If you’re planning to start a DIY project, choosing the lumber can leave you scratching your head. For beginners, choosing the right type of lumber can be quite tricky. Buying lumber isn’t simply about deciding the wood type and taking measurements. It takes a lot more patience and research to pick the lumber that would help achieve the desired result. When you start looking for the wood, jargon and numerous options could confuse you. Most likely, you will come across terms like hardwood, plywood, softwood, engineered wood, pressure-treated lumber, and MDF. So, if you’re new to these terms, we have explained some basics in this post to make the selection easier for you.
Before you start shopping for the best boards for your project, it is important to get familiar with some basics. This will help you pick the product the right product, as well as make you understand why some boards are more expensive than others. So let’s begin with the basics.
Things to Consider When Buying Lumber
As the most versatile material, wood is commonly used for construction projects such as roof, foundation, flooring, and more. You can find a vast variety of lumber species for different price tags. To choose the right option, here are some things that you need to know.
Types of Lumber: Hardwood or Softwood
Many people get confused with these two terms because they think these terms refer to the hardness of the wood. However, the two types of lumber that is hardwood and softwood refer to the type of tree it comes from. Hardwood is typically lumber that comes from a deciduous tree. These trees have broad leaves that fall off in the cold months. Some commonly found deciduous trees that give hardwood lumber include oak, maple, walnut, hickory, and mahogany. Softwood, on the other hand, comes from conifers such as pine, fir, spruce, and cedar.
Hardwood is costlier than softwood because deciduous trees make more time to grow as compared to conifer trees that grow faster. Also, softwood needs to be pressure treated to maintain its stability. Hardwood is mostly used for crafting fine furniture, sophisticated woodworking, flooring, and more. While softwood is commonly used for constructing house framing, building deck, other home DIY projects. When buying softwood, you will need to consider board classification- Structural, Yard, or Shop and Factory.
Choose Wood Specie
The next step is choosing the wood species depending on your project type. For crafting furniture, you can consider oak and maple because of their sturdiness. You can also consider medium-density fiberboard (MDF) for interior furniture if you plan to paint the items. It is easier to work with MDF because these boards are wider than hardwood boards. Softwood like pine or fir works best for framing projects because the surface is usually layered with another material like drywall or paint.
Check Defects
When buying construction lumber, make sure to identify defects. Lumber usually has a lot of knots. So, consider the size of board you will need for your project when shopping for lumber. A knot is a common defect that makes the wood grain look spiral in a circular pattern. If you don’t need large pieces, you can buy inexpensive boards with knots and remove the defective part.
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