Home Improvements & Repairs

Many of you most probably know that there is hardwood and softwood furniture. It is not the hardness of the wood that separates them apart when coming to choose your furniture. I assume most of you will surmise its slightly more complicated than that.

How simple it was to cut the wood at logging bases is perhaps where the original names of hardwood and softwood came from. Balsa wood, whilst very soft, is categorized as a hardwood, this is a peculiarity rather than the rule.¨

How a tree is created is the variation behind whether a wood is categorized as hard or soft. Angiosperm seeds, which are seeds with a shell or marrow covering create hardwood trees, whilst gymnosperm seeds, which have no covering, create softwood trees. Other features of softwood trees are; they grow faster and they preserve their needles/leaves all year, usually known as evergreen trees. Interestingly, there are approximately one hundred times more varieties of hardwood trees than softwood trees, however, over 80% of the world’s production of timber is softwood. Typical hardwoods are mahogany, maple, oak or teak, while softwood is typically represented by pine, cedar or redwood.

The most significant dissimilarity comes from the microscopic form. Pores which permit water transport are common in hardwoods but lacking in softwoods. The quality of the appropriate hard or soft wood is dependent on this. In general terms hardwood furniture is primarily the better grade. This is normally because the wood is heavier, making it solid and is more scratch repellent. Hardwood frequently has patterns in the wood due to the way the cells are made up;formed; this makes it more attractive to probably buyers.

Softwood does have advantages regardless of the negatives. Due to the trees growing faster, forest regeneration is quicker therefore more environmentally friendly. Preparing softwood is easier thus costs can be kept down, which passes on a saving to the consumer.

Softwood furniture requires greater care compared to hardwood due to the higher possibility of suffering scratches and structural damage during every day use. On the other hand, with correct attention to detail, hardwood furniture can last for centuries. To give an example of this; many generations of your family may have sat in the hardwood seats in your local church.

Humidity is a wood’s adversary, causing serious damage. altering humidity can make swelling, shrinkage and cracking in porous hardwood. Soon we will be writing an article on the care of wooden furniture; if you would like to read how to look after and preserve this natural commodity keep an eye on our site.

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