timber are all important, but sustainability and availability are important considerations too.

 
What Is the Best Wood To Build Furniture With?

Maple wood is generally considered the most ideal wood to make furniture with, due to the beautiful finish the wood can offer. Maple is a really durable wood and is naturally non-toxic, which makes it a popular material to use in kitchens. The wood has multiple different grain patterns, so you can choose a maple that best suits the aesthetics and design of the rest of your house.

With that being said, manufactured wood such as plywood is an ideal choice for making furniture such as desks, media units and storage benches with, as the wood is strong, sturdy and easy to work with.  

What Is The Best Timber For Outside?

White Oak is considered one of the best types of timber to use for outdoor projects, due to its resistance to decay. White Oak has long been used for barrels and ships due to its tight grain being water and rot-resistance, which goes to show how well the material lasts in outdoor environments.

Are you looking to use timber for your next project? Look no further than ADA Fastfix - we have a huge range of timber available to suit your every need.