What is Timber?

As mentioned in Wikipedia, Timber is synonymous to Lumber. Timber is used in British English while Lumber is used in American English, but, both of these words refer to a collective term for harvested wood mainly used for boards and planks. Timber is available in many species, most of them hardwood such as Oak, Eucalyptus, and Mahogany among others. Softwood species are Pine, Cedar, and Douglas fir. Some sources would differentiate timber as unprocessed or raw wood and lumber as cut wood packaged for commercial sale. In countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia refer to timber as a term for sawn wood products such as floor boards, whereas in the United States and Canada, it refers to standing or felled trees before they are milled into boards.

Hardwood Species versus Softwood Species

Hardwood species are not necessarily a harder material that is denser and softwood species are not necessarily a softer material that is less dense. The difference between hardwood and softwood actually has to do with plant reproduction. All trees reproduce by seeds, but the seed structure varies. Hardwood species are angiosperms that produce seeds with some sort of covering, i.e. a fruit such as an apple or a hard shell such as an acorn. Softwood species, on the other hand, are gymnosperms or coniferous. Wood species like the Pine, which grow seeds in hard cones, are an example of softwood.

Filtra Timber has, but not limited to, the following list of wood species:

Softwood Species

  • Douglas Fir - Douglas fir is one of the most popular species in North America and is mainly used for flooring and decking.
  • Kauri - Kauri is a type of evergreen tree that is mainly used for wood paneling and furniture making.
  • Pine - Pine is a coniferous tree that is native to a majority of the Northern Hemisphere and is mainly used for indoor furniture.
  • Spruce - Spruce is a North American timber that is commonly used for construction work, crates, and musical instruments.

Hardwood Species

  • Acacia Mangium - Acacia Mangium is a plantation wood species used for flooring, indoor and outdoor furniture.
  • Ash - Ash is grown in Europe as well as North America that is imported in veneers or sawn timber for furniture and decorative panels.
  • Eucalyptus  - Eucalyptus is also known as Cladocalyx is a yellowish and very hard wood often used as replacement for Yakal. Eucalyptus is also FSC-certified.
  • Gmelina - Gmelina is one of the most widespread plantation species in the Philippines and is mainly used for indoor furniture and doors.
  • Mahogany - Plantation mahogany in the Philippines can be Swietenia Macrophylla or Khaya Ivorensis and is mainly used for indoor furniture.
  • Oak - This wood species is available in Europe and USA. Filtra Timber imports white oak veneers and sawn timber for furniture production.
  • Sapele - It is an African mahogany that is popular as veneers for paneling and doors. Filtra Timber imports FSC-certified sapele sawn timber and veneers.
  • Walnut - Walnut is imported from Europe and North America and widely used in high-end furniture.
  • Yakal - Yakal is endemic to the Philippines and is often used for high-grade construction.