If you are considering the various types of wood that are available on the market today, it is important to consider the long-term benefits of all products. While opting for a less expensive option now may save you money in the short-term, over time you may end up regretting this decision, as it will cost more to fix and replace cheaper choices in the long run. Allow this Fort Collins’ Lumberyard and Showroom to discuss the benefits of choosing a hardwood for your next construction and remodelling project.

Types of Hardwood

Before we being discussing the advantages of opting to use hardwood in your next construction project, let's begin by discussing the various types of hardwood that are available for use.

Temperate hardwoods are those that are located in temperate forests throughout the world. This type of wood comes from trees such as ash, cherry, maple, and oak. Tropical hardwoods are those that come from tropical forests, and tend to be from areas such as west and central Africa, Asia, and South America. These hardwoods are considered ‘angiosperm’, which means that their seeds are encased in fruits of pods.

European hardwoods are a third type of hardwood to consider. These are primarily from oak and beech trees. Oak is valued for its use in furniture, as has been used as a source for this type of construction for many centuries. Beech is typically used for the painted type of furniture.

Ease of Maintenance

Now that we’ve laid out the various types of hardwood that are available for purchase, we will discuss the many advantages that hardwood has over its competitors. First, hardwoods are naturally more durable due to the fact that they are sourced from slower-growing trees. As a result, the timber has a higher density in its fiber than that of softwoods. This means that hardwood will be much more strong and durable than softwood.

Overall, hardwood is generally much easier to maintain and clean. For this reason, hardwood flooring, hardwood wall paneling and hardwood mouldings continues to be an exceptional choice for flooring and interior trim projects. Hardwood floors and hardwood mouldings can be a perfect way to give your home an added sense of class and elegance, and choosing to go for true hardwood will alleviate potential headaches due to its ease of cleaning. It is also easy to fix any potential scratches on the surface of hardwood, as a degree of waxing, sanding, and varnishing will almost certainly restore most damaged surfaces, which eliminates the need to outright replace the flooring material.

Regular light cleaning will ensure that your interior wood remains in pristine condition for many years to come. In addition to the benefits of not having to worry about intensive cleaning, you can also look forward to a more warm and inviting product to stand on. Hardwood is naturally a great insulator, as it contains small air chambers throughout the grain which does an excellent job of holding heat.

Appearance

The look of hardwood in your home is sure to wow those lucky enough to view it. This is due to the fact that natural patterning that is present within hardwood, meaning no two hardwood boards will look exactly the same. This is sure to give your home an added layer of unique quality to it, as you will be installing a product that is not modular and cannot be easily compared with your neighbor’s wood and trim choices.

Depending on what type of hardwood you decide to go with, your own personalized style will be apparent with any choice. Different wood choices can work better depending on the look and feel of your home, and we are happy to assist you in deciding which wood choice would look and feel the best in your house.

Strength

Perhaps one of the most well-known benefits of hardwood is its strength and durability. As stated earlier, this is due to the fact that the trees hardwood is sourced from are more slow-growing varieties, which ensures that its strength and durability will be unmatched in relation to other types of wood.

In construction, Oak is commonly used for joinery and furniture, as it is a strong and long-lasting type of wood. If you are concerned with having your wood last as long as it can without having to engage in extensive repairs or replacement, opting for a hardwood choice can be the best long-term investment you can make, and will save you undue amounts of stress in the future.

Value

Although hardwood can be a bigger initial cost upfront, the investment can truly be worth it in the long term. The aforementioned benefits of reduced maintenance and replacement costs are apparent, but you may not have considered the benefits to the value of your home.

Installing hardwood in your home, specifically as the choice for your flooring and interior trim, can greatly increase the value of your home according to many real estate agents. Whenever you decide to sell your home, you will greatly appreciate your decision to install hardwood flooring and mouldings, as it will make the job of selling your house a much easier task. Hardwood flooring, paneling and trim mouldings gives the impression of class and substance that tile, laminate, and MDF cannot mimic.

Additionally, hardwood can be a sustainable choice to make for your home. Because you will have to replace or repair your hardwood selection much less frequently than softwood and MDF, you will save money as well as precious resources in the process. If you care about doing everything you can to take care of the environment, opting to use hardwood in your home can be a great green choice to make.

If you are interested in having hardwood used in your next construction or remodelling project, contact Sears Trostel Lumber and Millwork today. We are more than happy to assist you in finding the best hardwood option that will work perfectly within your home. Our qualified associates are skilled and adept at helping homeowners find the selection that perfectly matches their style. Sears Trostel are the experts at pairing wood choices within the look and feel of your unique home.

Show off your woodworking and photography skills for a chance to win a $100 Gift Card!

Submit a photo of a favorite woodworking, interior design or exterior project that you designed or created with wood and other products from Sears Trostel. We want to see our customers' creative uses for Blue Stain Pine, Reclaimed Products, Live-Edge Wood Slabs, Hardwood or Moulding! 

1st Prize is a $100 Sears Trostel Gift Card. The 2nd Place winner receives a $20 ST Gift Card, and 3rd Place wins a $10 ST Gift Card.

Enter today!

>> View the current entries

Contest Rules:

• All photos should be of projects completed using wood and products from Sears Trostel
• You may enter a maximum of two times and submit up to 3 photos each entry.
• By submitting your photo(s), you are granting Sears Trostel Lumber & Millwork all rights to use the photo(s) in online marketing and other company marketing, including print advertising.  
• Sears Trostel reserves the right to reject individual entries for any reason.
• Entries may be submitted between February 26, 2018 and March 31, 2018 at 11:59pm MT.
• Submissions must not contain or reference trademarks or logos, or advertise or promote any other brand or product of any kind, without permission, or contain any personal identification, such as license plate numbers, personal names, e-mail addresses or street addresses; or contain copyrighted materials owned by others.
• A Sears Trostel employee panel will select the winner.

"Can You Fly" by 1st Place Winner, Brian Carroll

There’s so much woodworking talent in our community! Thanks to all the artisans who shared theirs in the Sears Trostel 15th Annual Woodworking Show, Sale & Competition last week, February 15-17.

We also thank our judges who took on the difficult task of picking the winners from many beautiful and technically-challenging entries — Sam Kin of Kin Woodworking, Joel Peggram from Baldwin Woodworking, and Larry J. Edwards, Ph.D., avid hobbyist woodworker.

While all the entries are winners in our eyes, these are the ones that won 1st through 6th Place prizes:

1st Place — Brian Carroll, “Can You Fly” sculpture in Juniper

2nd Place — Tom Abbott, “Game Table” in Walnut w/various woods

3rd Place — Ian Davis, “Lego Man” in Sapele, Black Walnut, Aspen & Ebony

4th Place — Larry McMillin, “Indigo Bunting” carving in Tapolo

5th Place — Marty Miller, “Bass Guitar 6 String Leap Frog” in Buckeye Burl, Alder, Maple, Purple Heart & Sapele

6th Place — Mark Brimingham, “Corner Dresser” in White Oak, Ipe & Ebony


If you weren’t able to make it to the show, you can still check out all the wonderful entries!
>>  See the 15th Annual Woodworking Show Gallery

 

Saturdays are a great time to stop by Sears Trostel and learn something new.

Ask questions and try products for yourself as our knowledgeable staff spends an hour each Saturday demonstrating tools, finishes, and discussing woodworking techniques — while building fun projects in the process. There’s a different topic each week.

Demonstration Saturdays are 9:30 - 10:30 am at our Riverside store. There’s no need to register and it’s FREE of charge. Come in and join us!

During the Winter series of Demonstration Saturdays from February 24 to March 31, we’ll go through the steps to build a piece, using a variety of Festool tools, woods and other products.

Schedule:

February 24 — Small Tool Crate/Carrier
March 3 —  6-Pack Carrier
March 10 — Cell Phone Charging Easel
March 17 — Message Board & Key Hanger
March 24 — Medicine Cabinet (wall-hanging) using the Kreg Jig system, including pocket screw joinery, hardware and concealed hinge jigs.
March 31 — Stains and Finishes. We’ll be applying General Finishes stains and finishes and discuss the differences between, and when to use, oil-based and water-based finishes/stains.


See you next Saturday!


Sears Trostel Lumber & Millwork
1500 Riverside Ave.
Fort Collins, CO 80524

Products created from a natural wood source can create a unique aura about them whether it be a simple butcher block atop a counter top or a complete moulding and trim installation. The creativity surrounding the use of a natural product, especially wood, within the home can change the appearance of a room in an absolute instance. Further, depending on the intended product application, wood can be much easier to clean and will withstand even more traffic, stains, or other potential damage over other commonly used materials for interiors.  Over the long haul, a natural wood selection made for potentially any purpose will be the best choice over time.

One of the more commonly used species of lumber is poplar wood. The versatility of this particular wood and its ability to configure together seamlessly, increases its demand in uses in interior construction.  Poplar comes from a relatively fast-growing tree and is often used for not only lumber, but also pulp purposes.

Poplar lumber products include the unique finger joint double primed products available in a range of sizes  for a complete range of applications around your home or commercial project.

Finger Joint Benefit

A finger joint is a woodworking mechanism used to interlock similar but separate pieces of wood into a cohesive length that is stronger than the original material. The two or more pieces are cut in opposite fashion so that, like interlocking “fingers”, the joint comes together and then is typically held together with some type of glue or adhesive for a strong and sturdy bond.

Often used in varying box constructions and long length boards, finger joints or comb joints can be used for anything from the construction of a small jewelry box to an entire set of interior mouldings. Also, finger joint allows for elongating pieces of wood for such items as baseboards, mouldings and S4S Lumber.

The finger joint creates an incredibly strong adhesion and thus can push the length of boards extensively without a risk of any structural insecurities. For this reason, finger joint poplar is a good choice for moldings which can come in lengths up to 16 feet long.

Sears Trostel Double Primed Double Sanded Poplar

A beneficial option in poplar lumber, is the Sears Trostel Double Primed and Double Sanded finger joint lumber and mouldings.  These poplar pieces come double-sanded and double-primed and are immediately ready for painting after installation or prior depending on the use and installation process. The double priming allows for a more smooth and clean look on the wood allowing for little to no extended sanding prior to a painting.

The double sanded and double priming can also impact the pocketbook of a homeowner in a positive way following the installation. When considering the different woods and products one should consider the added costs of the full installation, priming, and finishing of the product in their total budget.  The double primed and double sanded poplar products add an advantage to the speedy completion of a project by knowing that only one coat of paint will be necessary to finish the product. Less money being spent for finishing and less time wasted are both benefits of a previously sanded and primed piece of wood. 

Instead of using precious resources having to sand, prime, and then add multiple coats of paint to woods, the double primed option comes ready to absorb all of the color in a single coat of paint. Once applied, the finished product will be seamless with little to no evidence of graining and less manual jointing on long spans.  An absence of knots in these finger jointed mouldings is also one of the main benefits.

Varying Sizes and Application

Another advantage of finger jointed poplar involves the diversity for which there are multiple applications based on available sizes.  The typical long lengths of finger joint poplar allow for less on-site manual transitions and added strength.  Whether you choose to use raw poplar or double primed and double sanded finger joint poplar you will see the benefits of poplar and understand why poplar is one of the most popular options for a variety of different uses.

Eased edge moldings, including base, case, and headers are all available options to consider. These profiles offer a clean look to fit most styles in any room or house. The mouldings can also be installed and then painted quickly and efficiently with the final coat of paint.  

For decades, Sears Trostel has served our community with quality and integrity providing custom wooden countertops, wood floors, cabinets, John Boos Blocks, and other wooden assessments, when and where applicable. We are proud to offer the best value without compromising any of the quality or customer service you would expect from the business with a history of doing things the right way, the first time. Our manufacturing processes allow for unrivaled flexibility in custom profiles, and our commitment to quality has earned us the trust of our customers through Colorado, Wyoming, and the surrounding areas. Feel free to contact us today with your needs or visit our retail sales and showroom located at 1500 Riverside Avenue in Fort Collins, Colorado. For commercial and residential sales please call 970-482-1928 or for wholesale and manufacturing, 970-482-0222 or 800-950-1928 with any other general questions about our products and services. We can also be reached by email at Sales@sears-trostel.com as we look forward to showing you the effects quality beautiful natural woods can have.