The Wood Guide · The wood register
Collective name · from our workshopNot a species but a family: wood from broadleaf trees, which grows more slowly and is therefore denser, stronger and more durable. That is the whole difference.
Hardwood comes from broadleaf trees — oak, robinia, chestnut, teak. They grow more slowly than conifers, which gives a denser cell structure: more resistant to wear, moisture and mechanical load.
That slow growth rate — for oak sometimes more than eighty years before it yields usable timber — explains the higher price. But it equally explains why hardwood lasts for decades where softwood gives out after a few years: garden furniture, floors, stairs and structures exposed to the weather day in, day out.
Garden benches, tables, loungers and bistro sets. In our shop, "hardwood" mainly stands for the dense species you don't need to look after. See the hardwood range.
To be fair: hardwood is heavy. A table you move around regularly won't be much fun — and the high density calls for sharper tools when you work it.
Broadleaf or conifer
Hardwood comes from broadleaved trees (angiosperms): trees with enclosed seeds, in a fruit or shell. Softwood comes from conifers (gymnosperms) with naked seeds.
Click a chapter or use the arrows · growth, dents and weights simplified.
The official classification is botanical, not mechanical — and that produces a few surprising exceptions.
Hardwood comes from angiosperms: trees whose seeds are enclosed in a fruit or shell. Softwood comes from gymnosperms, conifers with exposed seeds. That cell structure decides the category — not the hardness itself.
Hence the exceptions: balsa is botanically a broadleaf tree and therefore "hardwood", yet extremely light and soft. Conversely, Douglas fir is a softwood, yet relatively hard for its category. In practice the rule of thumb — broadleaf is hardwood, conifer is softwood — is still the most reliable guide.
With the Janka test: a steel ball is pressed into the wood surface with a fixed force. The higher the value, the harder and more wear-resistant the wood. Spruce is around 2,000 N, oak around 6,500 N, robinia above 7,000 N.
The full comparison is in hardwood versus softwood.
These four are the ones you see most in garden furniture, exterior joinery and floors — with their durability class under EN 350.
Want a full overview of the strongest species for outdoors? Read the top 10 hardwood trees for durable garden furniture.
The European standard EN 350 divides wood species into five classes, based on their natural resistance to fungi and rot. It is the quickest way to know whether a species can go outdoors without treatment.
| Class | Description | Outdoor lifespan (untreated) | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Very durable | more than 25 years | Robinia, teak |
| 2 | Durable | 15–25 years | Oak, chestnut, iroko |
| 3 | Moderately durable | 10–15 years | Douglas fir, larch |
| 4 | Slightly durable | 5–10 years | Pine, spruce |
| 5 | Not durable | less than 5 years | Beech, birch, poplar |
For garden furniture that stays outdoors all year: class 1 or 2. Class 3 can work with regular treatment — which is exactly why our picnic tables are built in pressure-treated softwood. Anything below that needs a sheltered spot.
Our hardwood garden furniture below is made of acacia from plantations in South-East Asia. With regular oiling and a sheltered place in winter, it lasts longest.
Hardwood is not the best choice for every use. For garden furniture and heavy structures it is hard to beat — but there are downsides.
No. The classification is botanical, not mechanical: hardwood comes from broadleaf trees, softwood from conifers. Balsa is botanically a hardwood but extremely soft; Douglas fir is a softwood but relatively hard. As a rule of thumb, broadleaf-is-hardwood does hold.
For furniture that stays outdoors all year we recommend class 1 or 2. Class 3 can work with regular treatment; anything below that needs a sheltered spot or an intensive finish.
Not for durability, with class 1 and 2. You treat it for the colour: untreated, hardwood weathers to silver-grey without losing strength. More on that in caring for hardwood.
Because the trees grow more slowly — for oak sometimes more than eighty years before it yields usable timber. Over the full life of the furniture, that usually more than pays for itself.
Teak is a hardwood, but a special one: it contains natural oils that make it extra stable and water-resistant. The full comparison is in teak or hardwood.
Hardwood is a family, not a species. Our register explains each member separately.
Have a question about your project? Just ask — we're happy to help.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Quercus — Olivier Lemoine, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Quercus — Friedrich Böhringer, CC BY-SA 3.0 at · Wood samples of hardwood and softwood side by side — Tim Sheerman-Chase, CC BY 4.0
