Identifying type of wood?

[rbrady]

I have had a few requests lately about what type of wood a deck is made of.
Should home inspectors be able to identify type of wood? (not counting treated wood)

My comment: The type of wood could not be identified, however it appeared to be suitable for the application.

[mnahrgang]

Beyond the scope.

[Marcel R. Cyr]

Originally Posted by rbrady

I have had a few requests lately about what type of wood a deck is made of.
Should home inspectors be able to identify type of wood? (not counting treated wood)

My comment: The type of wood could not be identified, however it appeared to be suitable for the application.

Like was said, it is beyound the SOP.
Regardless of what kind of would is there, you are to report the condition of the species, if you know what it is, it is a plus for you.

Even I get confused sometimes by imported wood. There are thousands of species of wood.

Unless it is a common species used in the area, I would not worry about it much.

Condition and observance and assessment of:

Marcel

[Russel Ray]

Originally Posted by mcyr

There are thousands of species of wood.

There might be thousands of species of wood, but there really aren't that many commercially viable species.

What can be problematic in identifying species is the type of cut: vertical, horizontal, tangential, radial, diagonal, and combinations thereof. Occasionally, droughts and floods can have an interesting effect on the tree rings, leading one to believe that it's one species when it's actuallly another. Experience (and perhaps a forestry education at Texas A&M University) helps.

[lfoster]

In the past, the pressure treated pine had a distinctive color (green).

Since the change of chemicals, the color is more normal for non-pressure treated. Added to that, some of the lumber is marked with the SPIB stamps showing heat treated. The pressure treat marking is a plastic tag stapled to the end of the board - and cut off / not visible.

Any suggestions?

[Joseph Hagarty, CMI]

Originally Posted by mcyr

...it is beyound the SOP.

Regardless of what kind of would is there, you are to report the condition...

There are thousands of species of wood. ...Unless it is a common species used in the area, I would not worry about it much....


Condition and observance and assessment of:


Marcel

Could not agree more....

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

The only way to identify wood species with any certainity is by using a hand lens to observe cellular and fiber arrangment. Even then it's difficult as the same species grown in different environments can loof different.
I tried everywhere to find a method for the Log home course and finally gave up after talking to a bunch of different people.

[Russel Ray]

Originally Posted by kshepard

The only way to identify wood species with any certainity is by using a hand lens to observe cellular and fiber arrangment.

The only way? Not true at all, Kenton. Many, many wood species can be identified by knowledgeable people simply by looking at the wood with the naked eye. Wood identification and tree identification courses used to be a part of every university forestry program in the nation back when I was attending Texas A&M University (1973-1977) working towards a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, Forest Management. I suspect that has not changed.

With experience, one can even learn to tell the species regardless of what kind of cut it is, and to the experienced person, floods and droughts don't make any difference. The wood species is what it is.

[Brian E. Kelly]

I call out all decks unless thay are made entirely of Kauri wood.

[Marcel R. Cyr]

Here is information to the subject.

http://www2.fpl.fs.fed.us/WoodID/idfact.html

And here is good information to Brian's Kauri wood, thanks Brian to make me curious enough to find out what it was.

http://www.ancientwood.com/

Marcel

[Russel Ray]

Originally Posted by mcyr

Here is information to the subject.

http://www2.fpl.fs.fed.us/WoodID/idfact.html

If one is doing wood anatomy research, the FPL is accurate, of course.

When I was at the FPL back in 1976, they knew how to identify woods visually, and the University of Wisconsin offered such a course. I suspect both of them still do.

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

Originally Posted by rray

The only way? Not true at all, Kenton. Many, many wood species can be identified by knowledgeable people simply by looking at the wood with the naked eye. Wood identification and tree identification courses used to be a part of every university forestry program in the nation back when I was attending Texas A&M University (1973-1977) working towards a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, Forest Management. I suspect that has not changed.

With experience, one can even learn to tell the species regardless of what kind of cut it is, and to the experienced person, floods and droughts don't make any difference. The wood species is what it is.

I was unable to find any expert of any kind... no experienced log home contractors, no wood scalers, no wood scientists, no one involved in any aspect of the log home industry who could suggest a method for accurately identifying wood species through naked eye identification. I spoke with many, many people before accepting that accurate identification requires a hand lens at least.

Russel, if you know of a dependable means, Kudos to you, please explain what it is rather than saying that "experienced people can do it".... according to what I've found and what those who've spent their lives in forestry have told me...they can't.

In a lot of cases it comes down to probablility. Most of us feel comfortable in identifying redwood decks. Typically, we don't have to identify the wood. Many times the chances are excellent that we're right.

My point was just that to be absolutely accurate requires a hand lens. I often verbally identify deck wood species, but my comment has to do with personal experience.

[Doug Edwards]

It is the wooden kind of wood. Ask them, "Who the hell do I look like...Ewell Gibbons?"

[Russel Ray]

Originally Posted by kshepard

I was unable to find any expert of any kind... no experienced log home contractors, no wood scalers, no wood scientists, no one involved in any aspect of the log home industry who could suggest a method for accurately identifying wood species through naked eye identification. I spoke with many, many people before accepting that accurate identification requires a hand lens at least.

Russel, if you know of a dependable means, Kudos to you, please explain what it is rather than saying that "experienced people can do it".... according to what I've found and what those who've spent their lives in forestry have told me...they can't.

In a lot of cases it comes down to probablility. Most of us feel comfortable in identifying redwood decks. Typically, we don't have to identify the wood. Many times the chances are excellent that we're right.

My point was just that to be absolutely accurate requires a hand lens. I often verbally identify deck wood species, but my comment has to do with personal experience.

They probably thought that you wanted to sue them, so they weren't going to say anything that could be used against them.

Maybe Southern Foresters are better than Northern Foresters. I don't know. But I have no problem identifying common species, and many of my forestry friends can also. My degree is a Bachelor of Science in Forestry Management with (unrecognized) minors in wood engineering, structural engineering, civil engineering, and organic chemistry. When I visited UM-Wisconsin and the FPL back in 1978 they had wood identification course. Perhaps they closed them because someone sued them for identifying the wrong wood. Whatever. Anyway, it's not hard at all to identify the commercial species, especially those from the U.S. Woods from deep in the heart of Africa might be a little more difficult, but that's simply because I haven't studied them.

[Brian E. Kelly]

http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publi...les/pb1692.pdf