The industry association Svenskt Trä recently launched construction timber made of pine as a novelty. They point out that the norm of using spruce is actually unfounded, since pine now suddenly works just as well for everything except "particularly weather-exposed parts" of a building, and refer to the fact that in other countries these types of wood are used equivalently.
Comments on this? I grew up in areas where pine is prevalent and all houses that aren't completely newly built are mostly made of pine, so from my own experience I haven't seen any practical reasons why spruce has been the norm, rather historically market-driven ones.
And how much worse is pine than spruce in the "particularly weather-exposed" parts? Heart pine is of course better than spruce, but the sapwood? Does completely ordinary sawn pine suddenly work for completely ordinary exterior paneling now?
https://www.svenskttra.se/om-oss/aktuellt/2025/4/sveriges-sagverk-lanserar-byggvirke-av-furu/
Comments on this? I grew up in areas where pine is prevalent and all houses that aren't completely newly built are mostly made of pine, so from my own experience I haven't seen any practical reasons why spruce has been the norm, rather historically market-driven ones.
And how much worse is pine than spruce in the "particularly weather-exposed" parts? Heart pine is of course better than spruce, but the sapwood? Does completely ordinary sawn pine suddenly work for completely ordinary exterior paneling now?
https://www.svenskttra.se/om-oss/aktuellt/2025/4/sveriges-sagverk-lanserar-byggvirke-av-furu/
Diversearbetare
· Göteborg
· 11 228 posts
Spruce has significantly higher elasticity than the corresponding pine. It doesn't break as easily. Spruce is used for wooden boat masts and yards. Also as a prop for concrete casting when the foundation is not solid.
As you point out, the timber from pine and spruce doesn't have completely identical properties, which has been emphasized before to argue for spruce as the only usable option. However, there has been almost a complete reversal on that point now. I believe that both the old ideas that only spruce was good enough and the current view that both are equally good are primarily about economy and market rather than properties, so it would be interesting to hear what experiences people have with building using pine.
I just came across that SCA is now launching products from heart pine and saw that Karl Hedin and Moelven also have it. It's pleasing that they're utilizing this special product. It’s interesting that on one hand, they say timber from pine and spruce is completely interchangeable because the differences are so small, and on the other hand, they say the heart in pine timber is very special. Heartwood is present to some extent in most sawn pine timber, though the proportion varies greatly, so their spruce-identical timber partially contains the special product. Hard to reconcile.
I just came across that SCA is now launching products from heart pine and saw that Karl Hedin and Moelven also have it. It's pleasing that they're utilizing this special product. It’s interesting that on one hand, they say timber from pine and spruce is completely interchangeable because the differences are so small, and on the other hand, they say the heart in pine timber is very special. Heartwood is present to some extent in most sawn pine timber, though the proportion varies greatly, so their spruce-identical timber partially contains the special product. Hard to reconcile.
A cynical part of me says bark beetle.
Another part says that the difference between pine and spruce that hasn't been grown on spruce land is probably not that big, which is now visible on a larger scale.
For exterior paneling, just paint with a good paint, and you can have almost anything. If you paint with a bad paint, nothing works.
Another part says that the difference between pine and spruce that hasn't been grown on spruce land is probably not that big, which is now visible on a larger scale.
For exterior paneling, just paint with a good paint, and you can have almost anything. If you paint with a bad paint, nothing works.