Deck building tips and tricks. Discussion about wood and much more!
Wood is amazing. Made up of cells, wood is a hygroscopic material that holds water. As anyone who paid attention in fifth grade science class already knows, this process of water and nutrients moving from the ground, through the root system, through the wood, and to the leaves is a critical component of photosynthesis leading …
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 …
Holly hardwood lumber (also referred to as Ilex Opaca) comes from North America and is taken from the holly tree. It is commonly 40 to 50 feet in height and has a diameter of 1 to 2 feet, but can reach heights of 80 feet. The holly sapwood is quite wide and much whiter than …