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Wood Types: A Quick Guide
Posted on February 22, 2019
Wood Types: What Kind?
Wood is one of the most common types of material used in making furniture. It makes your furniture look chic, it can make your furniture look vintage. Wooden furniture can even make your home look congenial.
Each type of wood used in your home has its own unique characteristics. Its unique characteristics can add depth, warmth, emphasis and beauty to its surrounding décor.
In the wood world, it is divided into two types: hardwood and softwood.
Hardwood and Softwood: Profile
Both hardwood and softwood come from different kinds of trees. Each has its own profile. Refer to the table below for a quick run-down of each wood’s profile.
Hardwood | Softwood |
Hardwoods come from trees that have broad-leaves. Trees that are deciduous, where their leaves drop every year and produce seeds. | Softwoods come from conifer trees. Those are trees that have needles and do not produce seeds. |
Hardwood trees are very slow growing trees. They are more likely to withstand years of wear and tear. Not all hardwood trees are always hard, e.g.: poplar and basswood trees. | Softwood trees are fast-growing trees. Wood taken from softwood trees are not as durable and withstanding as wood produced from hardwood trees. |
Its colour hues are usually darker. | Its colour hues are usually lighter. |
Hardwoods are usually more expensive in price. | Softwoods are usually more affordable, compared to hardwood. |
Both are equally as popular in the furniture industry. | |
Man-made woods
Although hardwoods and softwoods are really common in the wood industry, there’s a third most common kind of wood – man-made woods.
Man-made woods are what we get when people combine human creativity with the need to maximise production and lessen overall cost of materials.
One way to know if the wood is man-made wood is that the final wood product is made of material constructed from the by-products of timber. This happens because real timber is becoming scarce and expensive.
The solution to such a problem is that most producers would produce artificial timber. Artificial timbers are relatively cheap and sufficient for the job.
Kinds of Woods
Hardwood: Mahogany
Mahogany is a kind of premium expensive hardwood. It varies in colour, anywhere from medium brown to a deep red-brown depending on its age. It’s a very traditional, versatile and popular type of wood. Mahoganies are also a popular choice for use on veneers.
You can find mahogany growing across South America, Central America, Africa, and Asia.
Average Price: USD$6 to USD$28 per board foot (depending on species). USD$& to USD$9 per square foot if it is for flooring material.
Walnut
Walnut hardwoods are known for its strength, straight grain and its rich chocolate brown colour. Lighter shades are available. Walnut woods can be a very versatile wood. It offers a range of shades and grains to complement your décor.
Average Price: USD$14 to USD$21 per board foot
Oak
Oak is one of the most popular hardwoods, as it is a hard wearing and heavy kind of wood. Known for having attractive open wood grain markings, it can be purchased in two shades. White oak, which is grey or brown in colour. Red oak, which is more similar but with a prominent reddish tint.
Average Price: USD$7 to USD$27 per board foot
Ash Wood
Ash is another kind of hardwood that is known for its excellent bending abilities. This particular kind of hardwood is primarily used in bent pieces of furniture, such as curved-back chairs and curvy cabinets. Ashwood is light brown in colour with a straight grain.
Average Price: USD$6 to USD$15 per board foot
Softwood
Pinewood
Pine is a very affordable and lightweight wood. It has a pale finish, which is great for staining. Compared to hardwoods such as oak or maple, it is a less durable wood.
Although less durable, it blends well with other woods. It makes it an ideal wood if you are looking for furniture that will match existing pieces in your home or office.
Average price: USD$4 to USD$11 per board foot
Cedar Wood
A softwood, cedar wood is more commonly used for decking for many generations. It has a natural resistance to rot and insects makes it a desirable wood.
Although desirable, it faces a downside as it has a tendency to splinter. It is best used for vertical elements like balustrades of railings and privacy fencing. Cedarwood can also be used for structures like pergolas and planters.
Average Price: USD$6 to USD$15 per board foot
Fir Wood
Fir woods are more popular for making doors. When cut, its grain is vertical and makes for very straight wood that is less likely to warp.
Although it’s a soft wood and easy to work with, keep in mind it doesn’t last very long.
Average Price: USD$7 to USD$12 per board foot
Man Made Wood
Plywood
Plywood is strong and manufactured woods. It is a build-up of layers of wood veneers which are bonded together to create a flat, smooth sheet of wood.
Plywood is more popular in the furniture and especially in the flooring industries. This is due to its inherent strength and resistance to warping, because of the bonded cross-ply construction.
Veneer
Veneer refers to a thin layer of wood cut out from the circumference of a tree. After being cut out from a tree’s circumference, it is bonded onto a dense piece of wood, typically MDF, chipboard or plywood. It varies in many sizes, anywhere from 3mm to 6mm thick.
Veneers are not as cheap as some people think to be, due to its thinness. That is simply not the case, as veneers are often used in high-end furniture pieces and can cost more than solid wood.
To see if your furniture has been veneered, check the edges of your furniture and its grain lines run off the top and over the edges of the wood. Veneer is real wood and can accept stains and finishes like solid wood.
Fibreboard and Particle Board
Both fibreboard and particle board are manufactured wood, made from breaking down of hard or soft wood, wood chips and shavings. They are later then bonded together with wax or resin and heat to create a dense piece of wood.
One of the popular fibreboards is MDF, a constructed of medium density fibres known for its strength and durability.
Particle boards (a.k.a. Chipboards), on the other hand, is a dense wood commonly used with a veneered surface. It is often used for flat-packed furniture and work surfaces. Particle boards are extremely popular when making furniture (think Ikea).
Choose your wood choice wisely when you think of using wood in building your furniture. If you have any doubts, do not hesitate to contact a carpenter for help. Make sure to go through and do plenty of thorough research before hiring that carpenter.