Antique Heart Pine Flooring Explanations

The term antique heart pine flooring is often used to describe a lot of lumber and some suppliers can add to the confusion by using the tem, or part of it to describe, other lumber as such in a bid to sell more.

What it is

This type of floor board material and lumber is actually a part of the common long leaf pines and possibly other species of this kind of tree. About a hundred or so years ago, when trees were abundant and basically untouched forests had grown for more than several decades, the long leaf varieties and that of others had the opportunity to grow for more than fifty or so years.

The trees’ food supply was also abundant enough and there was little threat of fire and logging. These circumstances made these trees grow constantly and at a longer rate, making their wood dense. With these opportunities, the heartwood, the very center of each growing plant was able to develop and grow big enough. This part is not susceptible to decay and is resistant to insects and rot, which made it prime material even in those days.

As the first settlers came to the United States of America, they chopped down hundreds of these trees to make their homes and buildings. By the time of the early 1900’s these were almost gone and were replaced by newly planted ones which were not given the same opportunities and circumstances as those earlier ones. Antique pine heart flooring was not called this at this time.

It was just called the heartwood and was already greatly valued for its resistance to decay, rot and insects. Many buildings during these times, used and reused these hardy woods which were sometimes floated downriver to reach mills where they were sawed and cut to conform to need. The exposure to water added to the hardiness of these pieces of lumber.

Where to get

Antique heart pine flooring is basically available from old buildings, about a hundred or so years old, which have been demolished or reconstructed. The recycled wood is usually from the first generation lumber which is usually made from the heartwood of the tree. For those who are still unsure how to identify it, these are darker colored or reddish wood that is very dense.

The growth rings in these are closer to one another and people can count from twenty to thirty rings in an inch. The slow growth of the long leaf variety means that the wood is sturdy and dense; the same goes for the heartwood of this variety. Although, long leaf is the favored type for antique heart pine flooring, there are many pine varieties that can be called such. The reality of it is that, the heart wood of any variety of the coniferous trees is possibly a good match for this.

Floors made from coniferous trees are basically sturdy but heartwood is more preferable than sap wood. Sap wood is the lumber from the outer parts of the trees which are also used for construction.