Wood has played a prominent role as a building material along with stone and other materials for thousands of years. Although wood has complex chemical properties, woodworkers have managed to harness wood’s unique properties for various building projects. We use it for building houses, boats, decks, and other various structures as well as for making furniture and using in home décor.
A major advantage of using wood as a building material is its easy availability. Also, it is cost-effective and lighter than most metals for carrying about. Wood exhibits remarkable strength but is easy enough to work, to cut it into different shapes and sizes which is exactly what we need in the building industry.
More advantages of using wood as a building material are that it provides adequate insulation from the cold and is an environmentally-sustainable material. It is biodegradable and no fossil-fuels need to be burnt to produce wood as is required for metal or plastic or even brick.
In this post, we take a look at the aspect of using wood as a material for building material, as well as some of the best wood you can get. So, let’s jump right in!
Best Wood for Building Material
Although most wood possesses the advantageous properties mentioned above, all wood is not ideal to use as a building material. Here are a few wood types that make the best wood for building material:
Pinewood
Pine is a light-colored softwood also light in weight and with a straight grain. It shows a fair degree of resistance to shrinkage and swelling and will not readily warp. You can stain and shape pine easily. Pine grows in all regions of the US except in perhaps some of the southern states. You can use pinewood for wood cabins, doors, and window frames. It also enjoys wide popularity in flooring.
Cedar
Cedar like pine is a softwood that is knotty but is reddish-brown in color and has light lines in its grain pattern. It is similar to redwood and the natural compounds that it produces add to its durability so it is suitable for outdoor use. Cedar tends to discolor when exposed to the elements, but as a building material, it does not matter so much.
Douglas fir
Among all the varieties of fir, Douglas fir is one of the most strong and robust. It has a uniform texture, straight grain, and is reddish-brown. Douglas fir is non-resinous and doesn’t resist decay very well. Another drawback is that you cannot stain it very easily, but that doesn’t matter so much if you are going to use it as a building material.
Spruce
Here is another type of wood that we use a lot as a building material which is hard and strong. Spruce has a low resistance to decay but tends to shrink less and it is a lightweight wood. You will find spruce all over America and across other countries as well. Another attractive feature of this wood is its pleasant-looking stripey grain pattern which makes it a useful material for siding.
Hemlock
Hemlock has less resistance to decay, being a non-resinous variety of wood. The commonly-used type of hemlock is Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). It is a light wood and possesses medium strength but has less resistance to decay being a non-resinous variety. It also tends to shrink easily, a characteristic of other softwoods. Despite its drawbacks, hemlock makes suitable construction material.
Oak
You must have come across the expression “as solid as an oak” which kind of says it all for this hard, strong and solid hardwood. With a Janka hardness rating of 1,260 to 1,360, oak is among one of the hardest varieties of wood. It is light-colored and easy to work with.
Oak has good resistance to mold, fungus, and moisture. You will find this wood all over the United States, making it easily available, and thus moderately-priced depending on the grade of wood, you select. Because of its easy availability and reasonable price as well as strength and durability, oak plays a prominent role as a building material.
Maple
The fine texture and great strength of maple make it a popular choice as a building material. It is also hard and quite resistant to shock, making it suitable for constructing pathways. It is easy to clean and maintain as well.
Maple makes robust wall shelves and sturdy indoor furniture. It is also useful in making parts of musical instruments.
Ash
Here is another hard and heavy wood that is known for being highly elastic and strong. It resembles oak in its wood grain and can range from white to light brown. You will find ash easy to work on and it takes screws, nails, and glue quite well. Ash is a wood that is not so much in demand, so you can get it at a low price.
Ash is good for making structural frames and due to its flexibility, it makes good steam-bent furniture parts. Other uses for ash include drum shells, ladders, and sports equipment like baseball bats. It also makes decorative veneers due to its interesting grain pattern.
Mango Wood
Mango trees grow primarily in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. However, you can find these trees in certain regions of the Americas. It is rather hard but is prone to insect attack, particularly the wood-boring variety. Hence, you would be well advised to treat the wood with suitable insecticide before use.
Mango wood has a distinct and attractive grain and you get a variety of shades, colors, and patterns, especially when spalting occurs. It is lighter than many other hardwoods and has a high degree of water resistance. You can use mango wood for structures or beams but it also makes robust furniture and shelves.
Beech
Finally, on our list of best wood for building material, we have beech. This wood is hard and strong with tiny pores. This light-pink wood is heavy and reasonably inexpensive. You can work with beech quite easily but it is dimensionally unstable. It is native to North America but grows in Asia and Europe as well.
Beech is a versatile wood, and besides using it for building material, you can make turned parts, plywood and it even makes good flooring.
Conclusion
We hope that you find reading this post as enlightening as we found writing it. If you are in the building and construction field, you will be likely to come across many of the wood types that we have mentioned here. With the information provided, you should be in a better position to make the correct choice when you need to select wood for building purposes.