Is Red Wood A Hardwood

Redwood is a premium building wood.

Is red wood a hardwood.

Redwood lumber is known for its vibrant red color. Redwood lumber is very soft and lightweight with a decent strength to weight ratio. It has a chemical inside the pores that makes it weather insect and rot resistant. It is also exceptionally stable with very little shrinkage or seasonal movement.

Redwood is considered a softwood because it is a gymnosperm but redwood for flooring is considered a hardwood and it is considered the median. Redheart is a difficult lumber to dry but when cured properly it makes beautiful furniture. The red color comes from the same tannins that make it resistant to insects and decay. Color darkens and reddens with age.

Most hardwood trees are deciduous trees which lose their leaves annually like elm or maple. Redwood trees are native to the western coast of united states specifically north coast of california and southern oregon. The texture and density of the wood a tree produces puts it in either the hardwood or softwood category. Red alder tends to be a light tan to reddish brown.

This happens to be generally true but there are exceptions such as in the cases of wood from yew trees a softwood that is relatively hard and wood from balsa trees a. As with many red colored woods such as padauk and bloodwood redheart will oxidize to a brown color if not protected by a uv blocking finish. Redwood lumber as the name suggests come from redwood trees. It s color can range from a light pinkish brown to a deep reddish brown.

Classifying wood as either a hardwood or softwood comes down to its physical structure and makeup and so it is overly simple to think of hardwoods as being hard and durable compared to soft and workable softwoods. Softwood comes from a conifer cone bearing or evergreen trees such as pine or spruce. It is a light to medium brown commonly with a reddish cast. Redwood will last far longer than any other type of wood when exposed to.