We exclusively mill Eastern White Pine. We do this because it is the best species of wood for the application. We do not mill Eastern White pine because it is the species closest to our mills; instead, we moved our mills to be closer to this magnificent tree and its abundant supplies in the U.S. East.
Among the many desirable characteristics of Eastern White Pine, one is that it is listed by the U.S. Department of Agricultures wood products laboratory as having the least amount of radial shrinkage as any species of wood used as an engineering material. To the right is a chart showing some of the more common species of wood used in log construction and their shrinkage percentages.
Shrinkage % from green to ovendry moisture content: (As listed by the USDA Forest Products Laboratory) | |
RADIAL | |
---|---|
Eastern White Pine | 2.1 |
Loblolly (Southern Yellow) Pine | 4.8 |
Lodgepole Pine | 4.3 |
Ponderosa Pine | 3.9 |
Red (Norway) Pine | 3.8 |
Shortleaf (Southern Yellow) Pine | 4.6 |
Western White Pine | 4.1 |
Along with the lack of shrinkage, Eastern White Pine is very stable. It experiences the least amount of dimensional change as a result of shrinking or swelling within moisture content limits of (again) any species of wood used as an engineering material.
Another desirable aspect of Eastern White Pine is that it is more decay resistant than other pine species.
(As listed by the USDA Forest Products Laboratory) | |
Moderately resistant |
Slightly or non resistant |
---|---|
Pine, eastern white | Loblolly(Southern Yellow Pine) Lodgepole Pine Ponderosa Pine Red (Norway) Pine Shortleaf (Southern Yellow Pine) Western White Pine Engleman Spruce |
In log home applications, Eastern White Pine is the clear cut choice as the wood species to use. Combined with our double tongue and grooved logs and thru-bolt tightening system we have the best log wall system in the industry.
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