The Basics of DIY Wood

Everyone who is interested in the home needs to have some knowledge of wood and its properties. For the keen DIY enthusiast this is, of course, a fundamental requirement. He or she must buy the right type of timber at the keenest price, and it must be properly worked to produce that new cupboard, wall or bookcase. The casual handyperson may never pay a trip to the timber merchant, but driving in screws and repairing items of furniture are occasionally unavoidable. And for everyone there is the task of buying wooden fixtures and fittings, chairs, kitchen units, tables, desks and so on.

Softwoods are used for general joinery such as joists, floorboards, cupboard carcasses etc. Where large sheets are required use one of the manufactured boards, and for a decorative effect which will not need painting buy boards which have a veneer with an attractive hardwood on the surface. For outdoors a naturally protected wood such as teak or cedar is used, or use preservative-treated timber. It may come as a surprise that the various woods nearly all have one drawback or another and it might be price, poor painting or staining quality, inability to soak up preservatives, resistance to standard tools (hard to work) or softness. There are danger points to watch for when buying and a confusing set of terms to understand. Still, your DIY store or timber merchant will have someone to give advice.

Manufactured boards
Manufactured board is made from wood in sheets, strip, shredded or pulped form with resins or glues bonding the pieces or pulp together. There are various types of plywood and block boards are the most expensive; chipboard and ordinary hardboard are the cheapest. Make sure you always buy the right one for the job you have to do, and pay special care if the board will have to withstand outdoor conditions. Where water will be present you must specify an exterior or waterproof grade.

Manufactured board is sometimes regarded as an inferior material designed for people who can't afford 'real' wood. There is indeed a saving in price, but there are also other advantages. The main one is the availability in larger sheets making up wide boards by gluing planks of timber together is not an easy task. Another point in favor of manufactured boards is the freedom from the standard defects you have to look for when buying natural timber.

For the production of finished furniture you can buy coated boards. Melamine coating is the most economical, laminate is very popular and at the top end of the range is board veneered with a decorative hardwood.

Softwoods
Softwood is cut from a conifer such as pine, larch, fir or spruce. The wood is usually lighter and softer than hardwood, but not always, yew is heavier and denser than some hardwoods. A typical softwood comes from a cool or cold climate. This is the wood which is used for nearly all general joinery and house construction work. When the home handyman wants to buy natural (not manufactured) boards or planks for a DIY job the usual choice is between redwood and whitewood and both commonly called 'deal'.

These two woods are widely available in either rough or planed form and in a series of standard widths and thicknesses. For outdoor use you will need wood which has been pre-treated with a preservative and for indoors you will usually require a hardwood-veneered surface if you plan to stain and polish rather than paint. Not always, Scandinavian redwood is now treated with clear polyurethane varnish to produce fashionable 'pine' furniture.

Hardwoods
Hardwood is cut from a deciduous broad-leaved tree, such as oak, mahogany or teak. The wood is usually denser and harder than softwood, but not always, balsa is much lighter than any commercial softwood.

A typical hardwood is heavy and close-grained, which means that it will take a fine polish but is harder to work with than softwood. It is also more expensive sometimes much more expensive, and so hardwood is generally bought either in the form of moldings or as veneers which are applied to softwood or manufactured boards. The exception is ramin, which is available in board form from DIY shops.

There are basically two types temperate hardwoods and tropical hardwoods. The temperate types grow in Europe and other places with cool or cold winters the result is generally a clearly distinct patterning due to the difference between winter and summer growth. The color is usually pale and these woods are notoriously difficult to work. The tropical hardwoods are nearly always darker and the patterning tends to be less distinct. Working is generally easier but there may still be a need to drill pilot holes before nailing.