A wide range of quality woods

Whether this 'world tree' got its name because of its ash-gray trunk colour or because the wood was already used in ancient times as a tool, including the spear 'asks' (gothic) is material for theories. In good places, the Ash can produce reasonable working wood after only 60 years but generally a mature Ash has a turnover of 80 to 120 years with the tree not exceeding 200 years. Ash wood has a beautiful grain, a silky smooth glossy appearance and a light colour. The specific weight of Ash is 750-900kg/m³ wet & 550-720kg/m³ dry. Because of the popularity of Oak and Beech, Ash has always had an undervalued application. Yet the quality is suitable for a particularly wide range of use and it is therefore extremely unfortunate that this variety is now being hit hard by the ‘Ash cancer'...

Because of its graceful and refined appearance, Beech is called the "queen of the forest”. ‘Smooth skin’, ‘soft hairdressing’ and fine foliage contribute to the feminine appearance. Beech trees are only ready to be cut after 50 to 80 years, and cutting is best done in the fall when the sap currents are at rest. Beech wood has a regular and dense structure, the thread is straight, the grain is fine and even. Beech has a density of 720kg/m³ at 12% moisture content and fresh is about 960, to even 1050 kg/m³. The hardness and texture of this wood makes it particularly durable, which is why it is often used as stair treads. The species also has widespread application in furniture and carcass construction, peel/cut veneer & plywood applications. Because the wood is light in color and tasteless, it is used in many household items.

This type of wood, which belongs to the conifers, has many variants and is one of the most widespread softwood types in the northern part of our country. These were in fact cultivated and used on a large scale in the coal mining regions of Flanders. The wood was used to reinforce the tunnels and this type was preferred because of the creaking sound it makes before breaking. Spread over the countryside there are still large areas of forest in which the species occurs. The growing area and conditions of this type of wood will determine its quality and subsequent use. For example, the amount of resin present can also determine a role in the volumetric mass of this wood. Ranging from fresh 650-1000 kg/m3 to 520-540 kg/m3 at 12% moisture content, Pine has a less stable character and therefore has a subordinate position to Spruce.

In ancient Rome, the murmuring in the streets by the people - populus - was associated with the ever murmuring, trembling leaves of Poplars. It was also mostly planted near public places. Partly because of the short turnover time, after 30 to 40 years, 1 hectare can already give 400m³ of timber, planting and maintaining these timbers into production timber has become cultivated in plantations. Also to combinations with agriculture, the species derives good characteristics that have also made it a distinctive landscape element for the rural population. The specific weight of fresh poplar wood is double that of dried poplar at 12% moisture content, namely 450kg/m³. So these trees are so waterlogged that they can be peeled 'cold' into veneers and have many applications in this industry. This from single-use to many underutilised construction and furniture applications. This fast-growing wood is cellulose-rich and can also find high-quality applications based on that property. Planting poplars should therefore receive wide propaganda because the applications are endless.

We also call this wood species American oak here because it was imported from America, initially only as an ornamental tree. However, when it was seen how well this tree did on dry, low nutrient sandy soils, the species found its further distribution just in those areas too. This tree is quite fast-growing, after a period of 80 years you can harvest the same working wood where the European variety might take twice as long. The applications of this wood are also similar to its European brother. However, red oak is slightly heavier, fresh 1000 to 1100 kg/m3 and dried at 12% moisture content, it can have a density of 650 to 800 kg/m3. We dispute the dominant invasive character of this wood species , in a well thought-out forestry policy, especially given its short-lived wood yield, this wood species should be able to find and retain its place on poor soils.

The celebration of the winter solstice has always given this evergreen tree a highly symbolic value. However naturally, Norway spruce is not very common in our area, because of a good and regular wood yield from the same stocks, they became far extended as a monoculture in the 19th century. This means that, as a main wood species, it may struggle in some forests. The combination of high carrying capacity, low weight, full wood strength and good workability makes Norway spruce the most universal building and construction timber. Dry, this wood has a specific weight of 460kg/m³. In global timber harvesting and use, this is one of the most important timber species and will therefore have to seek its place in forestry policy while taking into account the interests of nature conservation and other social facets of the forest.

The oak is sometimes considered the king of the forest, the rough coarse bark, the curl in the foliage makes the species considered male. Already in ancient cultures, the oak was one of the most revered trees and the symbol of strength, longevity and beauty. One has to wait 150 to 200 years before harvesting wood with large diameters. In determining when oaks are ready to be cut, people used to be guided by the fact whether or not there was dead wood in the top, a start of dieback. Fresh Oak wood has a specific weight of 900-1100kg / m ³, which is reduced to 700kg / m ³ at a moisture content of 12%. There are endless possibilities in the application of oak, making the durable oak the building material of choice in a broad sense. Essential here is that the quality of the log will help determine its ultimate use.