Deck building tips and tricks. Discussion about wood and much more!
One of the greatest sources of confusion in the lumber industry is the difference between a board’s nominal dimensions and its actual dimensions. Nominal Dimensions: The Standard Naming Convention Nominal dimensions are the measurements you’re probably used to seeing. They are the names by which lumber is commonly known and sold, found in stores and …
Ipe is not an abbreviation. Rather, it’s the common name of Tabebuia serratifolia, a tropical hardwood lumber specie. The correct pronunciation is “EE-pay”. Other common names for ipe include Brazilian walnut and ironwood. The ipe tree is native to South America. However, it also grows throughout Mexico, the Caribbean, southern Florida, and other tropical regions. …
White Oak trees (botanically called Quercus Alba) grow throughout much of eastern North America and can reach heights of 70 to 80 feet, with diameters of 2 to 3 feet. White oaks vary in color from light tan to pale yellow-brown with a pinkish tinge. Its sapwood is white to very light brown, while its …
The Red Oak tree (also known as Quercus Rubra) can reach heights of 60 to 70 feet, with diameters of up to about 3 feet. It has white to very light brown sapwood and is usually 2 inches wide. Its heartwood is a light tan to pink with a reddish-brown tinge. Red oak is predominantly …
Persimmon wood is taken from the Diospyros Virginiana tree and is found throughout North America. It is actually the northern most member of the ebony family. The persimmon tree can reach heights of 80 to 120 feet, with trunk diameters of 18 to 24 inches. Persimmon typically has very wide sapwood, with a very small, …
Hard maple sapwood is nearly white and its heartwood is a uniform, delicate, very light reddish-brown or very light tan. It has a fine, even texture. It is very strong and hard, with close straight grains. Hard maple can sometimes be wavy or curly, which produces special figures such as ‘Bird’s Eye Maple’ and ‘Curly …
Soft maple has creamy white sapwood, and light beige or tannish-brown heartwood, sometimes with a grayish-green hue. Soft maple is a fine textured, diffuse-porous wood, and its grain is normally straight and close, but it can be wavy or curly. The different grain pattern generates special figures like, ‘Curly Soft Maple’ (shown above) and ‘Ambrosia …