The Best & Worst Timber Wood Species

The Best & Worst Timber Frame Wood Species according to Bert Sarkkinen (Author/Timber Framer)



Q: What is the best species of wood to use for my post and beam project?

Answer: In our neck of the woods (Pacific Northwest) our favorite is Douglas Fir for its strength, and ability to take a multitude of stains. Can handle larger spans. Available in very large sizes for free-of-heart timbers and long beams. A pretty stable wood species with about half the shrinkage of oak.

Cedar is another favorite for its rot resistance although it lacks somewhat in strength. If you’re looking for a weathered look, it grays out in a natural way and doesn’t require a lot of maintenance.

Oak has a very pretty grain pattern and is very strong. The perpendicular to grain strength is the same as its parallel to grain strength. Excellent for bigger spans or high tension loads. Hard to get long lengths and big sizes out of Oak logs. Accepts a multitude of stains.

Q: What are the worst timber species to use?

Answer: Alaskan Spruce: which shrinks endgrain as opposed to perpendicular to grain, which causes serious issues after shrinkage. It’s very easy to chisel, which is a bad sign if you’re looking for structural integrity.

Pine: A weak timber with lots of pitch (sap).

Hemlock: Need super sharp tools to work with and is prone to twisting a lot. Doesn’t have a really pretty grain pattern. Still preferable to pine.

Read the full article here: Timber Wood Species, Drying & Shrinkage

Douglas fir or redwood timbers would be great if you are in the PNW, but obviously shipping timbers cross country is not reasonable unless you have money to burn.

White pine has been used successfully for centuries in the northeast and if harvested right will not have much pitch. Dimensions need to be bigger than oak for the same structure, which is not usually a problem.

Hemlock is strong but splits/checks/shakes easily, and may have more twist than pine even though it often has smaller knots and seldom clusters of knots to make weak points. The wood tends to be stringy which does necessitate very sharp tools.

Red pine has a lot of pitch, rots easier, and has clusters of big knots every couple of feet which weaken it significantly as beams.

Hardwoods not even mentioned in the video but common are ash and maple, both of which are strong and pretty but split out easily at notches or mortises, necessitating careful detailing.

Black cherry is strong, carves well, rot resistant, and in my area can be gotten as decent sized timbers. It also has gorgeous grain and color.

When he speaks of pine is he talking specifically about red pine? I notice that paul uses a lot of lodgepole round timbers up at WL, wondering if hes had much issue with that species?

I would think in the North East the preferred species would be White or Red Spruce. It grows to decent size, is super strong, light and easily worked. I used it on my timber Frame home only because I had plenty of it, but it worked just fine and I hand hewn the beams because that was the look I wanted.

But I would not hesitate to use Eastern Hemlock either. It is super strong and has a really nice reddish grain to it. The only drawback is that it is HEAVY. But pound a pin in it, and then let it dry, and it will NEVER come out. Neither will any nail driven into it.