The Wood Guide
Wood species100 Wood species →

Our wood species

Wood groups

European hardwoods

Softwoods

Tropical hardwoods

Treated wood

Sheet materials

Construction timber

Other materials

Comparisons

Which wood for what

Understanding wood17 Understanding wood →

Properties and movement

Calculations and sizes

Pests and decay

Identifying, quality and trade

Wood in our world

Care & finishing28 Care & finishing →

The complete guide

Treating and finishing

By wood species

By furniture and place

Problems and repair

Seasons

Choosing & buying16 Choosing & buying →

Picnic tables

Beer tables

Garden benches

Garden furniture

Garden and atmosphere

Indoors

Build it yourself51 Build it yourself →

In the garden

In and around the house

Making furniture

Techniques

Tools and glue

Getting started

Trees & forests31 Trees & forests →

Tree portraits

Forests

From forest to plank

To the Wood Guide home page →

What is pine wood?

The Wood Guide · The wood register

Softwood · reference

Pine wood

One of the most used words in the timber trade, and one of the least precise. First work out which tree you are dealing with.

  • Botanical: Pinus
  • In the trade: pine (redwood)
  • Softwood, class 4–5
Pinus spp.
Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris)Scots pinePinus sylvestris
Two pine boards (left) next to a spruce board: note the knots (Pinus sylvestris · Picea abies)
Two pine boards (left) next to a spruce board: note the knotsPinus sylvestris · Picea abies
End grain of freshly felled Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris)
End grain of freshly felled Scots pinesPinus sylvestris
In pictures · Pine wood1 / 8
Chapter 1 · The species

Pine wood

One of the most used words in the timber trade, and one of the least precise. First work out which tree you are dealing with.

Click a chapter or use the arrows.

Summary

Pine wood in brief

Before you read anything about its properties, one thing has to be clear: which tree are we calling pine here?

Botanically, a pine is a Pinus — Scots pine, maritime pine, Weymouth pine. A spruce is a Picea, and a silver fir is a Abies. Three different genera, three different woods.

In the timber trade the names are used differently. There they call the wood of Pinus pine and that of Picea spruce. The word "pine wood" is used loosely for both, and sometimes even for Abies. So don't just ask your supplier for "pine wood": ask for pine (redwood) or spruce (whitewood) — then you know what you are getting.

What all three have in common: they are softwoods from the Pinaceae family, with a straight grain, a moderately coarse texture and light flame figure on flat-sawn timber. Light, cheap, easy to work and in durability class 4 to 5.

Telling them apart in practice

Pine (Pinus) is more yellow in colour, richer in resin and has larger, dark knots. Spruce (Picea) is whiter, lower in resin and has smaller knots. If you see clear resin streaks and dark knots, it is pine.

Botanical pine
Pinus spp.
Botanical spruce
Picea spp.
Botanical silver fir
Abies spp. (incl. Abies alba)
Trade name Pinus
pine
Trade name Picea
spruce
Durability
class 4 to 5 — not outdoors untreated

To be honest: the name confusion is not harmless. Order "pine wood" for outdoor work and you may get spruce where pine was intended — and the two take pressure treatment very differently. Always say pine or spruce.

Who's who

Three genera, three names

Botanical Common tree name Trade name of the wood
Pinus sylvestris Scots pine Pine
Picea abies Norway spruce Spruce
Abies alba Silver fir Also sold as spruce (whitewood)
Larix decidua European larch Larch
Pseudotsuga menziesii Douglas fir Douglas fir
Everything in one register

All these species have their own page in The Wood Guide. If you are looking for a softwood for a specific purpose, the comparison between pine and spruce is the best starting point.

Measurable

What softwood has in common

Straight grain

Conifers grow straight up, and you can see that in the wood: a straight, predictable grain direction that makes sawing and planing easy.

Moderately coarse texture

With light flame figure on flat-sawn timber — the characteristic cloudy pattern of a planed board.

Light in weight

400 to 550 kg/m³, depending on species and growth rate. Easy to handle.

Class 4 to 5

Untreated, this wood belongs indoors. Pressure-treated, it lasts ten to fifteen years outdoors.

What we make with it

Our picnic tables and beer table sets are made of pressure-treated spruce: the same kind of softwood, preserved under pressure. That is why they can stay outdoors.

Uses

What softwood is used for

Construction

Beams, purlins, roof structures. Predictable, graded by strength class and affordable.

Furniture making

Solid pine furniture, shelving units, tabletops. Soft and therefore prone to dents.

Instrument making

Silver fir and Norway spruce provide the tonewood for guitars and violins — what counts there is the even, narrow growth ring.

Garden timber, pressure-treated

Pressure-treated softwood is the workhorse of the Belgian garden.

Quick answer

Frequently asked questions about pine wood

Is pine wood the same as redwood?

Botanically, yes: redwood is the trade name for the wood of Pinus, and that is the pine. But in practice "pine wood" is also used for spruce (Picea). Ask for pine (redwood) or spruce (whitewood) if you want to be sure.

What is the difference between pine, spruce and silver fir?

Three genera: pine is Pinus, spruce is Picea, silver fir is Abies. The wood of Pinus is sold as pine (redwood), that of Picea as spruce (whitewood). See pine versus spruce.

Can pine wood be used outdoors?

Barely, if untreated — class 4 to 5. Pressure-treated , it lasts ten to fifteen years, which makes it the most widely used garden timber in the Low Countries.

Why is there resin in pine wood?

Conifers produce resin as a defence against insects and damage. Pine is richer in resin than spruce; those resin streaks can bleed through paint over time, so an insulating primer on pine is no luxury.

More in The Wood Guide

Pine wood in perspective

The most widely used wood in northern Europe, under the least precise name.

To The Wood Guide Pine or spruce? The pine tree and its species

Have a question about your project? Just ask — we're happy to help.

Pinus sylvestris · Picea abies — Torbjörn Axelson, Public domain · Pinus sylvestris — Radomianin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo via Wikimedia Commons: Pinus sylvestris — Dominicus Johannes Bergsma, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Wood Guide

More in Wood species

Other sections:Understanding woodCare & finishingChoosing & buyingBuild it yourselfTrees & forests