Heartwood Vs Sapwood Flooring

Unfortunately almost all of the big box stores and a number of our competitors carry a number of sapwood redwood products at their locations.

Heartwood vs sapwood flooring.

The inner parts of the wood become darker. The inner darker section of the trunk is the heartwood. In most cases heartwood is the dark portion of a cross sectioned wood while the light colored portion is sapwood. The main difference between heartwood and sapwood is that heartwood is the dead inner wood whereas sapwood is the outermost portion of a wood that is living.

Heartwood vs sapwood similarities and differences anatomically wood is the secondary xylem of seed plants. As the tree ages certain permanent changes take place in the wood. Heartwood is commonly regarded as the dead part of a tree while sapwood is the living growing part. Sapwood is living outmost portion of a woody stem or branch while heartwood is dead inner wood which often comprises the majority of stem cross section you can usually distinguish sapwood from heartwood by its lighter color.

The sapwood does not darken over time and i do not stain my woods so the sapwood sticks out in the final design like whipped cream on a chocolate sundae. This disparity in color within certain species is very desirable for the final look of some floors while not desired in others. Heartwood every species of wood is going to vary from board to board. Regarding sapwood as long as it is solid wood it is not considered a defect.

Heartwood is formed from old retired sapwood and becomes the strong spine of the tree. Despite the common notion about heartwood there s much debate about it being actually dead. Now many products labeled heart pine actually contain a mixture of heartwood and sapwood. The contrast increases between the heartwood and sapwood as the wood ages.

Traditional heart pine floors were all heartwood. Furthermore heartwood occupies a large portion of the cross sectional area of the wood while sapwood occupies a small area. Typically heartwood redwood has been sold in lumber yards and has given redwood an outstanding reputation amongst builders for both interior and exterior applications. This variation can be extreme in some species and very indistinguishable in other species.

Heartwood is preferred for woodworking as it is far less susceptible to fungus and contains much less moisture than sapwood which means it will shrink less when it dries. Moreover sapwood is often light in color when compared to the heartwood. When building anything from cherry or walnut i rip off the sapwood and get to a good solid heartwood edge. The xylem in this central part is called heartwood or duramen.

As the color of the wood matures the heartwood develops a much deeper color whereas the sapwood remains yellow.