Is Fir A Hardwood Or Softwood

Indo gemstone indogemstone when we think about hardwood we think of hard and dense material.

Is fir a hardwood or softwood.

When comparing hardwoods vs softwoods it s the density of the wood that makes all the difference. Balsa is a hardwood but its wood is so soft and lightweight that it s most commonly used for making model airplanes. Due to its strength it is used for building and construction and is one of the finest timbers for heavy structural purposes including glulam beams and roof trusses. Fine grained and with interchangeable structural performance these trees are marketed together as an elegant softwood classified as a white wood combining beauty and strength.

That reasoning doesn t apply in every instance but in this case it does. Douglas fir is moderately strong and hard for a softwood rating 4 on a scale of 1 to 4. There are some hard softwoods as well as soft hardwoods. Most softwoods have a lower density than most hardwoods.

Second only to douglas fir in abundance hem fir. Douglas fir is a large tree reaching 85 metres on bc s coast and 42 metres in the interior. The oldest trees can be more than 1 500 years old. However due to the difference in density you may need twice the volume of softwood to compare to the same weight as hardwood.

Softwood is typically less expensive compared to hardwood. However douglas fir which is a gymnosperm or softwood is actually harder than chestnut an angiosperm that most people would call a hardwood. Oak is a hardwood and douglas fir is a softwood which means that oak is harder right. Examples of softwood trees are cedar douglas fir juniper pine redwood spruce and yew.

Similarly we expect softwood to be soft and light. It is an incredibly valuable commercial timber widely used in construction and building purposes. Depending on the type of your project you may need either or both of the different kinds of wood. Most hardwoods have a higher density than most softwoods.

The tree itself grows to be very large and yields a large amount of usable lumber and veneer for plywood. A very light colour from creamy white spring wood to a light straw brown hemlock or reddish brown firs. Red oak wood is almost exactly twice as hard as douglas fir wood and white oak wood is even harder. Douglas fir is technically not a true fir abies genus but is in its own genus.

Overall hardwood vs softwood. Pound for pound hardwoods and softwoods will create about the same amount of heat. Hardwood is typically more expensive than softwood.