how can you tell the difference between hardwood and softwood?
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All trees reproduce by producing seeds, but the seed structure varies. In general, hardwood comes from a deciduous tree which loses its leaves annually and softwood comes from a conifer, which usually remains evergreen. Hardwoods tend to be slower growing, and are therefore usually more dense.
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Hardwood comes from angiosperm — or flowering plants — such as oak, maple, or walnut, that are not monocots. Softwood comes from gymnosperm trees, usually evergreen conifers, like pine or spruce.
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Oak wood has a porous quality to it, which makes it very absorbent of staining materials. However, oak does have a very dramatic grain of the wood, which can sometimes give even the darkest stain a streaky effect or the look of highlights. Luckily, you can stain oak to look as dark as possible.
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Softwoods come from coniferous trees such as pine, fir, spruce and larch. Coniferous trees are cone-bearing and often have needle-like leaves. ... Hardwoods come from broadleaved trees such as oak, ash and beech. Broadleaved trees usually have wide leaves.
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Poplar wood is considered a hardwood by species, but this can be somewhat confusing, as it is typically softer than pine, a common softwood.
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I would avoid all soft woods too - pine, alder, poplar, etc. and stick to tight grained hardwoods. I've used maple, cherry , walnut, purpleheart and yellowheart with good results.
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While ash is light and dense enough for bat-making, maple is dense and light enough for bat making. Don't blow your mind over that brain buster. Simply put, maple is heavier and also much denser. Maple, while heavier, is a harder wood than ash, yet not too heavy to swing.
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The most obvious difference between these species is in the color of the wood. Red oak has a pinkish tint, while white oak tends to be a bit warmer, with golden-brown tones. It is not, as might be interpreted by name alone, “white.” In fact white oak tends to be slightly darker in color than red oak.
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Types of Poplar Poplar wood is considered a hardwood by species, but this can be somewhat confusing, as it is typically softer than pine, a common softwood.
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One of the biggest benefits of alder wood is the cost. It's not quite as cheap as it used to be when it was referred to as "poor man's cherry," but there's still a considerable price difference between it and more expensive hardwoods, such as mahogany. Alder is about in the middle of the road of hardwood prices.
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Softwoods come from coniferous trees such as pine, fir, spruce and larch. These trees take around 40 years to grow before they are ready to harvest. Hardwoods come from broadleaved trees such as oak, ash and beech. These trees take much longer to grow, up to 150 years before they are ready to harvest.
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Both solid hardwood and engineered hardwood are premium flooring materials that add good real estate value to your home. Solid hardwood may have the edge here, since it lasts longer than engineered hardwood flooring.
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1. Color - red oak has a bit of a pinkish tint is a little bit lighter than white oak. White oak tends to be a bit browner, darker and more yellow. When you stain them, the difference between the 2 species decreases, especially the darker you go.
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Maple and hickory are both harder woods than oak. Hickory has a bolder look than oak or maple and is often sold as wide planks. Hickory is the best choice over oak or maple for high traffic areas. Hickory is the most difficult to install.
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If you like the look of stained hardwood flooring, you may like carbonized bamboo. Carbonizing bamboo is more permanent than staining. Carbonized bamboo is softer than non-carbonized bamboo. Surface treatments counteract the softening and make the flooring suitable for traffic.
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As you'll have gathered from the introduction of this article, pine is a softwood and oak is hardwood. In most cases, wood flooring, irrespective of whether it is engineered or solid, is made from hardwood because it tends to be more resilient.
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Softwoods like cedar, pine and fir provide better insulation than hardwood. Logs are able to store heat throughout the day and release it through the cooler night, requiring less energy to heat your home and creating a very warm and cozy feeling at night.