Softwood
The Wood Guide · Choosing and comparing
OverviewSoftwood
The wood of conifers: fast-grown, light, affordable and all around you. And the basis of almost every piece of garden furniture we make.
- 400–550 kg/m³
- Straight grain, resin canals
- Class 3 to 5
Softwood
The wood of conifers: fast-grown, light, affordable and all around you. And the basis of almost every piece of garden furniture we make.
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Softwood in brief
Wood from conifers, also called softwood: Douglas fir, European larch, Norway spruce (spruce) and Scots pine (pine).
Conifers are gymnosperms: they bear their seeds in cones rather than in fruits, and most keep their needles all year round. They grow faster than broadleaf trees, which makes the wood lighter — usually 400 to 550 kg/m³ — and the growth rings wider.
You can see this in the structure: a straight grain, a predictable fibre and resin canals that give the wood some natural protection against moisture and insects. Sawing, screwing and routing are effortless, and that makes softwood the workhorse of building and the garden.
Conifer wood is called softwood because it comes from gymnosperms, not because it is always soft. Douglas fir and larch are harder than many broadleaf woods, and balsa — botanically a hardwood — is softer than any softwood.
- Botanical group
- gymnosperms (Gymnospermae)
- Density
- 400 to 550 kg/m³
- Structure
- straight grain, resin canals
- Growth
- faster than broadleaf wood, wider growth rings
- Durability
- class 3 (Douglas fir, larch) to 4–5 (spruce, pine)
- Strength in
- price, weight and workability
To be honest: untreated softwood is not durable. Spruce and pine, in class 4, last at most four to ten years outdoors; Douglas fir and larch, as class 3, ten to fifteen years. If you want softwood outdoors, you have to pressure-treat, oil or stain it — or choose a naturally more durable species.
The softwoods you will come across
| Species | Class | What for |
|---|---|---|
| Spruce (Picea abies) | 4 | Construction, pressure-treated garden timber — the most widely used |
| Pine (Pinus sylvestris) | 4 | Furniture, interior work, pressure-treated exterior work |
| Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) | 3 | Decking, canopies, outdoor kitchens |
| Larch (Larix decidua) | 3 | Cladding, garden timber |
| Western red cedar (Thuja plicata) | 2 | Facades, garden sheds — the most durable softwood |
| Silver fir (Abies alba) | 4 | Construction, tonewood |
The European larch is the exception: it loses its needles in winter. Botanically it is still a conifer — the leaf shape and the cones determine the group, not whether the tree stays green.
What characterises softwood
Low density
400 to 550 kg/m³. Two people can lift a spruce picnic table; the same table in azobé won't budge off the ground.
Straight grain
Conifers grow straight up, so the fibre runs predictably. Planing and sawing rarely bring surprises.
Resin canals
Natural resin gives some protection against moisture and insects. More pronounced in pine than in spruce.
Takes up preservative well
Especially spruce, which has a lot of sapwood. That is exactly why pressure-treated spruce is the standard garden timber.
Pressure-treated spruce combines three things that rarely go together: it is strong enough for a top 4 centimetres thick, it absorbs the preservative deeply, and it stays affordable for tables two metres long. Tropical hardwood would be three times as expensive and twice as heavy.
Softwood in our range
KING picnic tables
Pressure-treated spruce with boards 4 centimetres thick. The ROYAL KING goes up to 4.5 centimetres.
Beer tables
Same wood, longer span — here the strength-to-weight ratio of softwood counts double.
Douglas fir outdoor kitchens
Douglas fir reaches class 3 without pressure treatment and has a warmer, reddish-brown tint.
Garden chairs
Light enough to move, strong enough to last for years.
Frequently asked questions about softwood
Is conifer wood the same as softwood?
Yes, they are two names for the same botanical group: wood from gymnosperms. But "soft" is misleading — Douglas fir is harder than poplar, which is botanically a hardwood. See hardwood versus softwood.
Which softwood is the most durable?
Western red cedar in class 2, followed by Douglas fir and larch in class 3. Spruce and pine are in class 4 and should be pressure-treated.
Why is softwood cheaper than hardwood?
Conifers grow faster — a spruce is ready for harvest in forty to sixty years, an oak needs a hundred years or more. On top of that, in Europe they grow in large, easily accessible stands.
Can softwood stay outdoors?
Pressure-treated, yes, for ten to fifteen years. Untreated, it depends on the species: Douglas fir and larch hold out for years, spruce and pine don't. See pressure-treated wood.
Softwood in perspective
The most widely used wood in the world, and the basis of our garden furniture.
Have a question about your project? Just ask — we're happy to help.