There are two types of timber, called hardwood and softwood. These names do not refer to the properties of the wood: some softwoods can be hard and some hardwoods can be soft.
Softwood
Softwoods come from coniferous trees which are evergreen, needle-leaved, cone-bearing trees, such as cedar, fir and pine.
Hardwood
Hardwoods come from broad-leaved, deciduous trees. The main hardwood timbers are ash, beech, birch, cherry, elm, iroko, mahogany, meranti, oak, obeche, sapele and teak.
Properties and uses of hardwood timbers.
| Name | Properties | Uses |
|---|---|---|
| Ash | Light, creamy-brown colour, open-grained,tough, flexible | Sports equipment, wooden ladders, tool handles |
| Beech | White to pinkish-brown in colour, close-grained, hard, tough, strong, warps easily | Furniture, toys, tool handles |
| Elm | Light to medium brown in colour, open and sometimes interlocking grain, tough, durable, resists splitting, durable in water | Indoor and outdoor furniture |
| Mahogany | Pink to reddish-brown colour, fairly strong, durable, some interlocking grain | Good quality furniture |
| Oak | Light brown colour, strong, hard, tough, open-grained, corrodes steel screws and fittings | Interior woodwork, good quality furniture |
