ASH

 Appearance

                     COLOR: heartwood is light tan to dark brown; sapwood is creamy white. Similar in appearance to white oak, but frequently more yellow.

                    GRAIN: bold, straight, moderately open grain with occasional wavy figuring. Can have strong contrast in grain in plain sawn boards.

                  VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:

Sometimes confused with hickory; the zone of large pores is more distinctive in ash, similar to that of red oak.

Properties

          HARDNESS/JANKA: 1320; 2% harder than Northern red oak.

                DIMENSIONAL STABILITY: above average (change coefficient. 00274; 26% more stable than red oak)

                DURABILITY: elastic, hard; excellent shock resistance. Remains smooth under friction.

Workability

          SAWING/MACHINING: Good machining qualities.

                 SANDING: sands satisfactorily.

                 NAILING: good holding ability; good resistance to splitting.

          FINISHING: No known problems. Stains well.

BEECH

Appearance

          COLOR: heartwood is mostly reddish brown; sapwood is generally pale white.

          GRAIN: mostly closed, straight grain; fine, uniform texture. Coarser than European beech.

                VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES:

Only one species is native to the United States. Moderate to high color variation between boards.

Properties

          HARDNESS/JANKA: 1300; 1% harder than Northern red oak.

                DIMENSIONAL STABILITY: below average (change coefficient .00431; 17% less stable than red oak)

                DURABILITY: elastic, hard; excellent shock resistance. Wears well and stays smooth when subjected to friction- popular for factory floors.

Workability

            SAWING/MACHINING: difficult to work with hand tools, but good machining qualities.

                   SANDING: sands satisfactorily

            NAILING:  good holding ability, but has a tendency to split   

                   FINISHING: no known problems

BIRCH

Appearance

            COLOR: in yellow birch, sapwood is creamy yellow or pale white; heartwood is light reddish brown tinged with red. In sweet birch sapwood is light colored and heartwood is dark brown tinged with red.

            GRAIN: medium figuring, straight, closed grain, even texture. Occasional curly grain or wavy figure in some boards.

                    VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES: yellow birch, sweet birch, paper birch. Paper birch is softer and lower in weight and strength than yellow or sweet birch. However, yellow birch is most commonly used for flooring. Boards can vary greatly in grain and color.

Properties

          HARDNESS/JANKA: 1260 (yellow); 2% softer than Northern red oak

          DIMENSIONAL STABILITY: average (change coefficient .00338; 8% more stable than red oak)

                DURABILITY: hard and stiff; very strong, with excellent shock resistance.

Workability

           SAWING/MACHINING: difficult to work with hand tools, but good machining qualities.

                 SANDING: sands satisfactorily

           NAILING: excellent holding ability

           FINISHING: no known problems

CHERRY

Appearance

                 COLOR: heartwood is light to dark reddish brown, lustrous; sapwood is light brown to pale with a light pinkish tone. Some flooring manufacturers steam lumber to bleed the darker heartwood color into the sapwood, resulting in a more uniform color.

                   GRAIN: fine, frequently wavy, uniform texture. Distinctive flake pattern on true quarter sawn surfaces. Texture is satiny, with some gum pockets.

                    VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES: significant color variation between boards.

Properties

                 HARDNESS/JANKA: 950; 26% softer than Northern red oak

           DIMENSIONAL STABILITY: above average (change coefficient .00248; 33% more stable than red oak)

           DURABILITY: strong, moderately hard; excellent shock resistance. Usually considered too soft for an entire floor- mostly used for borders and accents.

Workability

           SAWING/MACHINING: good machining qualities.

                  SANDING: sands satisfactorily

           NAILING: good holding ability

                  FINISHING: no known problems

DOUGLAS FIR

Appearance

                 COLOR: heartwood is yellowish tan to light brown. Sapwood is tan to white. Heartwood may be confused with that of Southern yellow pine. Radical color change upon exposure to sunlight

                  GRAIN: normally straight, with occasional wavy or spiral texture. Nearly all fir flooring is vertical-grain or rift sawn clear-grade material.

                   VARIATIONS WITHIN SPECIES AND GRADES: wood varies greatly in weight and strength. Young trees of moderate to rapid growth have reddish heartwood and are called red fir. The narrow-ringed wood of old trees may be yellowish-brown and is known as yellow fir.

Properties

                 HARDNESS/JANKA: 660; 49% softer than Northern red oak

           DIMENSIONAL STABILITY: above average (change coefficient .00267; 28% more stable than red oak)

           DURABILITY:  durable but easily dented. Somewhat brittle and splinters easily, especially with age. Used for flooring, but may be suitable for all applications due to its softness.

Workability

           SAWING/MACHINING:

                  SANDING: sands satisfactorily

           NAILING: good holding ability

                  FINISHING: some board develop a slight pinkish to bright salmon color when finished with some products. Because of tendency toward color change, care must be taken to avoid over sanding when refinishing an existing floor.

                  COMMENTS: sometimes milled for flooring as endgrain block, which is significantly harder than plain sawn.