Douglas-fir is one of North America's premiere construction materials. It has stood the test of time and our Douglas-fir flooring is no exception. It offers a rich colour and a classic look: elegant or rustic depending upon the grade; have a look at our collections.
"If forests are like wine, the second and third generations that come up after a native forest is cut are the young and inexperienced varieties. They might be serviceable, but they do not begin to compare with the rich, heady, bold, and complex attributes of a forest that has aged... tree farms where the product is grown in rows like corn and as fast as
possible, are chardonnay in a box."
Jim Robbins
From "Forest Fantastic", Traveler February 2005
The Douglas-fir
The massive, fine-grained Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) grows in abundance along Canada's west coast. The tree has a long, straight trunk with very little taper, and in heavy stands is free of branches for two-thirds or more of its height, yielding a high percentage of clear and near-clear wood in long lengths and large sizes. Douglas-fir is the only redwood-type material still available in substantial volumes of clear wood and is characterized by having the highest ratings of any western softwood for extreme fibre stress in bending; tension parallel-to-grain; horizontal sheer; exceptional strength, hardness and durability.
Even second-growth Douglas-fir, the product of many years of reforestation, has achieved the mature characteristics and dimensions which cannot be matched by faster-growing plantation softwoods from other timber-producing regions of the world. Because of its physical working properties, as well as the moderate durability of its heartwood, and its excellent dimensional stability, all combine to provide the reasons why many builders worldwide prefer Douglas-fir for framing timbers. It is truly the ideal, general-purpose softwood species for timber framing in residential, light commercial, multi-story and industrial construction, and for structural formwork applications.
For strength, versatility and beauty, few woods match the magnificent Douglas-fir!
"It is wonderful to feel the grandness of Canada in the raw, not because she is Canada but because she's something sublime that you were born into, some great rugged power that you are a part of."
Emily Carr
Canadian Artist and Writer, 1871-1945
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Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) was named after both the Scottish botanist David Douglas of the Horticultural Society of London and Archibald Menzies, surgeon and botanist for Captain George Vancouver; however, it is not considered a true fir. In fact, it is a member of the pine family! And while Douglas may have won acclaim in the late 1700's for this tree's introduction into European society, its importance in North American continues today.
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In 1867, because of its distinctive cones, it was given its own genus Pseudotsuga, which means false hemlock. The hyphen in the common name lets us know that Douglas-fir is not a "true" fir - that it's not a member of the Abies genus.
There are two geographical varieties native to North America: Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca (slower growing) and the Coastal Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii faster growing, long-lived and reaching over 300' tall.
Our coastal Douglas-fir forests are among the most productive in Canada due to our climate. The wood's tough, strong fibre, strength and durability give it incomparable versatility. It is highly regarded and widely specified both for the most demanding structural applications and for joinery and architectural millwork.
The largest trees and most impressive forests are found in northwest North America, within 200 km of the Pacific Ocean. Coastal Douglas-fir ranks as the second tallest tree species in the world behind coastal redwood. Most old growth range in height from 200 to 250 feet, and have a diameter of 5 to 8 feet. The largest volume tree is the Red Creek Fir, about 18 km by road from Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
"Collected by M.L. Parker and Les Jozsa (Brown 1996), based on ring-count aging, a Douglas-fir of 1350 years from a specimen on Vancouver Island (BC) has been identified. This tree was one member of a stand that established after a fire ca. 635 A.D. It blew down in a storm in the winter of 1985-86, providing an opportunity to date it (Stoltmann 1987). It is plausible that older trees are still alive in the stand. There is also a record of a 1307 years for a stump in a clear-cut on Waterloo Mountain, Vancouver Island, sampled by Les Jozsa (Stoltmann 1993)."
This page is from the Gymnosperm Database
Edited by Christopher J. Earle
