Which type of wood is better to build a house from - spruce or pine?

To answer this question objectively, one should consider representatives of coniferous species in more detail and regarding their “usefulness” for construction and comfort in general. The table below is not intended to compare both trees, but clearly demonstrates the real qualities of the varieties of lumber for construction. After studying this information, you can draw a conclusion about the advisability of purchasing one or another type.

Table of real qualities of spruce and pine

If the information is not enough, you can always turn to competent sources for clarification. Below is a detailed description of each item in the table. So:

General qualities include the longevity of the material and the finished log house. Some of them can stand for at least 300 years. It is worth paying attention to the diameters of the trunks; the larger, the warmer - spruce cannot boast of this, but pine, on the contrary.

So, what kind of wood is best to build a house from? Spruce, pine or pay attention to other species? The answers from the table are given below.

Fiber color and structure

This is what attracts customers visually and leaves a mark in their memory. From this point of view, a house made of pine is more attractive than a log house made of spruce, which has a single shade that does not change over time. The variety of colors from sunny to ocher is appreciated by true aesthetes.

However, buyers are put off by the blue. They consider this an indicator of rot. People! This is wrong! This only indicates the freshness of the cut and over time the pine will become beautiful, and even change shades.

And a house made of spruce, like all wood, will become dark from humidity and nothing more. Annual rings delight the eye with their unusual pattern - this fact applies to pine. Spruce cannot boast of this - its structure is uniform and invisible due to its color.

Heat-treated lining

This type of cladding has gained great popularity quite recently. It is distinguished from conventional material by processing wood at high temperatures. Thanks to this, it acquires a beautiful dark color and a significant improvement in such qualities as moisture resistance, fire resistance, and resistance to biological damage.

All types of wood discussed in this article are subject to heat treatment.

Thermal lining made from Extra grade linden gives the steam room a unique appearance, the effect of peace and privacy

Thermally modified lining is used, as a rule, to create certain interior solutions. It is often used in conjunction with light varieties to create an interior with a contrasting finish.

The cost of heat-treated boards, of course, is higher than that of ordinary ones. But the visual effect can also be truly unique and inimitable.

Pros and cons of heat-treated lining:

Unique appearance, ideal for creating special interiors, resistant to water and heat

Expensive

Resinousness and knotiness

Why is spruce recommended for the construction of baths? This is all due to the small amount of resin, which is no different from pine. When heated, the resin actually flows along the walls, creating discomfort for visitors.

In addition to sloppiness, this effect has another unpleasant and, frankly speaking, destructive feature - it will not allow our lungs to breathe, clogging the pores with sticky vapors. You only need to inhale the decoction of pine needles, not the resin. Therefore, choosing a spruce log for a house will be futile, but for a bathhouse it will be just right.

But sometimes abundant knottiness is a design find. This technique can be used by using various cladding on facades or as decoration for the inside of a bathhouse. By arranging such patterns relatively symmetrically, the owner will receive an exclusive object, causing the envy of the neighbors.

Shelf board

– A shelf is an attribute of any bathhouse; the boards on it should not burn or release resin. What type of wood should I choose for it?

– Wealthy buyers use boards made from African abash wood for these purposes. It has a porous structure, it does not heat up, but it is expensive - 380 rubles per linear meter, a 2.5 meter board will cost almost a thousand rubles. And you need a dozen or more of these. Linden is also suitable for these purposes, and aspen is a budget option.

The most expensive lumber is a board made from African abash wood. Photo: Alexey Kunilov

Rot protection

Coniferous trees, unlike deciduous trees, excluding oak, always contain a high concentration of their own protective solutions. They prevent the spread of pathogenic bacteria, mold, rot and provide a good barrier to rodents. However, this property is more pronounced in pine than in spruce.

This is due to the fact that the continuous channels along which the “immunity” moves are longer than those of spruce, where knottiness still interrupts their flow. A house made of fir will have to be treated with protective compounds earlier than one made of pine.

The owner of the material should remember that upon delivery of raw materials to the construction site, it must be processed before warehousing and storage begins - construction does not take place in one day. After processing, the logs or beams are placed on supports, without contact with each other, and covered with styrene film from precipitation. From time to time it is removed and the material is ventilated.

Birch

Material located in the middle of the conventional rock classification. However, like larch. It has a very calm and softly expressed structure, which allows it to be tinted in any shade, without any adjustments to its own color or texture. In terms of strength, birch is, of course, stronger than pine, but softer than beech and oak. The disadvantages include its hygroscopicity - the ability to absorb and release moisture. This becomes especially relevant if you do not maintain constant conditions at home (in summer there is high humidity, and in winter, during the heating period, on the contrary, the air is dry), then this can lead to creaks and cracking of the wood.

Mechanical and manual processing ability

It is high in both breeds, since the structures are soft. But nevertheless, neat cuts and cuts are best tolerated by pine, but chipping and sanding is best tolerated by fir trees. It all depends on the desired end result and the intended product.

Both breeds produce exceptionally beautiful, twisted furniture, valued in the West. Manual cutting is not difficult at all, if only the master has the skill to handle a saw and an ax. This, by the way, can play a cruel joke on an inexperienced builder - he is quite capable of snatching a large piece of wood, so proceed with caution.

Block house**

– This material imitates the outer part of a log, it looks beautiful, but is it justified to cover the outside of a house with it?

– In the Urals, wood is affordable for many people, thank God. In addition, finishing a house with a block house is comparable in cost to using plastic for this purpose - vinyl siding. And although natural wood looks more impressive, it has its drawbacks: in the open air it will become resinous and begin to deteriorate. It makes sense to use a block house when you need to hide some irregularities. Frame houses covered with a block house look beautiful - they can’t be distinguished from log houses.

Lumber from the described species

Budget construction using wood is quite possible without using solid wood. We are talking about timber or frame construction. Agree, using a frame is much more profitable than using a whip.

For lining, wall panels or the same lumber from the selected species are used, which costs several times less than solid raw materials. In this case, a frame house made of fir or pine has the same advantages when it comes to appearance.

But from a constructive point of view, the presence of inclusions in the wood is of great importance. Spruce should absolutely not be used for load-bearing supports, keeping in mind that when dry, knots tend to fall out, thereby reducing strength. Therefore, it is worth purchasing it for cladding, or using spruce timber for a house on the horizontal planes of a frame object.

Floor board

– Why do tongue and groove floor boards come in different thicknesses and widths? How to choose them correctly?

– If the subfloor is already laid from edged boards, then you can put the thinnest tongue-and-groove floor board with a thickness of 27 millimeters on top, because in this case there is no point in buying a thicker one. The most popular flooring board, due to its versatility, is 35 millimeters thick. The width of the floor boards is also different, some are wide - 135 millimeters, some are narrower. Often they take a wide board, although a narrow one is best for the floor. I’ll tell you a secret: a narrow board shrinks less, which is why professionals choose it.

Nikolay Chernyshev has been selling lumber for many years. Photo: Alexey Kunilov

LARCH

Larch is a more expensive material. A staircase made from it will require significant costs. But it will also last longer, maintaining a beautiful appearance for many years. In addition, larch is not afraid of water: it does not change its characteristics even in a very humid room. Larch is called Siberian oak. It is only slightly inferior to this noble “European” in density and hardness. The density of larch wood reaches 950 kg/m³.

She is not afraid of sharp heels, spilled water, children's pranks and accidentally fallen objects. It is difficult to scratch such a product. The characteristic wavy pattern of larch fibers and a pleasant “sunny” shade make stairs made of this material a real decoration of the interior. What is very important is a decoration that can please its owners for a long time.

Oak is an aristocratic option. This is one of the most durable materials. At the same time, it is quite flexible, which allows you to make various carved elements. The higher price, compared to pine and larch, is justified by the excellent aesthetic characteristics and incredible strength of oak stairs.

Oak is perfect for creating real masterpieces. An oak staircase is a smart investment not only in the comfort of your home, but also a successful investment in your image. It is believed that people with stable income and social success can afford to own oak products.

Oak wood is very durable and hard (its hardness is 3.7 kg/mm²). At the same time, it bends easily: you can create elements of different configurations without limiting your desires in any way.

Combined staircase – an interesting solution could be a staircase made of two types of wood. The steps can be made from larch, and all other parts can be made from pine. Externally it looks like a single whole. Such a staircase will last longer than a pine one, because its most vulnerable part - the steps - will be able to withstand heavy loads with honor and remain smooth.

What to choose?

Before making the final choice, it is worth answering the question: where in the house will the new staircase be located? If it goes down into the technical room located in the basement, you can use pine. If you plan to install a staircase between floors or make it part of the living room interior, it is more appropriate to opt for larch or oak. In this case, a combined option is also possible.

You can always count on our help. If you have any questions, we will be happy to answer them.

Best regards, Dmitry Kazantsev

LLC "Success", 660049, Krasnoyarsk, Mira Ave., 19, 3rd floor, "March 24". Tel. 8 (391) 2-863-943. TIN 2466124485 / 2015

Ash

This species is often compared to oak. And it’s not surprising, because the structure and shade of ash wood are very similar to oak. The density is almost the same as that of oak. And in processing, ash is not much different from oak. In some cases, if you put two boards side by side, it is not even possible to distinguish the two species from each other. But for some reason it so happened that oak is more famous and advertised. This led to some imbalance in the market, which, in turn, led to a decrease in prices for ash by about 10% compared to oak. The disadvantages, however, would be the sometimes excessively variegated color (although this is not for everyone) and, due to its not very great popularity, a rather meager assortment of standard blanks, which significantly complicates the production of stairs from ash.

Oak is the standard of strength and reliability and, because of this, is a fairly popular material. This breed really has high strength characteristics. Extremely dense wood significantly reduces deformation under load, which, in turn, virtually eliminates the possibility of squeaks. Also, oak stairs are popular for their beautiful, pronounced texture with a slight greenish tint. Oak is perfectly processed and is well suited for both tinting and covering with clear varnish. The greatest connoisseurs prefer to coat oak with oils and waxes. There is also quite a lot of competition for oak in the manufacturers' market, which has a positive effect on the consumer - the cost of oak has increased by only 10-15% over the past few years, while the range of blanks is colossal, which allows you to choose the optimal staircase. Well, the disadvantages, of course, include the cost - for oak stairs it is quite high (in comparison with pine stairs the difference is 3 times or more). But, if the budget allows, then the staircase, ideally, should be made of oak.