Hardwood Facts & Information

What is Hardwood

Hardwood is actually a botanical classification for a deciduous tree, one that loses its leaves every year. Hardwoods generally are harder than softwoods (coniferous trees). Does that make any difference in the choice of species for the mouldings you choose? It can, depending on the usage. For example; Red Alder is a medium soft wood that would not stand up very well as a stair tread. Cherry is harder than alder, but as a flooring material or stair tread, it will dent and show wear much more than a harder wood like red oak or hard maple. Poplar is a great wood for painting. It is 15% harder than white pine so will stand up to more abuse without denting. Continuing the same thought though, if one wanted a better, more dent resistant wood, hard maple or birch would be a good choice. Here is a listing of hardwoods and their relative hardness. Hickory is the hardest species listed and is assigned a hardness of 1. The rest are a comparison to this standard.

Hickory - 1.0, White Oak - .94, Hard Maple - .88, Red Oak - .88, Yellow Birch - .86, Black Walnut - .80, Soft Maple - .78, Cherry - .73, Yellow Poplar - .63, Red Alder - .58, Aspen - .55, White Pine - .55, Basswood - .50.

Why Choose Hardwoods

We learned from "Are All Hardwoods Hard?" that the term hardwood is really a botanical classification. But generally, hardwoods are harder than softwoods. Does that matter? It does if you want your mouldings to retain their new appearance for a long time, especially in areas of heavy use. Because a hard wood will be more dent and damage resistant than a softer one, even painted surfaces will retain their new appearance longer if a hardwood such as poplar, birch or hard maple is used, as compared to a softwood.

Consider the range of colors available in hardwoods. From the bright white of hard maple to the warmth of cherry and the richness of walnut, hardwoods contain a huge palette of colors in a vast array of grain patterns – surely enough for any discriminating designer.

And for that "old money look" nothing can beat the look of a room clad in dark hardwood.