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Various types of soft and hard woods used in modern home
improvement and remodeling |
 | | Red oak: Main Uses are for
Furniture, flooring, architectural millwork and moldings’, doors, kitchen cabinets, paneling and caskets. The Latin
name for oak, Quercus, means "a fine tree." The oaks have been key in America's industrial transformation: railroad
ties, wheels, plows, looms, barrels and, of course, furniture and floors. The oak is the state tree of New Jersey. It Grows
throughout Eastern USA. The oaks are by far the most abundant species group growing in the Eastern hardwood forests. Red oaks
grow more abundantly than the white oaks. The red oak group comprises many species, of which about eight are commercial. Average
tree height is 60 to 80 feet. The wood is hard and heavy, with medium bending strength and stiffness and high crushing strength.
It is very good for steam bending. Great wear-resistance and is the most widely used species.White oak: Main Uses are for Furniture, flooring, architectural millwork,
moldings’, doors, kitchen cabinets, paneling, barrel staves (tight cooperage) and caskets. White oak is impervious to
liquids, and has been used extensively for ship timbers, barrels and casks. White oak is the state tree of Connecticut, Illinois
and Maryland. White oak machines well nails and screws well although pre-boring is advised. Since it reacts with iron, galvanized
nails are recommended. Its adhesive properties are variable, but it stains to a good finish. Can be stained with a wide range
of finish tones. The wood dries slowly. A hard and heavy wood with medium bending and crushing strength, low in stiffness,
but very well in steam bending. Great wear-resistance. Alder: Grows
Principally the Pacific Northwest, where it is the most abundant commercial hardwood. Average height is 90 feet and the tree
matures in 25 to 40 years, but will begin to deteriorate by 60 to 80 years of age. Alder grows well on burned over lands and
thrives in areas that have been ravaged by fire, earthquakes or logging. Main Uses are for Furniture, kitchen cabinets, doors,
shutters, moldings’, panel stock, turnings, carvings and kitchen utensils. Alder is used in the smoking of meats and
fish. Red alder, a relative of birch, is almost white when freshly cut but quickly changes on exposure to air, becoming light
brown with a yellow or reddish tinge. Heartwood is formed only in trees of advanced age and there is no visible boundary between
sap and heartwood. The wood is fairly straight-grained with a uniform texture. Red alder machines well and is excellent for
turning. It nails, screws and glues well, and can be sanded, painted, or stained to a good finish. When stained, it blends
with walnut, mahogany or cherry. It dries easily with little degrade and has good dimensional stability after drying. Red
alder is a relatively soft hardwood of medium density that has low bending strength, shock resistance and stiffness. Ash: Norse mythology refers to ash as "the mighty tree that supports
the heavens" and "below earth its roots went down to hell." Ash belongs to the olive family, although its only
fruit is a dart-like winged seed. Ash is a popular species for food containers because the wood has no taste. Admiral Richard
Byrd wore snowshoes made from ash during his polar expeditions and early windmills were made from this species. It Grows Throughout
the Eastern USA. White ash trees range in height from 80 to 120 feet with diameter from 2 to 5 feet. Main Uses are for Furniture,
flooring, doors, architectural millwork and moldings, kitchen cabinets, paneling, tool handles, baseball bats, hockey sticks,
billiard cues, skis, oars and turnings. At one time ash was the preferred wood for making tennis racquets. Ash machines well,
is good in nailing, screwing and gluing, and can be stained to a very good finish. It dries fairly easily with minimal degrade,
and there is little movement in performance. Ash has very good overall strength properties relative to its weight. It has
excellent shock resistance and is good for steam bending. Aspen: It
Grows Commercially in the Northeast. Average tree height is 40 to 60 feet. The aspen has a short life span: just before reaching
full growth, it has a tendency to suffer from decay. Aspens are known for seeding and thriving in places where fires have
been. Main Uses are for Furniture parts (drawer sides), doors, moldings’, picture frames, millwork, toys, kitchen utensils,
food containers, baskets and matchsticks. Important specialized uses include sauna laths because of its low conductivity of
heat, and chopsticks. Aspen dose not split when nailed, it machines easily with a slightly fuzzy surface, and turns,
bores, and sands well. It takes paint and stain well to produce a good finish although care is required where the surface
is fuzzy. It has low to moderate shrinkage and good dimensional stability. Aspen is a true poplar, and therefore has similar
characteristics and properties to cottonwood. The wood is light and soft, with low bending strength and stiffness, and medium
shock resistance. It has a very low bending classification. It is Limited in Availability and rarely available in thick stock. Basswood: The name comes from its inner bark, or bast, used by Native Americans
to make rope. It Grows Principally the Northern and Lake states. Average tree height is 65 feet. Its Main Uses are for Carvings,
turnings, furniture, pattern making, moldings’, millwork and musical instruments. An important specialized use is Venetian
blinds and shutters. Native Americans also used basswood’s inner bark fibers to make thread and fabric. Basswood machines
well and is easy to work with hand tools making it a premier carving wood. It nails, screws, and glues fairly well and can
be sanded and stained to a good smooth finish. It dries fairly rapidly with little distortion or degrading. It has fairly
high shrinkage but good dimensional stability when dry. The wood is light and soft with generally low strength properties
and a poor steam-bending classification Beech: Known as "Mother of the Forest" for its nutrient-rich humus.
Beech has a long, illustrious past. The Aryan Tribes of Asia, the earliest known people to use a written language, carved
their messages into the soft, smooth pliable bark of the beech tree trunk. The writings, cut out of the bark and used intact,
were called "boc," which eventually became "book. It Grows Throughout the Eastern USA, commercial concentration
is in the Central and Middle Atlantic states. Average tree height is 120 feet. It’s Main Uses are for Furniture, doors,
flooring, millwork, paneling, brush handles, wooden ware, bending stock, toys and turnings. It is particularly suitable for
food and liquid containers since there is no odor or taste. Beech was used to make snuffboxes as well as mortars and pestles.
Beech works readily with most hand and machine tools. It has good nailing and gluing properties and can be stained to a good
finish. The wood dries fairly rapidly but with a strong tendency to warp, split and surface check. It is subject to a high
shrinkage and moderate movement in performance. Beech is classed as heavy, hard, strong, high in resistance to shock
and highly suitable for steam bending. Good resistance to abrasive wear Birch: From
sap to bark, birch trees are used to make everything from beer to toothpicks. Native Americans stretched birch bark on their
canoe frames and used the wood for their arrows. The birch is New Hampshire's state tree. It is also popular as an ornamental
tree and has gained the nickname "Mother Tree" because birches were planted at the White House to honor the mothers
of USA presidents. The oil extracted from the bark contains a chemical used to treat rheumatism and inflammations. Eastern
USA, principally Northern and Lake states. The average tree is 60 to 70 feet in height. Birch prefers valleys and stream banks
although it adapts itself to higher grounds. It’s Main Uses are for Furniture, millwork and paneling, doors, flooring,
kitchen cabinets, turnings and toys. Native Americans often rolled and burned birch bark to keep mosquitoes away. Yellow birch
has a white sapwood and light reddish brown heartwood. The wood is generally straight-grained with a fine uniform texture.
Generally characterized by a plain and often curly or wavy pattern. The wood works fairly easily, glues well with care, takes
stain extremely well, and nails and screws satisfactorily where pre-boring is advised. It dries rather slowly with little
degrade, but it has moderately high shrinkage, so is susceptible to movement in performance. The wood of yellow birch is heavy,
hard and strong. It has very good bending properties, with good crushing strength and shock resistance Cherry: Like all fruit trees, cherry belongs to the rose family. American Colonists used
the cherry tree for its fruit, medicinal properties and home furnishings. They mixed cherry juice with rum to create Cherry
Bounce, a bitter but highly favored cordial. The bark was used in the production of drugs to treat bronchitis, and cherry
stalks were used to make tonics. It Grows Throughout Midwestern and Eastern USA. Main commercial areas: Pennsylvania, Virginia,
West Virginia and New York. Average tree height is 60 to 80 feet. Cherry trees can live to the extreme ages of 150 to 200
years. It’s Main Uses are for Fine furniture and cabinet making, moldings’ and millwork, kitchen cabinets, paneling,
flooring, doors, boat interiors, musical instruments, turnings and carvings. Early printmakers used cherry for their engraving
blocks. The heartwood of cherry varies from rich red to reddish brown and will darken with age and on exposure to light. In
contrast, the sapwood is creamy white. The wood has a fine uniform, straight grain, satiny, smooth texture, and may naturally
contain brown pith flecks and small gum pockets. Cherry is easy to machine, nails and glues well and when sanded and stained,
it produces an excellent smooth finish. It dries fairly quickly with moderately high shrinkage, but is dimensionally stable
after kiln drying. The wood is of medium density with good bending properties, it has low stiffness and medium strength and
shock resistance. Cottonwood: Cottonwood is the state tree of Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming.
It grows in the Eastern U.S., main commercial areas: Middle and Southern states. Average tree height is 80 to 100 feet. Cottonwoods
have rapid growth throughout their first 40 years, then grow slowly for the many years after. Some have been known to reach
100 feet in height in fifteen years. It’s Main Uses are for Furniture, furniture parts, millwork and moldings’,
toys and kitchen utensils. Specialized uses are Venetian blinds, shutters, and caskets. Together, aspen, basswood, cottonwood,
elm, gum, hackberry, sassafras, sycamore and willow represent 12.5 percent of commercially available USA hardwoods. Cottonwoods
were a welcome sight for pioneers moving westward. The cottonwoods marked the presence of streams in the otherwise treeless
Great Plains. General machinability is fair, although tension wood is frequently present and can cause a fuzzy surface when
cut, which in turn will require additional care when finishing. The wood glues well and has good resistance to splitting when
nailing and screwing. It dries easily but may still have a tendency to warp, with slight movement in performance. Cottonwood
is relatively light in weight. The wood is soft, weak in bending and compression, and low in shock resistance. It has no odor
or taste when dry. Cypress: Cypress trees are conifers, but unlike most American softwoods, these
are deciduous trees that shed foliage in the fall like hardwoods. Although cypress is a softwood, it grows alongside hardwoods
and traditionally has been grouped and manufactured with hardwoods. The oils in cypress' heartwood make it one of the
most durable woods when exposed to moisture conditions causing decay. It grows Most cypress trees are natives of the South.
They are found primarily in wet, swampy areas along the Atlantic Coastal Plain from Delaware to Florida, and west along the
Gulf of Mexico to the border of Texas and Mexico. Cypress also thrives along the Mississippi Valley from the Louisiana delta
to southern Indiana. Cypress roots love water. Some trees growing on wet sites develop what are called cypress "knees"
or pneumatophores. The knee-like upright growths come from the roots, helping to support the tree and also to aerate the waterlogged
root system. The wood from the knees is soft and light and can be used to make vases and novelty items. It’s Main Uses
are for Exterior: siding, shutters, shingles, trim, fence posts. Interior: paneling, molding, millwork, cabinetry, flooring,
furniture. During the Middle Ages, European craftsmen carved massive cathedral doors from cypress. The sapwood is pale yellow
white with the heartwood varying in color from light to dark or reddish brown. Cypress machines well, planes easily and resists
warping. Pre-boring at board edges will help prevent splitting. It nails and screws very well. It glues well, sands easily
and readily accepts finishes Elm: Elm is the state tree of Massachusetts and North Dakota.
It grows in the Eastern to Midwest USA. Average tree height is 40 to 60 feet. Its Main Uses are for Furniture, cabinet making,
flooring, millwork, paneling and caskets. The red elm has a glue-like substance in its inner bark that formerly was steeped
in water as a remedy for throat ailments; powdered for use in poultices, and chewed as a thirst-quencher. Red elm has a greyish
white to light brown narrow sapwood, with heartwood that is reddish brown to dark brown in color. The grain can be straight,
but is often interlocked. The wood has a coarse texture. The wood of red elm is fairly easy to work, it nails, screws and
glues well, and can be sanded and stained to a good finish. It dries well with minimum degrade and little movement in performance.
Elm is moderately heavy, hard and stiff with excellent bending and shock resistance. It is difficult to split because of its
interlocked grain. Gum: The origins of its Latin name, liquid amber styraciflua, are traced to
the writings of Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez who, in 1519, described the gums as “large trees that exude a gum-like
liquid amber in color. The gums are an important part of the Eastern hardwood forests, and are found throughout the Southeastern
U.S. Average tree height is 80 to 120 feet: they prefer rich, moist soil and grow vigorously on occasionally flooded land.
It’s Main Uses are for Cabinet making, furniture parts, doors, millwork, strips and moldings’, turnings and rail
ties. Good substitute for walnut when stained. Storax, the clear, balsamic oleoresin that the tree secretees, often is used
for medicinal and pharmaceutical preparations and it is used for adhesives, incense, perfuming, powders and soaps. The wood
is easy to work, with both hand and machine tools. It nails, screws and glues well, takes stain easily and can be sanded to
an excellent finish. It dries rapidly with a strong tendency to warp and twist. It has a high shrinkage, and is susceptible
to movement in performance. American gum is moderately hard, stiff and heavy and has a low steam-bending classification. Hackberry: It Grows in the Eastern USA. Average tree height is 130 feet. Its
Main Uses are Furniture and kitchen cabinets, millwork, doors and moldings. Historically, most Southern church pews were made
of hackberry. It often is used for farm implements as well as crates and boxes. The wood planes and turns well and is intermediate
in its ability to hold nails and screws, and stains satisfactorily. Hackberry dries readily with minimal degrade. It has a
fairly high shrinkage and is most suitable in cut stock (small/short pieces). Hackberry is moderately hard, heavy and has
medium bending strength, high shock resistance but is low in stiffness. It has a good steam-bending classification. Hard Maple: The hard maple is the state tree of Wisconsin, Vermont, New York
and West Virginia. In the North, during the cold nights and warm days of late winter, the sugar maple is tapped for its sucrose-containing
sap, the source of maple syrup. It may take up to 30 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. Early American settlers used
maple ashes to make soap and Native Americans crafted their spears from hard maple. Until the turn of the century, the heels
of women's shoes were made from maple. Maple has been a favorite of American furniture makers since early Colonial days.
Hard maple is the standard wood for cutting boards because it imparts no taste to food and holds up well. It grows in the
Eastern USA, principally Mid-Atlantic and Lake states. A cold weather tree favoring a more northerly climate, its average
height is 130 feet. Its Main Uses are for Flooring, furniture, paneling, ballroom and gymnasium floors, kitchen cabinets,
work tops, table tops, butchers blocks, toys, kitchenware and millwork: stairs, handrails, moldings, and doors. A single sugar
maple tree produces up to 12 gallons of sap a year. Hard maple dries slowly with high shrinkage, so it can be susceptible
to movement in performance. Pre-boring is recommended when nailing and screwing. With care it machines well, turns well, glues
satisfactorily, and can be stained to an outstanding finish. Polishes well and is suitable for enamel finishes and brown tones.
The wood is hard and heavy with good strength properties, in particular its high resistance to abrasion and wear. It also
has good steam-bending properties. The higher quality grades of lumber are available selected for white color (sapwood) although
this can limit availability. Figured maple (birds-eye, curly, fiddleback) is generally only available in commercial volumes
as veneer. Hickory and Pecan: Its name is an English contraction of the Native American
"powcohicora." In Eastern North America, it survived the catastrophic changes of the Glacial Epoch, some 50 million
years ago. Thus, it is the first strictly American hardwood species. Westward trekking pioneers made hickory a prerequisite
for their wagon wheels. Later, the Wright Brothers whittled hickory for their "flying contraption." Hickory sawdust
and chips are used to flavor meat by smoking. Commercially, the pecan is the most important native North American nut tree
and it is the state tree of Texas. Pecan was a Native American name given to any nut hard enough to require cracking with
a stone. Native Americans, particularly in the Northeast, used hickory for their bows. It Grows in the Eastern USA, principal
commercial areas: Central and Southern states. Tree height ranges from 60 to 120 feet. Hickories grow slowly and it is not
unusual for a tree to take 200 years to mature. Its Main Uses are Tool handles, furniture, cabinetry, flooring, paneling,
wooden ladders, dowels and sporting goods. Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the USA, was nicknamed “Old Hickory”
because of his toughness during disputes. The heaviest of American hardwoods, the hickories can be difficult to machine and
glue, and are very hard to work with hand tools, so care is needed. They hold nails and screws well, but there is a tendency
to split so pre-boring is advised. The wood can be sanded to a good finish. The grain pattern welcomes a full range of medium-to-dark
finishes and bleaching treatments. It can be difficult to dry and has high shrinkage. The density and strength of the hickories
will vary according to the rate of growth, with the true hickories generally showing higher values than the pecan hickories.
The wood is well-known for its very good strength and shock resistance and it also has excellent steam-bending properties.
Extremely tough and resilient, even textured, quite hard and only moderately heavy. Pacific
Coast Maple: It Grows Principally in the Pacific Northwest, where it is an abundant commercial hardwood.
Average height is 60 ft. It grows scattered or in small groves. Its Main Uses are for Furniture, kitchen cabinets, doors,
shutters, moldings, panel stock, turnings, carvings and kitchen utensils. Very fast growing; it is the second most abundant
species of hardwood PC Maple is easy on the pocket book; it’s about half the cost of hard maple. PC maple machines well
and is excellent for turning. It nails, screws and glues well and can be sanded, stained or painted to a good finish. PC maple
has medium density, but is slightly harder than eastern soft maple. It has medium bending strength, shock resistance and stiffness. Poplar: Yellow poplar trees grow taller than any other USA. hardwood species
and they are members of the magnolia family. The bark the leaves, flowers, fruit and roots contain pharmaceuticals. Poplar
is the state tree of Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. Widespread throughout Eastern USA. Tree heights can reach 150 feet.
Its Main Uses are Light construction, furniture, kitchen cabinets, doors, musical instruments, siding, paneling, moldings
and millwork, edge-glued panels, turnings and carvings. The poplar tree is rarely attacked by parasites. A versatile wood
that is easy to machine, plane, turn, glue and bore. It dries easily with minimal movement in performance and has little tendency
to split when nailed. It takes and holds paint, enamel and stain exceptionally well. A medium density wood with low bending,
shock resistance, stiffness and compression values, with a medium steam-bending classification. It has excellent strength
and stability. Sassafras: It Grows Sporadically
distributed throughout the Eastern USA. Height varies with region: southern trees generally grow tallest with average heights
of 80 feet. Its Main Uses Furniture, millwork and moldings, windows, doors and door frames and kitchen cabinets. Sassafras
tea can be made from boiling the tree’s flowers and the root bark. Sassafras oil from the tree’s root can also
be used to perfume soap and as medicine. Chewing on sassafras twigs stimulates saliva production: a useful fact for desperately
thirsty hikers. Sir Walter Raleigh took sassafras back to England from Virginia. In what were called the Great Sassafras Hunts
from 1602-1603, ships were sent from England to collect the roots. Sassafras roots then were converted into a tonic that smelled
like root beer and supposedly kept its drinkers youthful and healthy. Sassafras was also used as dye to give fabric an orange
tint. Sassafras heartwood is pale brown to orange brown, resembling ash or chestnut. The narrow sapwood is yellowish white.
The wood has a coarse texture and is generally straight-grained. It is Well-known as an aromatic species. Sassafras is easily
worked and takes a finish well. It glues well and holds screws better than it nails, where pre-boring may be necessary to
avoid splitting. It requires care in drying as it has a tendency to check with small movement in performance. With a medium
strength in all categories except stiffness that is low. Sassafras is suitable for steam bending. Soft Maple: It Grows Throughout Eastern USA, and to a lesser extent on the West Coast (big
leaf maple). Average tree height is 60 to 80 feet. Its Main Uses are for Furniture, paneling and millwork, kitchen cabinets,
moldings, doors, musical instruments, and turnings. Soft maple is often used as a substitute for hard maple or stained to
resemble other species such as cherry. Its physical and working properties also make it a possible substitute for beech. Charcoal
is often made from soft maple. Soft maple machines well and can be stained to an excellent finish. It glues, screws, and nails
satisfactorily. Polishes well and are suitable for enamel finishes and brown tones. It dries slowly with minimal degrade and
there is little movement in performance. Soft maple is about 25 percent less hard than hard maple, has medium bending and
crushing strength, and is low in stiffness and shock resistance. It has good steam-bending properties Sycamore: It Grows Throughout Eastern USA. Average tree height is 60 to 125 feet with peeling
outer bark and a smooth, mottled cream, tan and green inner bark resembling camouflage. Its Main Uses are for Furniture, furniture
parts (drawer sides), millwork, paneling and moldings, flooring, kitchenware, butcher blocks, toys and fruit crates. The sycamore
has the largest leaf of any tree native to North America. The wood machines well, but high speed cutters are needed to prevent
chipping. It is resistant to splitting due to the interlocked grain. The wood glues well and stains, with care, to an excellent
finish. It dries fairly rapidly, with a tendency to warp. It has moderate shrinkage and little movement in performance. The
wood is classified as moderate in weight, hardness, stiffness and shock resistance. It turns well on the lathe and has good
bending Walnut: The roots of the walnut tree release a toxic material that may kill
other plants growing above them. From the time of ancient Greeks until well into modern European history, walnuts symbolized
fertility and were strewn at weddings. Just the opposite, in Romania, brides who wished to delay childbearing placed into
the bodice of their wedding dresses one walnut for each year they hoped to wait. It Grows Throughout Eastern U.S., but principal
commercial region is the Central states. Average tree height of 100 to 150 feet. Its Main Uses are for Furniture, cabinets,
architectural millwork, doors, flooring, paneling, and gun stocks. Walnut is a favored wood for using in contrast with lighter-colored
species. Walnut is one of the few American species planted as well as naturally regenerated. Walnut works easily with
hand and machine tools, and nails, screws and glues well. It holds paint and stain very well for an exceptional finish and
is readily polished. It dries slowly, and care is needed to avoid kiln degrade. Walnut has good dimensional stability. Walnut
is a tough hardwood of medium density, with moderate bending and crushing strengths and low stiffness. It has a good steam-bending
classification. Willow: It Grows Principal commercial areas are the Middle and Southern
states, along the Mississippi River. Average tree height is usually no taller than 30 to 40 feet. Its Main Uses are for Furniture,
moldings and millwork, paneling, doors, sports equipment, kitchen utensils and toys. Good walnut substitute. The chemical
predecessor of aspirin originally was isolated from willow bark. Willow works fairly easily with hand and machine tools but
care is needed to avoid a fuzzy surface when interlocked grain is present. The wood nails and screws well, glues excellently,
and can be sanded to a very good finish. It dries fairly rapidly with minimal degrade although may be susceptible to moisture
pockets. Dimensional stability is good when dry. The wood is weak in bending, compression, shock-resistance and stiffness,
with a poor steam-bending classification |
Red oak: Main Uses are for Furniture, flooring, architectural millwork and moldings’,
doors, kitchen cabinets, paneling and caskets. The Latin name for oak, Quercus, means "a fine tree." The oaks have
been key in America's industrial transformation: railroad ties, wheels, plows, looms, barrels and, of course, furniture
and floors. The oak is the state tree of New Jersey. It Grows throughout Eastern USA. The oaks are by far the most abundant
species group growing in the Eastern hardwood forests. Red oaks grow more abundantly than the white oaks. The red oak group
comprises many species, of which about eight are commercial. Average tree height is 60 to 80 feet. The wood is hard and heavy,
with medium bending strength and stiffness and high crushing strength. It is very good for steam bending. Great wear-resistance
and is the most widely used species.White
oak: Main Uses are for Furniture, flooring, architectural millwork, moldings’, doors, kitchen
cabinets, paneling, barrel staves (tight cooperage) and caskets. White oak is impervious to liquids, and has been used extensively
for ship timbers, barrels and casks. White oak is the state tree of Connecticut, Illinois and Maryland. White oak machines
well nails and screws well although pre-boring is advised. Since it reacts with iron, galvanized nails are recommended. Its
adhesive properties are variable, but it stains to a good finish. Can be stained with a wide range of finish tones. The wood
dries slowly. A hard and heavy wood with medium bending and crushing strength, low in stiffness, but very well in steam bending.
Great wear-resistance. Alder: Grows Principally the Pacific Northwest, where it is the most abundant
commercial hardwood. Average height is 90 feet and the tree matures in 25 to 40 years, but will begin to deteriorate by 60
to 80 years of age. Alder grows well on burned over lands and thrives in areas that have been ravaged by fire, earthquakes
or logging. Main Uses are for Furniture, kitchen cabinets, doors, shutters, moldings’, panel stock, turnings, carvings
and kitchen utensils. Alder is used in the smoking of meats and fish. Red alder, a relative of birch, is almost white when
freshly cut but quickly changes on exposure to air, becoming light brown with a yellow or reddish tinge. Heartwood is formed
only in trees of advanced age and there is no visible boundary between sap and heartwood. The wood is fairly straight-grained
with a uniform texture. Red alder machines well and is excellent for turning. It nails, screws and glues well, and can be
sanded, painted, or stained to a good finish. When stained, it blends with walnut, mahogany or cherry. It dries easily with
little degrade and has good dimensional stability after drying. Red alder is a relatively soft hardwood of medium density
that has low bending strength, shock resistance and stiffness. Ash: Norse
mythology refers to ash as "the mighty tree that supports the heavens" and "below earth its roots went down
to hell." Ash belongs to the olive family, although its only fruit is a dart-like winged seed. Ash is a popular species
for food containers because the wood has no taste. Admiral Richard Byrd wore snowshoes made from ash during his polar expeditions
and early windmills were made from this species. It Grows Throughout the Eastern USA. White ash trees range in height from
80 to 120 feet with diameter from 2 to 5 feet. Main Uses are for Furniture, flooring, doors, architectural millwork and moldings,
kitchen cabinets, paneling, tool handles, baseball bats, hockey sticks, billiard cues, skis, oars and turnings. At one time
ash was the preferred wood for making tennis racquets. Ash machines well, is good in nailing, screwing and gluing, and can
be stained to a very good finish. It dries fairly easily with minimal degrade, and there is little movement in performance.
Ash has very good overall strength properties relative to its weight. It has excellent shock resistance and is good for steam
bending. Aspen: It Grows Commercially in the Northeast. Average tree height is 40 to
60 feet. The aspen has a short life span: just before reaching full growth, it has a tendency to suffer from decay. Aspens
are known for seeding and thriving in places where fires have been. Main Uses are for Furniture parts (drawer sides), doors,
moldings’, picture frames, millwork, toys, kitchen utensils, food containers, baskets and matchsticks. Important specialized
uses include sauna laths because of its low conductivity of heat, and chopsticks. Aspen dose not split when nailed, it
machines easily with a slightly fuzzy surface, and turns, bores, and sands well. It takes paint and stain well to produce
a good finish although care is required where the surface is fuzzy. It has low to moderate shrinkage and good dimensional
stability. Aspen is a true poplar, and therefore has similar characteristics and properties to cottonwood. The wood is light
and soft, with low bending strength and stiffness, and medium shock resistance. It has a very low bending classification.
It is Limited in Availability and rarely available in thick stock. Basswood: The
name comes from its inner bark, or bast, used by Native Americans to make rope. It Grows Principally the Northern and Lake
states. Average tree height is 65 feet. Its Main Uses are for Carvings, turnings, furniture, pattern making, moldings’,
millwork and musical instruments. An important specialized use is Venetian blinds and shutters. Native Americans also used
basswood’s inner bark fibers to make thread and fabric. Basswood machines well and is easy to work with hand tools making
it a premier carving wood. It nails, screws, and glues fairly well and can be sanded and stained to a good smooth finish.
It dries fairly rapidly with little distortion or degrading. It has fairly high shrinkage but good dimensional stability when
dry. The wood is light and soft with generally low strength properties and a poor steam-bending classification Beech: Known as "Mother of the Forest" for its nutrient-rich humus.
Beech has a long, illustrious past. The Aryan Tribes of Asia, the earliest known people to use a written language, carved
their messages into the soft, smooth pliable bark of the beech tree trunk. The writings, cut out of the bark and used intact,
were called "boc," which eventually became "book. It Grows Throughout the Eastern USA, commercial concentration
is in the Central and Middle Atlantic states. Average tree height is 120 feet. It’s Main Uses are for Furniture, doors,
flooring, millwork, paneling, brush handles, wooden ware, bending stock, toys and turnings. It is particularly suitable for
food and liquid containers since there is no odor or taste. Beech was used to make snuffboxes as well as mortars and pestles.
Beech works readily with most hand and machine tools. It has good nailing and gluing properties and can be stained to a good
finish. The wood dries fairly rapidly but with a strong tendency to warp, split and surface check. It is subject to a high
shrinkage and moderate movement in performance. Beech is classed as heavy, hard, strong, high in resistance to shock
and highly suitable for steam bending. Good resistance to abrasive wear Birch: From
sap to bark, birch trees are used to make everything from beer to toothpicks. Native Americans stretched birch bark on their
canoe frames and used the wood for their arrows. The birch is New Hampshire's state tree. It is also popular as an ornamental
tree and has gained the nickname "Mother Tree" because birches were planted at the White House to honor the mothers
of USA presidents. The oil extracted from the bark contains a chemical used to treat rheumatism and inflammations. Eastern
USA, principally Northern and Lake states. The average tree is 60 to 70 feet in height. Birch prefers valleys and stream banks
although it adapts itself to higher grounds. It’s Main Uses are for Furniture, millwork and paneling, doors, flooring,
kitchen cabinets, turnings and toys. Native Americans often rolled and burned birch bark to keep mosquitoes away. Yellow birch
has a white sapwood and light reddish brown heartwood. The wood is generally straight-grained with a fine uniform texture.
Generally characterized by a plain and often curly or wavy pattern. The wood works fairly easily, glues well with care, takes
stain extremely well, and nails and screws satisfactorily where pre-boring is advised. It dries rather slowly with little
degrade, but it has moderately high shrinkage, so is susceptible to movement in performance. The wood of yellow birch is heavy,
hard and strong. It has very good bending properties, with good crushing strength and shock resistance Cherry: Like all fruit trees, cherry belongs to the rose family. American Colonists used
the cherry tree for its fruit, medicinal properties and home furnishings. They mixed cherry juice with rum to create Cherry
Bounce, a bitter but highly favored cordial. The bark was used in the production of drugs to treat bronchitis, and cherry
stalks were used to make tonics. It Grows Throughout Midwestern and Eastern USA. Main commercial areas: Pennsylvania, Virginia,
West Virginia and New York. Average tree height is 60 to 80 feet. Cherry trees can live to the extreme ages of 150 to 200
years. It’s Main Uses are for Fine furniture and cabinet making, moldings’ and millwork, kitchen cabinets, paneling,
flooring, doors, boat interiors, musical instruments, turnings and carvings. Early printmakers used cherry for their engraving
blocks. The heartwood of cherry varies from rich red to reddish brown and will darken with age and on exposure to light. In
contrast, the sapwood is creamy white. The wood has a fine uniform, straight grain, satiny, smooth texture, and may naturally
contain brown pith flecks and small gum pockets. Cherry is easy to machine, nails and glues well and when sanded and stained,
it produces an excellent smooth finish. It dries fairly quickly with moderately high shrinkage, but is dimensionally stable
after kiln drying. The wood is of medium density with good bending properties, it has low stiffness and medium strength and
shock resistance. Cottonwood: Cottonwood is the state tree of Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming.
It grows in the Eastern U.S., main commercial areas: Middle and Southern states. Average tree height is 80 to 100 feet. Cottonwoods
have rapid growth throughout their first 40 years, then grow slowly for the many years after. Some have been known to reach
100 feet in height in fifteen years. It’s Main Uses are for Furniture, furniture parts, millwork and moldings’,
toys and kitchen utensils. Specialized uses are Venetian blinds, shutters, and caskets. Together, aspen, basswood, cottonwood,
elm, gum, hackberry, sassafras, sycamore and willow represent 12.5 percent of commercially available USA hardwoods. Cottonwoods
were a welcome sight for pioneers moving westward. The cottonwoods marked the presence of streams in the otherwise treeless
Great Plains. General machinability is fair, although tension wood is frequently present and can cause a fuzzy surface when
cut, which in turn will require additional care when finishing. The wood glues well and has good resistance to splitting when
nailing and screwing. It dries easily but may still have a tendency to warp, with slight movement in performance. Cottonwood
is relatively light in weight. The wood is soft, weak in bending and compression, and low in shock resistance. It has no odor
or taste when dry. Cypress: Cypress trees are conifers, but unlike most American softwoods, these
are deciduous trees that shed foliage in the fall like hardwoods. Although cypress is a softwood, it grows alongside hardwoods
and traditionally has been grouped and manufactured with hardwoods. The oils in cypress' heartwood make it one of the
most durable woods when exposed to moisture conditions causing decay. It grows Most cypress trees are natives of the South.
They are found primarily in wet, swampy areas along the Atlantic Coastal Plain from Delaware to Florida, and west along the
Gulf of Mexico to the border of Texas and Mexico. Cypress also thrives along the Mississippi Valley from the Louisiana delta
to southern Indiana. Cypress roots love water. Some trees growing on wet sites develop what are called cypress "knees"
or pneumatophores. The knee-like upright growths come from the roots, helping to support the tree and also to aerate the waterlogged
root system. The wood from the knees is soft and light and can be used to make vases and novelty items. It’s Main Uses
are for Exterior: siding, shutters, shingles, trim, fence posts. Interior: paneling, molding, millwork, cabinetry, flooring,
furniture. During the Middle Ages, European craftsmen carved massive cathedral doors from cypress. The sapwood is pale yellow
white with the heartwood varying in color from light to dark or reddish brown. Cypress machines well, planes easily and resists
warping. Pre-boring at board edges will help prevent splitting. It nails and screws very well. It glues well, sands easily
and readily accepts finishes Elm: Elm is the state tree of Massachusetts and North Dakota.
It grows in the Eastern to Midwest USA. Average tree height is 40 to 60 feet. Its Main Uses are for Furniture, cabinet making,
flooring, millwork, paneling and caskets. The red elm has a glue-like substance in its inner bark that formerly was steeped
in water as a remedy for throat ailments; powdered for use in poultices, and chewed as a thirst-quencher. Red elm has a greyish
white to light brown narrow sapwood, with heartwood that is reddish brown to dark brown in color. The grain can be straight,
but is often interlocked. The wood has a coarse texture. The wood of red elm is fairly easy to work, it nails, screws and
glues well, and can be sanded and stained to a good finish. It dries well with minimum degrade and little movement in performance.
Elm is moderately heavy, hard and stiff with excellent bending and shock resistance. It is difficult to split because of its
interlocked grain. Gum: The origins of its Latin name, liquid amber styraciflua, are traced to
the writings of Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez who, in 1519, described the gums as “large trees that exude a gum-like
liquid amber in color. The gums are an important part of the Eastern hardwood forests, and are found throughout the Southeastern
U.S. Average tree height is 80 to 120 feet: they prefer rich, moist soil and grow vigorously on occasionally flooded land.
It’s Main Uses are for Cabinet making, furniture parts, doors, millwork, strips and moldings’, turnings and rail
ties. Good substitute for walnut when stained. Storax, the clear, balsamic oleoresin that the tree secretees, often is used
for medicinal and pharmaceutical preparations and it is used for adhesives, incense, perfuming, powders and soaps. The wood
is easy to work, with both hand and machine tools. It nails, screws and glues well, takes stain easily and can be sanded to
an excellent finish. It dries rapidly with a strong tendency to warp and twist. It has a high shrinkage, and is susceptible
to movement in performance. American gum is moderately hard, stiff and heavy and has a low steam-bending classification. Hackberry: It Grows in the Eastern USA. Average tree height is 130 feet. Its
Main Uses are Furniture and kitchen cabinets, millwork, doors and moldings. Historically, most Southern church pews were made
of hackberry. It often is used for farm implements as well as crates and boxes. The wood planes and turns well and is intermediate
in its ability to hold nails and screws, and stains satisfactorily. Hackberry dries readily with minimal degrade. It has a
fairly high shrinkage and is most suitable in cut stock (small/short pieces). Hackberry is moderately hard, heavy and has
medium bending strength, high shock resistance but is low in stiffness. It has a good steam-bending classification. Hard Maple: The hard maple is the state tree of Wisconsin, Vermont, New York
and West Virginia. In the North, during the cold nights and warm days of late winter, the sugar maple is tapped for its sucrose-containing
sap, the source of maple syrup. It may take up to 30 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. Early American settlers used
maple ashes to make soap and Native Americans crafted their spears from hard maple. Until the turn of the century, the heels
of women's shoes were made from maple. Maple has been a favorite of American furniture makers since early Colonial days.
Hard maple is the standard wood for cutting boards because it imparts no taste to food and holds up well. It grows in the
Eastern USA, principally Mid-Atlantic and Lake states. A cold weather tree favoring a more northerly climate, its average
height is 130 feet. Its Main Uses are for Flooring, furniture, paneling, ballroom and gymnasium floors, kitchen cabinets,
work tops, table tops, butchers blocks, toys, kitchenware and millwork: stairs, handrails, moldings, and doors. A single sugar
maple tree produces up to 12 gallons of sap a year. Hard maple dries slowly with high shrinkage, so it can be susceptible
to movement in performance. Pre-boring is recommended when nailing and screwing. With care it machines well, turns well, glues
satisfactorily, and can be stained to an outstanding finish. Polishes well and is suitable for enamel finishes and brown tones.
The wood is hard and heavy with good strength properties, in particular its high resistance to abrasion and wear. It also
has good steam-bending properties. The higher quality grades of lumber are available selected for white color (sapwood) although
this can limit availability. Figured maple (birds-eye, curly, fiddleback) is generally only available in commercial volumes
as veneer. Hickory and Pecan: Its name is an English contraction of the Native American
"powcohicora." In Eastern North America, it survived the catastrophic changes of the Glacial Epoch, some 50 million
years ago. Thus, it is the first strictly American hardwood species. Westward trekking pioneers made hickory a prerequisite
for their wagon wheels. Later, the Wright Brothers whittled hickory for their "flying contraption." Hickory sawdust
and chips are used to flavor meat by smoking. Commercially, the pecan is the most important native North American nut tree
and it is the state tree of Texas. Pecan was a Native American name given to any nut hard enough to require cracking with
a stone. Native Americans, particularly in the Northeast, used hickory for their bows. It Grows in the Eastern USA, principal
commercial areas: Central and Southern states. Tree height ranges from 60 to 120 feet. Hickories grow slowly and it is not
unusual for a tree to take 200 years to mature. Its Main Uses are Tool handles, furniture, cabinetry, flooring, paneling,
wooden ladders, dowels and sporting goods. Andrew Jackson, seventh president of the USA, was nicknamed “Old Hickory”
because of his toughness during disputes. The heaviest of American hardwoods, the hickories can be difficult to machine and
glue, and are very hard to work with hand tools, so care is needed. They hold nails and screws well, but there is a tendency
to split so pre-boring is advised. The wood can be sanded to a good finish. The grain pattern welcomes a full range of medium-to-dark
finishes and bleaching treatments. It can be difficult to dry and has high shrinkage. The density and strength of the hickories
will vary according to the rate of growth, with the true hickories generally showing higher values than the pecan hickories.
The wood is well-known for its very good strength and shock resistance and it also has excellent steam-bending properties.
Extremely tough and resilient, even textured, quite hard and only moderately heavy. Pacific
Coast Maple: It Grows Principally in the Pacific Northwest, where it is an abundant commercial hardwood.
Average height is 60 ft. It grows scattered or in small groves. Its Main Uses are for Furniture, kitchen cabinets, doors,
shutters, moldings, panel stock, turnings, carvings and kitchen utensils. Very fast growing; it is the second most abundant
species of hardwood PC Maple is easy on the pocket book; it’s about half the cost of hard maple. PC maple machines well
and is excellent for turning. It nails, screws and glues well and can be sanded, stained or painted to a good finish. PC maple
has medium density, but is slightly harder than eastern soft maple. It has medium bending strength, shock resistance and stiffness. Poplar: Yellow poplar trees grow taller than any other USA. hardwood species
and they are members of the magnolia family. The bark the leaves, flowers, fruit and roots contain pharmaceuticals. Poplar
is the state tree of Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. Widespread throughout Eastern USA. Tree heights can reach 150 feet.
Its Main Uses are Light construction, furniture, kitchen cabinets, doors, musical instruments, siding, paneling, moldings
and millwork, edge-glued panels, turnings and carvings. The poplar tree is rarely attacked by parasites. A versatile wood
that is easy to machine, plane, turn, glue and bore. It dries easily with minimal movement in performance and has little tendency
to split when nailed. It takes and holds paint, enamel and stain exceptionally well. A medium density wood with low bending,
shock resistance, stiffness and compression values, with a medium steam-bending classification. It has excellent strength
and stability. Sassafras: It Grows Sporadically
distributed throughout the Eastern USA. Height varies with region: southern trees generally grow tallest with average heights
of 80 feet. Its Main Uses Furniture, millwork and moldings, windows, doors and door frames and kitchen cabinets. Sassafras
tea can be made from boiling the tree’s flowers and the root bark. Sassafras oil from the tree’s root can also
be used to perfume soap and as medicine. Chewing on sassafras twigs stimulates saliva production: a useful fact for desperately
thirsty hikers. Sir Walter Raleigh took sassafras back to England from Virginia. In what were called the Great Sassafras Hunts
from 1602-1603, ships were sent from England to collect the roots. Sassafras roots then were converted into a tonic that smelled
like root beer and supposedly kept its drinkers youthful and healthy. Sassafras was also used as dye to give fabric an orange
tint. Sassafras heartwood is pale brown to orange brown, resembling ash or chestnut. The narrow sapwood is yellowish white.
The wood has a coarse texture and is generally straight-grained. It is Well-known as an aromatic species. Sassafras is easily
worked and takes a finish well. It glues well and holds screws better than it nails, where pre-boring may be necessary to
avoid splitting. It requires care in drying as it has a tendency to check with small movement in performance. With a medium
strength in all categories except stiffness that is low. Sassafras is suitable for steam bending. Soft Maple: It Grows Throughout Eastern USA, and to a lesser extent on the West Coast (big
leaf maple). Average tree height is 60 to 80 feet. Its Main Uses are for Furniture, paneling and millwork, kitchen cabinets,
moldings, doors, musical instruments, and turnings. Soft maple is often used as a substitute for hard maple or stained to
resemble other species such as cherry. Its physical and working properties also make it a possible substitute for beech. Charcoal
is often made from soft maple. Soft maple machines well and can be stained to an excellent finish. It glues, screws, and nails
satisfactorily. Polishes well and are suitable for enamel finishes and brown tones. It dries slowly with minimal degrade and
there is little movement in performance. Soft maple is about 25 percent less hard than hard maple, has medium bending and
crushing strength, and is low in stiffness and shock resistance. It has good steam-bending properties Sycamore: It Grows Throughout Eastern USA. Average tree height is 60 to 125 feet with peeling
outer bark and a smooth, mottled cream, tan and green inner bark resembling camouflage. Its Main Uses are for Furniture, furniture
parts (drawer sides), millwork, paneling and moldings, flooring, kitchenware, butcher blocks, toys and fruit crates. The sycamore
has the largest leaf of any tree native to North America. The wood machines well, but high speed cutters are needed to prevent
chipping. It is resistant to splitting due to the interlocked grain. The wood glues well and stains, with care, to an excellent
finish. It dries fairly rapidly, with a tendency to warp. It has moderate shrinkage and little movement in performance. The
wood is classified as moderate in weight, hardness, stiffness and shock resistance. It turns well on the lathe and has good
bending Walnut: The roots of the walnut tree release a toxic material that may kill
other plants growing above them. From the time of ancient Greeks until well into modern European history, walnuts symbolized
fertility and were strewn at weddings. Just the opposite, in Romania, brides who wished to delay childbearing placed into
the bodice of their wedding dresses one walnut for each year they hoped to wait. It Grows Throughout Eastern U.S., but principal
commercial region is the Central states. Average tree height of 100 to 150 feet. Its Main Uses are for Furniture, cabinets,
architectural millwork, doors, flooring, paneling, and gun stocks. Walnut is a favored wood for using in contrast with lighter-colored
species. Walnut is one of the few American species planted as well as naturally regenerated. Walnut works easily with
hand and machine tools, and nails, screws and glues well. It holds paint and stain very well for an exceptional finish and
is readily polished. It dries slowly, and care is needed to avoid kiln degrade. Walnut has good dimensional stability. Walnut
is a tough hardwood of medium density, with moderate bending and crushing strengths and low stiffness. It has a good steam-bending
classification. Willow: It Grows Principal commercial areas are the Middle and Southern
states, along the Mississippi River. Average tree height is usually no taller than 30 to 40 feet. Its Main Uses are for Furniture,
moldings and millwork, paneling, doors, sports equipment, kitchen utensils and toys. Good walnut substitute. The chemical
predecessor of aspirin originally was isolated from willow bark. Willow works fairly easily with hand and machine tools but
care is needed to avoid a fuzzy surface when interlocked grain is present. The wood nails and screws well, glues excellently,
and can be sanded to a very good finish. It dries fairly rapidly with minimal degrade although may be susceptible to moisture
pockets. Dimensional stability is good when dry. The wood is weak in bending, compression, shock-resistance and stiffness,
with a poor steam-bending classification |
__________________________________________________________________________ Drywall
tips:________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Drywall
tips:________________________________________ You can hang drywall either with the long edges horizontal or vertical.
Hanging the drywall horizontally reduces the number of vertical joints at the middle of walls. If you install drywall horizontally,
be sure all joints are supported at the ends. If you install drywall vertically, you won’t need nailing blocks –
the stud acts as the nailing block. All drywall joints must be supported, or they’ll crack. Whether hung vertically
or horizontally, proper fastening is essential. If you have a drywall screw gun, drive screws every 12" on ceiling joists
and every 16" on wall studs. Adjust the gun so it sets the screw just slightly into the board without breaking the paper.
Some drywall specialists set the board initially with a few nails driven at the edges and then secure the board in place with
screws. If you nail the board in place, drive a nail every 8" along wall studs and every 6" along ceiling
joists. Use 4d ring shank nails on 3/8" board and 5d ring shank nails on 1/2" board. Keep nails at least 3/8"
away from the edges of the board. Use a drywall hammer with a slightly convex head that leaves a dimple at each nail location.
Be careful not to break the surface of the paper. The dimple will be covered later with drywall joint compound (mud). Also
be aware of where you’re driving fasteners. There may be pipe runs through the studs, and copper pipe is thin, soft
and easily punctured with a drywall nail or a screw. Copper pipes and wire are supposed to be protected by metal plates to
prevent punctures. But don’t count on it. Take care when working around pocket door frames. Don’t drive any nails
or screw points into the pocket door cavity. When in doubt, use shorter nails or screws. Drywall is heavy. If you’re
hanging full 4’ x 8’ sheets on ceilings, you’ll need a crew of at least two, and three would be better.
One person working alone can drywall ceilings if it’s an emergency, but it’s not recommended. Start with the ceiling
panels. Center the panel edges on the ceiling joist. Plan the layout so that any cut edges will wind up in the corners, and
not in the middle of the ceiling. All joints must center on a joist. If there’s no ceiling joist where you need one,
you’ll have to add one. Don’t cut the drywall sheets to make the joint center on a joist – the seam will
show. Hanging DrywallHanging Drywall __________________________________________________________________________ When
the ceiling is done, begin hanging drywall on the walls. The standard ceiling height is 97-1/8" between the floor and
the bottom of the ceiling joists. Subtracting 1/2" for the thickness of ceiling panels leaves a 96-5/8" wall height.
Two panel widths total 96". Hang wall panels 5/8" above the finished floor for a snug fit at the ceiling. The 5/8"
at the floor will be covered with baseboard. Use a drywall foot lift to hold the panel 5/8" above the floor while driving
nails or screws. Regular core 1/2" drywall panels are recommended for single-layer wall application in new residential
construction. 3/8" panels are recommended for ceilings in residential repair and remodeling in single or double-layers.
Type X drywall is designed to meet requirements for fire safety. Greenboard is water-resistant for use behind tile. Brownboard
is designed for exterior sheathing or soffits. Joint compound comes in both powder and pre-mixed forms. Home improvement
specialists such as Parko Home Restorations of Canton, Michigan generally use pre-mixed compound as a topping compound. Dry
mix has to be used right away after adding water. Pre-mixed cement will last for weeks if kept in a sealed container. Regardless
of which you use, the mix should have a soft, putty-like consistency that spreads easily with a trowel or wide putty knife.
Mud that runs off the knife is too thin. Most drywall has a tapered, or beveled edge. Joint compound and tape fill this
recess, leaving a smooth, flat surface. If a sheet has been cut to fit, the edge won’t be tapered. You can tape a square
edge the same way you tape beveled edges, the joint compound will rise slightly above the finished surface. The extra depth
won’t be as obvious if you feather out the joint compound at least 4" beyond the joint, but one located in the
middle of the ceiling is going to be noticeable. In the corners, a taped cut edge won’t show. Taping and feathering
cut joints will slow your job down to a crawl. Avoid this situation whenever possible. Taping and finishing joints takes
three or four days. Paper joint tape is the most economical, about $2.50 per thousand square feet of board hung. Fiberglass
tape costs more, about $6.00 per thousand square feet of board. But self-adhesive fiberglass joint mesh needs no embedding
coat and is more durable than paper tape. It flexes rather than curling or tearing if the joint moves. Which is the
method chosen by Parko Home Restorations of Canton Michigan which serves all of your home improvement, remodeling and handyman
services. __________________________________________________________________________ Taping and Finishing Drywall 1.
Start with the ceiling and work down the walls. If you’ve selected paper tape rather than fiberglass, spread joint compound
over panel edges with a 5"-wide taping knife. Don’t skimp on the mud. If you’re using self-adhesive fiberglass
tape, press tape over the joints and skip to step three below. Taping and Finishing DrywallTaping and Finishing Drywall __________________________________________________________________________ 2.
Press the paper tape into the mud with a drywall knife, not your hand. Then smooth the surface with the knife. Press hard
enough to force joint compound through the small perforations in the tape, if the tape has perforations. But don't press
too hard. Some mud should remain under the tape. When you’re done taping and embedding the tape, let everything dry
overnight before beginning the finish coats. 3. Cover the tape with cement, feathering the outer edges at least 2"
on each side of the paper tape. Feather an additional 2" when covering a cut joint, as there’s no taper. Then let
the cement dry overnight. 4. When dry, sand lightly. A pole sander speeds this work. Then apply a thin second finish
coat, feathering the edges a little past the edge of the prior coat. Use drywall topping compound designed for finish coats
to create a smooth joint that’s easy to sand. You can buy "all-purpose" compound, which can be used both for
bedding and topping. But it’s better to use bedding compound for bedding, and topping compound for finishing. Use a
wider drywall knife for this finish coat, up to 12" wide. To save sanding time, keep this finish coat as smooth as possible.
For top quality work, apply a third coat of mud after the second coat has dried and been sanded. 5. When the last coat
of cement is dry, sand smooth. 6. Fill all nail and screw dimples with at least one coat of joint compound. Sand the
surface after each coat is dry. Use folded perforated tape on interior corners. Fold tape down the center to form a
right angle. Tape designed for this purpose already has a crease down the middle. Then apply cement on each side of the corner
and press tape in place with the putty knife. Use a drywall corner knife to embed the tape on both intersecting walls at the
same time. Finish the corner with a coat of joint compound. Smooth the cement on both surfaces of a corner at the same time
with a corner knife. Let the corner dry overnight and then sand the surface smooth. For exterior corners, use metal
or plastic drywall corner bead. This makes a more durable corner, able to withstand impacts that are likely at external corners.
Also apply paper drywall tape over the edge of the metal bead. Nail or screw outside corners to the board every 8" and
finish with joint compound. When you’re finished applying tape, bead and mud at both internal and external corners,
you should have a 4" strip of mud on each side of every corner. Don’t worry if this strip isn’t smooth. Sanding
and more finishing will follow. Drywall mud shrinks as it dries. So apply a little more than actually needed to make
a smooth finish, especially over fastener heads. Bear in mind that drywall sanding is very messy! It creates huge, choking
clouds of dust. Wear a dust mask to avoid inhaling this stuff. In an unoccupied house, the mess isn’t as much of a problem.
However, if you're working in an occupied home, you'll need to control the dust. Homeowners don't appreciate having
everything in their home covered with a thick layer of white powder. You'll either need to seal off your work area with
plastic sheeting, or use a dustless sanding system, such as a wet sanding sponge. Drywall CeilingsDrywall Ceilings __________________________________________________________________________ If
you plan to install crown molding, taping is needed where walls meet the ceiling to provide a fire blocking. Set the
trim with 8d finishing nails spaced 12" to 16" apart. Be sure to nail into the top wall plate. Drywall ceilings __________________________________________________________________________ Drywall
Ceilings You can apply new drywall directly over old plaster or on furring strips nailed over an uneven plaster ceiling.
Applying furring strips on a ceiling won’t create the problems that furring would on a wall. But furring out the ceiling
will usually be more work than tearing down the ceiling cover and starting over. Use 2" x 2" or 2" x 3"
furring strips nailed perpendicular to the joists. Space these furring strips 16" on center for 3/8" drywall or
24" on center for 1/2" drywall. Nail the furring strips with two 8d nails at each joist. Stagger board end joints.
Be sure board edges end on a joist or furring strip. Don’t jam the boards tightly together. It’s best if there’s
only light contact at each edge. Hanging ceiling panels is easier with a drywall lift that allows precise positioning
while leaving two hands free for driving nails or screws. If you don’t have a drywall lift, cut two braces like the
one shown in Figure 10-8. Make them slightly longer than the ceiling height. Nail or screw the drywall to all supporting members,
spacing the fasteners 7" to 8" apart. If you use nails, select 5d (1-1/4") ring-shank nails for 1/2" drywall
and 4d (1") ring shank nails for 3/8" drywall. Again, don’t break the surface of the paper when driving fasteners.
Finish ceiling joints the same way you finish wall joints. Textured finishes for drywall __________________________________________________________________________ Textured
Finishes for Drywall Wall finish is usually smooth to make cleaning easier. But the ceiling finish may be textured,
usually with some form of joint compound. Texture hides ridges and bumps in the ceiling and improves acoustics by eliminating
echo off the ceiling. But textured ceilings are also an admission that there’s something to hide. Many owners don’t
like textured ceilings and know that texture is used to hide defects. The first thing they'll say when they see a textured
ceiling is, "What's wrong with your ceiling?" Orange peel texture consists of thinned joint compound applied
with a long-nap paint roller. In an emergency, you can make ceiling texture by thinning out joint compound with water until
it reaches a consistency similar to that of paint. But it’s better to buy mix that’s specifically made for texturing.
It’s much easier than trying to make your own. To ensure proper consistency, try applying some mixture to a scrap piece
of drywall held upright. Adjust the consistency as necessary by adding more water or joint compound to the bucket of mixture.
When you’ve got the mixture just right, roll it onto the ceiling or wall. Keep the rolling pattern uniform so the texture
appears to have a grain. When the mixture dries, avoid the temptation to sand the surface. The texture is very fragile. Sanding
can knock off too much of the desirable surface. Textured Finish for DrywallTextured Finish for Drywall __________________________________________________________________________ Spatter
finish is done with a compressor-operated spatter gun that shoots globules of thinned drywall mud on the ceiling at random.
Scrape overspray off the walls. Other mixes are available to create different effects. You can get nearly the same spatter
effect by dipping a stiff-bristle brush in thinned drywall mud and slinging mud on the ceiling with a snap of the wrist. This
takes practice. Don’t count on getting this right on the first attempt. Control the size of the spatters by making the
mix thinner or thicker. Obviously, this is messy work. But it’s an effective technique when you have to match only a
few square feet of spatter-finished ceiling. For minor patching, you can also buy spatter finish in an aerosol can. Knockdown
finish uses the same technique – spatter blown or snapped on the ceiling. But the mix should be stiffer so spatters
are between the size of a pea and a grape. Let the globules dry for a few minutes. Then knock the tops off with a masonry
trowel. Work the trowel in all directions to avoid creating an obvious grain in the texture. Skip trowel or imperial
texture is like a knockdown finish, only more so. Apply mud to the ceiling or wall in a random pattern. Then smooth out what’s
there, leaving irregular patterns of texture in some areas and no texture in others. When done, it should look like Spanish
stucco. Repairing DrywallsRepairing Drywalls __________________________________________________________________________ Veneer
plaster is used in one or two 1/8" coats over a veneer plaster base such as blueboard. Blueboard is similar to drywall,
with a paper surface designed to bond well with the veneer plaster. Apply enough plaster to trowel a smooth, even finish over
the entire surface. It’s a lot of work, but veneer plaster hides imperfections and joints better than regular plaster,
and provides a hard coat that protects the paper surface below. Cottage cheese or popcorn texture is applied with a
compressor, hopper and applicator gun. Although popcorn ceiling texture isn’t currently in fashion, and you’re
not likely to be installing it, you may still be called on to do a repair job. Aerosol sprays are available to match the existing
cottage cheese texture if you’re only patching a small area. No matter what finish you apply, the job isn’t
done until the surface has been primed and painted. Repairing drywall __________________________________________________________________________ Repairing
Drywall Fill nail holes and small cracks in board by applying a smooth coat of drywall compound. Let it dry. Then sand
the surface smooth. Repairing larger h
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