What is Knotty Pine
What is Knotty Pine
Rustic Southern Pine (Knotty) floors are not created equal, not even close. We produce Heart Pine flooring from Longleaf Pine timber, not building materials from farmed Loblolly pine. Our #2 Knotty Southern Pine floors can be compared to Character grade Heart Pine, with up to 50% heart content. What this means is our #2 knotty pine simply lacks the heart content to be deemed Bayou Rustic Heart Pine which requires a minimum of 50% visible heartwood. So, distance from the middle of the tree (heart) determines if our #2 becomes Heart Pine. This is quite different from mills producing building materials from younger timber. Our Knotty pine grade has always been our #1 seller by volume and remains the most versatile board we offer. In conclusion, #2 Rustic Southern Pine has knots as opposed to Clear grade but not enough heartwood to be called Heart Pine.
The color equals character.
What is New Heart Pine?
New Heart Pine is not new at all, not compared to dimensional lumber or farmed pine. While it is true the longleaf pines of old were allowed to grow hundreds of years and develop dense hearts, trees grown today do still develop some heartwood. The term Heart Pine refers to the non-living “heart” of a pine tree, as opposed to the outer living layers, known as sapwood. A pine tree’s heartwood is highly valued and preferred by many woodworkers and builders, because it is strong, hard, and has a beautiful reddish-gold color. Heartpine is a grade given to flooring with more than 50% visible heart content on the face over every board.
Matching Heart Pine Treads
What about select grade?
Homeowners buying floors online see a grade or term, such as “Select” Knotty Pine and assume it means ‘the best’. No, not all. Select, by definition, indicates ‘hand selected’ during the sorting process. Only problem, it is all ‘hand sorted’ unless you are keeping defects in the grade. Machines do not sort boards for things such as Heart Content, holes, cracks all of which matter, to say the least. Best advice when buying floors online, read the specifications online and ask questions.
