Types of Pine Wood

Pine trees are among the most abundantly seen evergreen trees in most parts of the northern hemisphere. There are around 120 pine tree species. While, some of them are used for ornamental purposes, most of these trees are of commercial importance, as they are sources of timber as well as wood pulp. Pine wood is one of the widely used timber for furniture, paneling, floors, roofing and window frames. This wood is said to be strong, but, at the same time, is easy to work with. Being soft, this wood is ideal for carving. There are different types of pine wood and they vary in basic characteristics.

Pine Wood Characteristics and Types

Humans have been using pine wood for various purposes, since time immemorial. It was one of the most commonly used materials to build log cabins, as it was strong and easy to work with. Even today, it is one of the most widely used wood types for construction and furniture making. Apart from being strong, pine wood is easily available and cheaper, as compared to some other wood types. It is very versatile and can be stained easily. As mentioned above, there are many different types of pine wood that are used for different purposes. This include yellow pine, white pine, blue pine and deal pine.

White Pine Wood
Native to North America, white pine trees are also known as northern white pine, soft pine and eastern white pine. Sugar pine is also classified as white pine, as it has almost all the features of the latter. Initially, white pine wood was mainly used as ship masts. This pine is often found as tall straight trees with minimum knots. White pine wood is soft and its color ranges between white to golden shades. Its wood has a close and even grain structure, with a smooth surface that has no raised grains. Even though, it is lightweight, white pine wood is strong and durable and is not prone to warping, swelling, shrinking, checking or splitting. It is very widely used for making door frames, furniture, cabinets and interior walls.

Yellow Pine Wood
Yellow pines or Southern yellow pines are natives to the South-East parts of the United States. As the name implies, the wood of these pine trees is yellowish in color. Yellow pines include various types of pine trees and the most commonly used varieties are loblolly, longleaf, shortleaf, and slash pine. Yellow pine is said to be cheaper, as compared to other types of pine wood and is usually preferred for constructions that is meant for heavy use. This is due to the strength and durability of this wood, which is very versatile too. It is said to be the strongest type of pine wood with a high load bearing capability. So, this wood is preferred as flooring material as well as for boat building. However, it can be prone to shrinkage and sometimes, decay too.

Blue Pine Wood
Another type of pine wood is blue pine, which has bluish or grayish hues in it. In some types of blue pine wood, brown shades can also be seen. Blue pine wood is also strong with a good load bearing capacity. It is said that blue pine is similar to yellow pine in most characteristics, except the color. However, staining pine can be little bit more difficult in this case, due to the blue shade. It is said that the blue color is attained by the action of fungus inside the bark of pine trees. The fungus gain entry into the bark with the help of mountain pine tree beetles, which bore through the pine tree trunks. These beetles carry fungus on their body.

Deal Pine Wood
Deal pine is another pine wood type, which is popular for its dark-colored knots that dot the grains. Deal pine wood is usually used for interior house trim, wooden doors and paneling. This type of pine wood can be bought in red as well as yellow varieties. Deal pine wood trees are mostly found in Europe and North Asian countries. In America, white pine woods with several small knots are used instead of deal pine wood. In such cases, this white pine wood is sanded and treated with ammonia, so as to achieve the characteristic yellow color and knotty pattern of original deal pine wood. Another type of pine wood is clear pine wood, which has a white to creamy color, that may change to dark orange with age. This wood is said to be soft with a uniform texture.

This information will help you to get a basic understanding about pine wood types. It will be better to get a thorough knowledge about these wood types, if you want to buy some for furniture and fencing. The above said are the four basic types of pine wood, but, each type includes different varieties with different local names. So, it is very important to understand the specific type, before you choose one. If you are looking for good fencing, there are different types of pine wood fencing that vary in size, pattern and style. The same applies to pine wood furniture and panels. So, try to choose the appropriate type of pine food, as per the purpose.