Heart pine has been prized for its beauty and durability as flooring and furnishings in American homes for over three centuries. It's got depth and variation of color and grain patterning that is hard to beat.
Red Hills Lumber offers naturally grown longleaf heart pine at a substantially lower cost than reclaimed wood and substantially higher quality than most new heart pine.
Longleaf pine is harder on average than other species of pine and when grown under certain conditions has tighter grain (higher growth ring density).
Much commercially available heart pine is reclaimed from 19th- century buildings or from logs sunk in rivers and as a result is considerably more expensive.
Much new heart pine is of lower quality, made from softer species, and/or grown in commercial plantations producing less dense grained wood. Red Hills also strictly controls the grading of its products, offers personalized service and guarantees customer satisfaction.
It is a matter of personal preference and personal preference varies widely. Many of our clients are looking to match historic floors, and if you're in that boat, send pictures so we can help steer you to the best match. Our grades offer a variety of character from the most elegant to rustic informality. Browsing the customer-supplied pictures of our different grades should give you a good sense of how the wood will look.
With a published Janka hardness rating of 1225 longleaf heart pine is by far the hardest of all southern yellow pines, and is close to red oak at 1290. Longlead sapwood's published Janka is 890, while other SYP more generally range from 690-870. Fundamentally, we recommend making your choice of flooring based on aesthetics, rather than a number. But any wood floor will dent or scratch under certain circumstances. My own house has pine in some rooms and oak in others and after 80 years there is no difference in wear. Even some of the white pine floors of New England, which have a Janka of 380-420, are still serving their purpose with dignity and beauty after 300+ years. History provides the best testament to longleaf's durability, with heart pine floors of the colonial era still in service in historic homes and structures throughout the eastern US.
Yes. As Heart Pine ages, within a few months natural oxidation causes the patina to become richer and deeper in color. Red Hills' heart pine ranges from blonde to amber with some light red tones when freshly milled to deep copper or reddish brown as it ages.
Flatsawn cuts show an arching grain pattern on the face - what most people think of when they think of wood grain patterns. While there are some difference in sawing technique between rift and quartersawn material, the result is tight, pinstripe grain patterning on the face of the board. This is also called vertical grain or edge grain. Compare the tightness of our vertical grained wood with others.
Drying lumber to a low moisture content prevents warping and shrinkage. We kiln-dry our lumber to 6-9% moisture content, exceeding the Southern Pine Grading Rules requirements for being labelled kiln-dry. It does reabsorb some moisture after coming of of the kilns, and will typically ship at ~10-14% moisture content (note that due to its density, it may read slightly higher than this if you are using a moisture meter that is based on the measured density as compared to standardized specific gravity ratings). We do recommend acclimating the wood to the space it will be installed in.
We generally cut and stock 8' & 12' lengths and 3" to 10" widths. But we can always customize orders.
We custom cut lumber and perform custom millwork on a nearly daily basis, and also partner with other sawmills, millworks, cabinet shops, and wood-preservers to bring you all manner of customized wood products.
Yes. See our beams page and reach out about custom cuts.
We ship across the US, and have also shipped to the Carribean and Canada. We work with a freight broker and multiple freight companies, as well as independent truckers to try to find the best transportation options for our customers.
Most orders can be shipped within 7-10 days, although many are shipped sooner and we try to accommodate rush orders when possible. Specialty orders may take several weeks or occasionally longer depending on exactly what you're looking for. Please contact us with specifics to get a quote and estimated lead.
How do solid wood floors compare to some of the newer flooring options such as engineered wood, laminate, vinyl, etc...?
Call me biased, but I think solid wood is the absolute best flooring for long-term beauty and durability. Sure engineered may have specs suggest it is more stable. Luxury vinyl may be made from plastic that is supposed to last forever, and the printed "grain" on faux-wood patterns is more realistic than it was twenty years ago. The patterns still repeat; the luster still fades, and for all the specs on stability engineered flooring just won't last as long as real wood. By So, for me, all these replacements just don't have "it". You can walk into a room where the wood was installed rough hewn and worn by hundreds of years worth of footsteps or one where the wood is impeccably milled and so new that you can still smell it; while they look and even feel different under your feet, they just have a quality that no other flooring an replicate.