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Hemlock Fir vs. Douglas Fir

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#21 ·
What the hell… must be my ADD.. I just read this whole string…. do I know my east from west coasts.. do I read? how embarrassing.. LOL
 
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#23 ·
I noticed 4×4 fir as a new offering at my local Lowes. $10/8 feet. I considered making a bench out of it but was quickly pulled away by my better half.
 
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#25 ·
When I was selling homes for a builder I learned dimension lumber used for floor joists, wall studs, etcetera was a Hemlock & Fir mix. Approximately 1 out of four boards were Hemlock, the others Fir.

Some builders would pay the extra dollars to have only Fir for floor joists to eliminate that 'soft' spot you sometimes encounter when walking across a large room. Construction standards for VA and FHS mortgages allow the Hemlock Fir mix and I suspect that Lowe's was letting the buyer know this pallet contained both species.
 
#26 ·
Ok so don't listen to the minimum wage guys at the big box stores that still live with there parents. The reason I wont ever use this so called Hem-Fir thing it the fact that is crap. Doug fir is the only thing used for framing as the engineering for hangers, load spans, uplift, shearwall and all the stuff I deal with daily are based on Doug Fir ratings and Hemlock or as called Hem-Fir is rated at about 20% lower on an average. Any reputable lumber house knows what they have and should be able to help. The bundling together thing is what box stores do as they can get the whatever load cheaper. You get what you pay for and they garantee the lowest price so that should be proof in the pudding.
 
#27 ·
No such tree as Hem Fir. They sell it that way because the mills run both species together and don't sort them. So the pile of 2 X 4's at your Lowe's may have both species. If you pick through the pile you can probably find the DF boards. Some of the bunks they get from the mill may be mostly one or the other, just depends which one they open that day as to what you see. I remember when Hemlock was considered trash wood, it is very soft compared to Douglas-fir.
 
#28 ·
I agree with The Dane get a 2 X 12 X16' From the bottom of the pile, the help you wont get from the staff at Lows adds to the challenge. Bottom line is, you get bone dry Doug fir because builders are too lazy to dig out the dry stuff.
 
#30 ·
Believe the stamp on the wood, not the store's sign.

As has been mostly covered:

HEM-FIR means a mix of Hemlock and Douglas Fir. (NOT AS GOOD) Count on it mostly being hemlock, which is inferior to D-Fir.

DOUG FIR means Douglas Fir. (GOOD).

And I'd add:

DOUG FIR-L means a mix of Douglas Fir and Larch. (GOOD). Western Larch is even harder than D-Fir and just as stiff. It is not as dimensionally stable as D-Fir, which is the gold standard for stability for construction lumber, but it is quite good.

Takeaway: DOUG FIR and DOUG FIR-L are primo, HEM-FIR and SPF are perfectly usable for most applications, but certainly not as good.
 
#35 ·
"SPF" is not a designation recognized in the "Wood Handbook" put out by the Dept of Agriculture. It is apparently a symbol assigned by lumber mills to designate various species of timber that have similar characteristics and are milled in the same mill from local timber sources. Since the main use for "SPF" lumber is for construction purposes, grouping those woods together is legitimate. It is not suitable for furniture, unless you want a "rustic" look. Home centers are not in the business of catering to furniture makers, but they will sell it for whatever purpose you choose. If you want good lumber, you need to deal with a lumber yard or a business that deals with hardwoods. The only softwood I have found at the big box stores that is suitable for furniture is called "Radiata" pine aka Monterey pine. What woods are available at big box stores is usually what is available locally to avoid long distance transportation.
 
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MrRon
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