Wood is the natural material that shapes our reality in many aspects. Trees are our companions since ages and we build our homes with their serious contribution. Linking back to the early human environments, wood played a major role in shaping the modern world and serving us well without causing any setbacks from them. The woods made us safe back in time, without them we wouldn’t be standing where we are right now. We should be grateful for the sacrifices every element in our Earth made for the betterments of us, the humans. Today we thought about sharing some insights about the wood elements we use in our home, from a modern perspective.
1. Hardwoods
- It is typically a lot denser than softwoods and it is at the forefront of most interior designs, making it ideal for the more hard-wearing home installations, such as doors, window frames and stairs. Speaking of which, without the properties a hardwood timber has, the chances of your stairs, doors and window frames diminishing in longevity, stability and durability would increase, because they cannot withstand the weathering processes that take place on a day-to-day basis.
- The hardwood is harvested from countless species across the whole Europe, West Africa and North America and the wood mainly includes Mahogany, Hard Maple, White Oak and Black Walnut. And the hardwood is carefully crafted to make sure you have a lot more design options present and applicable for you, when it comes to flooring, stairs and windows.
- White Oak and White Ash gives you a comprehensive choice for stair component while hardwood flooring offers you full of character and beauty that blends with durability and excellent acoustic properties, presenting them ideal for residential, commercial and leisure applications.
- The trees which produce seeds with a protective covering are commonly known as hardwood and they are angiosperm trees as well. The pollination mainly happens through birds and insects and after fertilization, the plant provides seeds, nuts and fruits.
- Because they are deciduous, most hardwood trees shed their leaves every year and the wood of these trees are stronger and denser than softwoods as they develop more slowly their entire life. Some hardwood application examples are, strong decks, exquisite flooring, robust beams, sophisticated paneling and long-lasting, fine furniture.
- Common hardwood species used in construction are Teakwood, Rosewood, Oakwood, Maplewood and Ashwood.
2. Softwoods
- The source of softwoods, which produce cones rather than flowers or fruits and they are gymnosperm family of trees. These sets of trees mainly have basic grain patterns, light-colored wood, straight and rapid growth. They are incredibly adaptable and some common application examples are paper, furniture and building materials.
- The word Gymnosperm is a Greek word and it literally means, ‘revealed seed’, because the seeds from these trees like pine cones are not even closed in an ovule and they have no means of housing as well. Sometimes even as a result of slight wind, these trees are able to spread much more easily and quickly than hardwoods.
- In softwoods, the structure is simply cellular and water moves throughout the body by cells called longitudinal tracheid and medullary rays, the pores in them are not very visible but they produce sap.
- The testament to their versatility and applicability, is that the 80 percent of estimated timber consumed globally comes from softwoods. Where time and budget are short, softwoods are usually used for temporary, lower- impact constructions due to their less dense and hard-wearing nature. When used outdoors, treated softwoods are still able to perform just as well as hardwoods.
- Five softwood varieties used in constructions are Pinewood, Cedarwood, Firwood, Spruce Wood and Hemlock Wood.
3. Engineered Wood
- In constructing a structure, discarded wood pieces create more problems and to balance this, engineered woods are manufactured by these discarded wood pieces. By adding some of the adhesives, these engineered woods are preferably known for their long-lasting and durable properties. Due to its strength and budget, for building a structure, engineered wood is a fantastic option. It helps lower wood waste and can be used in large-scale constructions like floors, walls and beams.
- It is a versatile alternative to hardwood and also known as “man-made wood”. They are reformed using heat, adhesive and pressure, and are made from multiple layers of wood called ply. It is very durable and offers better features than hardwood because each layer of ply runs in distinct directions and covers up to an overall strength.
- Plywood: Known as the “Original and Authentic” sort of engineered wood material, certainly the most prevalent and useful form of alternative wood and it is used in kitchen cabinets and bed sets to storage units and engineered wood tables particularly for business and commercial purposes. Using high grade glues that are water resistant, they are made of veneer sheets that are cross-laminated and are connected together by applying heat and pressure.
- Particle Boards: The type of eco-friendly material that is entirely made of pressing together sawdust, wood shavings and other particles are used to make elements of particle board. It can be used as an alternative to the solid or plywood because it is much cheaper, a much more uniform type of wood perfect for homely applications.
- Blockboard: They are mainly made from solid blocks of wood and by using various types of adhesives, they are then sandwiched within the layers of wood veneer and tightly packed for extra durability and application properties. It is very lightweight because the blockboard is made usually from the softwood of pine and other trees. Compared to plywood which often bends and gets damaged, this type of board is very stiff and doesn’t get damaged easily by the daily wear and tear and it is much cheaper than any other engineered woods there exist in our modern world.
- Some common examples of engineered woods are AC Plywood, CDX Plywood, High-Density Fiberboard (HDF), Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL), Oriented Strand Board (OSB) and Medium-Density Fiberboard (MDF).