Recently, building materials from natural wood are very popular, since these products are environmentally friendly and hypoallergenic, while being operational and quality characteristics Wood building materials are excellent. Today there is a particular demand for lumber from coniferous trees such as pine and larch, so the question of how to distinguish larch from pine is very relevant.

Which is better: larch or pine, you need to understand their main characteristics. In particular, pine wood has average density, high strength, rot resistance and easy to process. This wood has a light pink core that turns brownish-red over time. Wide sapwood can range from yellowish to light pink. The annual layers are clearly visible, there is a clear boundary between late and early wood.

Siberian larch wood in a dry state is practically not susceptible to rot and is very resistant to moisture (this is the main difference between larch and pine). This wood is characterized by very high strength and density, practically not inferior to oak in these indicators. The kernel has a reddish-brown color. The sapwood is narrow, slightly yellowish or white. The annual layers are very clear, as is the boundary between late and early wood.

Many people, when choosing lumber, wonder how to determine: larch or pine only by appearance? In fact, it is quite simple - fresh pine is much lighter than larch, and over time, pine products acquire a yellowish tint, while larch building materials, on the contrary, darken a little, acquiring a red-brown tint.

Also, if you make a visual comparison of larch and pine, you can see that the structure of larch wood is more clearly expressed. And if you run your fingernail across a larch board, there will be no mark left on it, while a scratch will be noticeable on a pine board.

And finally, unlike pine lumber, larch products have virtually no odor and do not have a pronounced resinous odor.

Knowing the differences between these two woods is very important, especially when it is necessary to choose, for example, windows from pine or larch, since not many people know that the thermal conductivity of larch is several times lower than the thermal conductivity of pine. This means that larch windows provide a more comfortable microclimate in the room, reliably retaining heat in winter and not retaining excess heat in the room in summer.

How to distinguish pine from larch? For a person at least a little familiar with these trees, a more natural question would be: how can one confuse larch with pine? Only from a distance and in the summer.

These coniferous trees are almost impossible to confuse. The first, most important difference between larch and pine is that larch, like deciduous trees, sheds its leaves for the winter, and in winter it is completely devoid of needles and looks completely bare. Pine is an evergreen conifer tree, depending on the time of year, changing only the shades of the needles from light to dark green.

Both trees grow up to 40 meters, the larch trunk is thicker and can reach 1.8 meters. The trunks are straight, both trees are excellent building materials. The crowns are similar, but it is more transparent, while the pine tree is thicker and fluffier.

- a more durable plant, it lives up to 600 years, when deadline The life of Scots pine is 350 years. Larch wood is denser, it even sinks in water and is difficult to rot; these qualities are of particular value to larch in construction. Houses built from larch can stand for centuries and can only compete with oak in terms of strength.

Larch bark on young trees is much lighter than pine bark; in older trees this difference becomes less noticeable. Larch needles are soft, bright green, flattened from 1.5 to 4 cm. They are arranged spirally on the shoots in bunches of 20-40 pieces. In the spring, the needles on the tree are light green in color; in the fall, like all deciduous trees, they turn yellow, dry out and crumble. The needles on a pine tree are long, about 5 cm, located along the trunk in a spiral, 2 pieces in a bunch. The leaves on the pine tree do not fall off for 2-5 years; their change occurs gradually and imperceptibly.

Pine cones have the most classic shape, cone-shaped, young ones are green, located at the ends of the side shoots, 1-3 pieces each. After ripening, they become dark brown with hard, pointed scales; in the spring, the cones open and fall off.

Larch has very elegant cones, smaller in size, more rounded, ovoid in shape. The scales are round and covered with velvety hairs. When the cones are still young, they gently yellow color, after ripening they become brown, open, the seeds spill out, and the cones remain hanging for about three more years. In winter, this is the only decoration of larch.

You can describe in more detail what larch looks like, the botanical structure of its branches, cones, shoots and leaves, but in order to distinguish it from any other tree, it is enough to see the needles and cones of this tree at least once.

Larch is not well suited as the main wall material compared to pine/spruce (it breathes poorly, gets damp, it’s cold in the house). It is used to make a backing board and the lower crowns of a log house (sometimes up to the window sills). How can you make sure that you have this type of wood, paying twice as much for larch?

Larch is noticeably different from pine and spruce in terms of strength and visual characteristics. It has a higher density and is therefore heavier. There is little space for air between the fibers, so larch walls are cooler. An analogy can be drawn with a lush head of hair, the owners of which suffer less from the cold without a hat. Here, log houses made of spruce have an advantage, in contrast to dense, wet hairstyles (larch). There are differences between wood species in many other ways. It remains to choose any convenient comparison method if others are not obvious.

Any person who has been in a mixed forest has had the opportunity to compare different breeds wood. Able to distinguish them by their bark at least. If you are having a log house cut on site, take a closer look at the thickness of the bark of the timber. In larch it is much thicker, with a red or pronounced red tint under the upper layers. It is especially different in the Siberian variety, which we use for log houses. Kirov larch is much inferior in quality. Like any of the European parts of Russia.

Break off larch chips, pine chips and place in water. The first one will sink faster. Boards of these species wetted with water differ in the appearance of their structure - pine will not have such a clear, clear pattern. Larch will show its marble structure, a pinkish tint is possible. From the end of the log, it is easy to distinguish different species by the structure of the wood. Larch has a large core and dense annual rings of narrow sapwood. Pine and spruce are characterized by wider sapwood and a weak core, into which it is much easier to hammer a nail. They have more annual rings, the width of the layers depends on the conditions in which the tree grew.

Fresh pine and spruce are yellowish-white when cut (the spruce is always lighter). In the sun, all 3 types of wood will then darken over time. The first two become yellow-brown in color; the sun will give larch a brownish tint. Later, a tinted antiseptic will eliminate the differences. The color will not be different from freshly cut wood. The differences in smell are also noticeable, especially after exposure in the drying chamber. After heating, the rock, which is the main secret of long-lived log houses, emits a smell similar to chocolate.

Pine and spruce feel 30-40% softer. If you run a nail along a log (even on a saw cut across the grain), the mark on the larch will be less noticeable or there will be almost no mark. In the old days, ladles and dishes were made from its root; there was no wear and tear on household utensils. It is much more difficult to work with this tree; the cost of wood is 2 times higher. Therefore, the presence of larch affects the price of a log house. Try knocking on a log, you will hear a different sound. If none of the above helps, do a fire test. Larch is reluctant to ignite and will burn the longest. The pine tree will be the first to burn due to its resinous external structure, then the spruce will come.

The abundance of lumber is confusing to some buyers, so studying the features, varieties and differences of each of them should be a priority. This will prevent you from being deceived during the purchase, allowing you to make an objective comparison of the advantages of each type of wood. The rocks are both similar and radically different, so without in-depth study it is impossible to determine the obvious differences between these materials, reminds the company https://ruspilstroy.ru/

Features of each material

Before determining the main differences, it is necessary to study the characteristics of the materials. This will allow you to objectively evaluate the differences between larch and pine lumber.

Larch

• Wood Density. The indicator reaches 660 kg/m3, which exceeds the density of other coniferous species used in Russia.
• Hardness. This species is only one unit inferior to oak wood on the Brinell scale, reaching 395 kg/cm2.
• Appearance. The wood of this species has an expressive cut texture and an unusual reddish tint. The rings are quite pronounced, which makes the material even more original and unusual. With prolonged contact with sunlight, the color gradually turns into red-brown.
• Usage. This material is used in construction and decoration wooden houses, manufacturing of cabinet or classic furniture. Larch is perfect for installing floors because it has high strength and hardness, which directly increases the wear resistance of the material.

Pine

• Wood Density. Depending on the breed, this figure varies between 450-500 kg/m3.
• Hardness. The indicator reaches 260 kg/cm, this figure is higher than all coniferous wood species, except larch.
• Appearance. The wood has a yellowish-white color, and over time it changes to yellow-brown. The core and sapwood are quite soft and pliable to external influences.
• Usage. Lumber is used in furniture production, finishing of wooden houses. Most of the block house and false beams are made from pine, as well as a large number of materials for construction, laying railway tracks or installing masts and piles.

How to distinguish lumber

• Smell and color. The smell of pine boards is significantly pronounced, in contrast to the subtle aroma of larch. A fresh log house is radically different in color, since pine has a lighter shade, close to white color. Larch looks noble, especially after contact with the sun's rays, acquiring a red tint.
• Weight. The increased density of larch makes it easy to distinguish lumber by weight. A pine board or timber is almost 2 times lighter than a similar fragment.
• Strength. Due to the low strength of pine, its fibers are softer and more luxurious, which can be seen in cross sections with the naked eye.
• Texture. Tree rings are better visible in larch, since the texture of pine is quite uniform. Dark, red-brown rings will help you quickly identify larch lumber.

By learning these details about each type of wood, you can easily identify the wood from which the lumber is made without any outside help.

Properties of any building material made of wood are determined by the characteristics of the species from which it is made. The most common building materials on the market are made from coniferous trees: pine, spruce, and larch. Which has more advantages? Let's try to figure it out.

Strength and Durability

These indicators for larch wood are undoubtedly higher than for pine. It has a higher density, hardness, resin content, and due to this it is more resistant to time, moisture, and fungus.

You can hardly hammer a nail into well-dried larch.

Ease of processing

And in this respect the situation is exactly the opposite. Due to its high hardness and density, larch, especially well-dried larch, is difficult to process with tools. Higher labor costs mean higher costs. Yes, and during construction you will have to tinker more.

Surface quality

Due to the high density of wood, the surface of larch products, when properly processed, becomes almost polished. Pine clearly loses in this regard.

Decorative characteristics

Let’s not forget that wood is not only reliable and environmentally friendly, but also beautiful. It is often used in interiors to decorate a room with a living, fibrous texture.

Larch looks beautiful and solid. She may have different colour, from light brown to reddish. Compared to pine, it contains fewer knots (although everything is determined by the type and quality of selection). But there is one problem: the color of the wood is almost always different. It is very difficult to choose identical boards or timber.