Softwood Floors - Glossary

Softwood Floors - Softwood is a generic term used in lumber industries for wood from conifers trees (needle-bearing). Softwood producing trees include pine, spruce, cedar, fir, larch, douglas-fir, hemlock, cypress, redwood and yew. Softwoods like pine & spruce can make for an exceptional floor if you know how to deal with the material and know what to anticipate after it’s been installed. In fact, softwood flooring is a excellent alternative for homes designed around a casual, rustic country look. In general, softwood is easy to work with. It is mostly used as the material for structural building components, but is also found in furniture and other products such as mouldings, doors, and windows. In most home improvement stores, you'll find two predominant types of softwood lumber species: SPF and yellow pine. SPF stands for spruce, pine, and douglas fir. Lumber marked as SPF would be one of these three species.