Home grown Douglas Fir is faster grown than inported Douglas from British Columbia & has a coarser, more open grain & lighter in weight. The annual rings are marked by the contrast between alternate zones of summer & spring wood. The heartwood, slightly resinous, is pink when fresh, dulling to a reddish brown, contrasting distinctly from the sapwood.
Compared to the imported Douglas, our home grown tree has the same degree of hardness & resistance to splitting but is inferior to other strength properties. If this wood is seasoned properly, it will take varnish, stains & paint without the grain rising. Is useful for the building industry, joinery, gates & outdoor applications. If knots are minimized & the grain not too open, we often use this timber for gate framework & find it pressure treats very well.
LARCH, European
A tall growing diciduous softwood, growing to a height of 130ft in the right conditions, with a diameter up to five feet. This tree is mostly used in the pole stage & not often seen in its mature glory. One of the most useful of our home-grown softwoods with a straight grain & when grown well, relatively free from knots. Annual rings are marked by the contrasting light springwood & dark summerwood zones. The heartwood is resinous & pale reddish-brown in colour.
Larch is the toughest & hardest of our home-grown softwoods, the heartwood having resistant natural durability. This wood is somewhat awkward to taking stains or treatments but when used outdoors, modern pressure treatment seems to do the trick.
We made a trailor base with untreated larch boards twenty years ago & it is as good as the day we made it. Its natural durability & strength make larch a valuable wood for fencing & gates & is especially useful for outdoor work such as wooden buildings & garden timber-work. Especially good timber for gate posts. If you need timber for the garden, ask your supplier for larch.
LARCH, Japanese
This larch, native to Japan was introduced into this country in the 1860s. Growing in optimum conditions the Japanese Larch is smaller than the European Larch, growing quicker during the first fourty years or so but slows in growth thereafter. Because of the more rapid growth, compared to european larch, this tree is lighter in weight, both seasoned and in its green state.
Japanese Larch is somewhat softer than the european and more prone to splitting, otherwise resembles the above tree in other properties and colour.
SPRUCE, Norway, Sitka.
Norway spruce will grow to 150ft with a diameter up to 4 feet in Britain with a clear bole often up tp 80 ft. Sitka spruce grows somewhat larger in its native habitat, sometimes with a diameter up to 12 ft. Introduced into Britain around the mid 1840s.
Home grown Norway spruce is similar to imported spruces. When seasoned, the heartwood and sapwood are indistinguishable, the colour being a light yellow-brown. Sitka spruce sometimes has a pinkish colour heartwood.
Norway spruce is one of the lighter softwoods, Sitka lighter still, weighing approx 42lb per cu ft green at 80 per cent moisture content compared to approx 38-40lb per cu ft green at 58 per cent moisture content for Douglas fir.
Spruce does not have good natural durability and needs pressure treatment when used outdoors. The Norway gives a better working wood, sometimes used for ladder poles years ago. The Sitka, often open grained needs to have six or more rings to the inch to be of much use, although, imported Sitka is a better quality, tighter grown wood. Not much use for vigorous applications outdoors.
Scots pine
Not often found growing taller than 100ft and 3 ft diameter, larger trees being unsound when felled. When seasoned, the resinous, reddish-brown heartwood is distinct from the lighter-coloured sapwood. The annual rings are clearly marked by the contrasting light springwood and darker summerwood zones. A fairly heavy wood in the green condition and averages approx 33 Ibs per cu. ft. when seasoned.
Sometimes, when this timber has been left before kiln drying, a blue staining affects the sapwood. The seasoned timber is approx 20 per cent. harder on the side grain than imported redwood and approx 20 per cent. more difficult to split and proves to be far tougher than imported redwoods. The heartwood has resistant natural durability.
The butt of this timber, when slowly grown, can be used for quality joinery with the tops used for fencing, gate posts, sheeting and many other uses. Most Scots pine is imported, our supplies depleted although more has been planted in Scotland.
Corsican pine
Will grow upwards of 120 ft and 3-6 ft in diameter. This timber is similar to the Scots pine with a coarser and larger proportion of sapwood. The weight, dried and green, is nearly the same as the Scots pine. The sapwood will sometimes stain blue like the Scots pine.
The seasoned timber is similar in hardness to the Scots pine but has less natural durability, owing to the high proportion of sapwood. Pressure treats well.
Compared to the imported Douglas, our home grown tree has the same degree of hardness & resistance to splitting but is inferior to other strength properties. If this wood is seasoned properly, it will take varnish, stains & paint without the grain rising. Is useful for the building industry, joinery, gates & outdoor applications. If knots are minimized & the grain not too open, we often use this timber for gate framework & find it pressure treats very well.
LARCH, European
A tall growing diciduous softwood, growing to a height of 130ft in the right conditions, with a diameter up to five feet. This tree is mostly used in the pole stage & not often seen in its mature glory. One of the most useful of our home-grown softwoods with a straight grain & when grown well, relatively free from knots. Annual rings are marked by the contrasting light springwood & dark summerwood zones. The heartwood is resinous & pale reddish-brown in colour.
Larch is the toughest & hardest of our home-grown softwoods, the heartwood having resistant natural durability. This wood is somewhat awkward to taking stains or treatments but when used outdoors, modern pressure treatment seems to do the trick.
We made a trailor base with untreated larch boards twenty years ago & it is as good as the day we made it. Its natural durability & strength make larch a valuable wood for fencing & gates & is especially useful for outdoor work such as wooden buildings & garden timber-work. Especially good timber for gate posts. If you need timber for the garden, ask your supplier for larch.
LARCH, Japanese
This larch, native to Japan was introduced into this country in the 1860s. Growing in optimum conditions the Japanese Larch is smaller than the European Larch, growing quicker during the first fourty years or so but slows in growth thereafter. Because of the more rapid growth, compared to european larch, this tree is lighter in weight, both seasoned and in its green state.
Japanese Larch is somewhat softer than the european and more prone to splitting, otherwise resembles the above tree in other properties and colour.
SPRUCE, Norway, Sitka.
Norway spruce will grow to 150ft with a diameter up to 4 feet in Britain with a clear bole often up tp 80 ft. Sitka spruce grows somewhat larger in its native habitat, sometimes with a diameter up to 12 ft. Introduced into Britain around the mid 1840s.
Home grown Norway spruce is similar to imported spruces. When seasoned, the heartwood and sapwood are indistinguishable, the colour being a light yellow-brown. Sitka spruce sometimes has a pinkish colour heartwood.
Norway spruce is one of the lighter softwoods, Sitka lighter still, weighing approx 42lb per cu ft green at 80 per cent moisture content compared to approx 38-40lb per cu ft green at 58 per cent moisture content for Douglas fir.
Spruce does not have good natural durability and needs pressure treatment when used outdoors. The Norway gives a better working wood, sometimes used for ladder poles years ago. The Sitka, often open grained needs to have six or more rings to the inch to be of much use, although, imported Sitka is a better quality, tighter grown wood. Not much use for vigorous applications outdoors.
Scots pine
Not often found growing taller than 100ft and 3 ft diameter, larger trees being unsound when felled. When seasoned, the resinous, reddish-brown heartwood is distinct from the lighter-coloured sapwood. The annual rings are clearly marked by the contrasting light springwood and darker summerwood zones. A fairly heavy wood in the green condition and averages approx 33 Ibs per cu. ft. when seasoned.
Sometimes, when this timber has been left before kiln drying, a blue staining affects the sapwood. The seasoned timber is approx 20 per cent. harder on the side grain than imported redwood and approx 20 per cent. more difficult to split and proves to be far tougher than imported redwoods. The heartwood has resistant natural durability.
The butt of this timber, when slowly grown, can be used for quality joinery with the tops used for fencing, gate posts, sheeting and many other uses. Most Scots pine is imported, our supplies depleted although more has been planted in Scotland.
Corsican pine
Will grow upwards of 120 ft and 3-6 ft in diameter. This timber is similar to the Scots pine with a coarser and larger proportion of sapwood. The weight, dried and green, is nearly the same as the Scots pine. The sapwood will sometimes stain blue like the Scots pine.
The seasoned timber is similar in hardness to the Scots pine but has less natural durability, owing to the high proportion of sapwood. Pressure treats well.
Richard Schaub and Son
Established over 30 years
copyright R.G and D.G Schaub
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Wonderful trees
(Woodland trust)
(Woodland trust)
Richard Schaub and Son
Fencing and Gates
Cheltenham
Fencing and Gates
Cheltenham
Timber information
Softwoods-homegrown
Softwood timber is a main source for our indoor & outdoor building industry, used for roof timbers, rafters, joists, flooring, doors, windows, fencing & many outdoor applications.
The excellent practice of pressure treating outdoor softwood allows for the mixing of various species of timber that otherwise would be questionable as to application, however, it is sometimes a good idea to ask for the better quality softwoods, whether pressure treated or not.
Below is a small list of softwoods with a few interesting properties that may affect the intended application.
DOUGLAS FIR
A large growing tree in its native habitat, exeeding 300 feet with a diameter of 12 feet or more. Will attain a height in Britain of 100ft in favourable conditions. Introduced into Britain in the early 19th century. In this country, it has a habit of retaining its lower branches for many years, and unless pruning at the early stages of growth is practised, does not favour the production of good clean boles of appreciable length.
The excellent practice of pressure treating outdoor softwood allows for the mixing of various species of timber that otherwise would be questionable as to application, however, it is sometimes a good idea to ask for the better quality softwoods, whether pressure treated or not.
Below is a small list of softwoods with a few interesting properties that may affect the intended application.
DOUGLAS FIR
A large growing tree in its native habitat, exeeding 300 feet with a diameter of 12 feet or more. Will attain a height in Britain of 100ft in favourable conditions. Introduced into Britain in the early 19th century. In this country, it has a habit of retaining its lower branches for many years, and unless pruning at the early stages of growth is practised, does not favour the production of good clean boles of appreciable length.
