Douglas Fir

Summary Description

Douglas Fir is known for many distinctive natural attributes: superb strength, durability, and natural beauty. It is one of the strongest and most durable softwoods available, with a gold-orange color and extraordinarily straight and fine-grained fibers. The distinct grain pattern and light color of Douglas Fir give structures built with this wood a unique and distinguished look.

The species is named after Scottish botanist David Douglas, (its scientific name, Pseudotsuga menziesii, honors Archibald Menzies, who described the tree first in the 1790s). Douglas Fir is technically not an actual Fir (Abies genus), but is in its own genus: Pseudotsuga.

Douglas Firs grow to be quite large, with a large yield of usable lumber and veneer for plywood. Highly valuable as a commercial timber, it is widely used in construction and building purposes. The wood is quite strong and rigid for its weight, and is one of the hardest and heaviest softwoods available commercially in North America.

With its excellent strength-to-weight ratio, Douglas Fir is well-suited for a wide variety of uses, from doors and window frames to a broad range of residential, commercial, and industrial applications, including homes, barns, garages and all manner of heavy timber framing. Douglas Fir is a top choice for contractors, architects, designers, and consumers, due to its structural performance and its clear, tight, straight grain. When a fine, knotty material is desired, Douglas Fir is a great choice. It is dimensionally quite stable and holds nails well.  It’s an ideal material for builders who want to construct eco-friendly structures that will last for generations to come, using a wood species that is sustainably harvested. Douglas Fir is highly resistant to strong winds and earthquakes, and thus is well-suited for a wide range of structural applications.

It is frequently used for heavy load-bearing designs, exterior exposed woods, and is an ideal wood for spanning long distances (e.g., churches and cathedrals where wide-span cathedral ceilings are abundant), and where wide structures are required for storing inventory or housing numbers of people, such as retail operations and large gathering spaces, wedding/event venues, and even wine operations and breweries. Equestrian Centers and stables also utilize Douglas Fir's many benefits, while showcasing the natural beauty of the wood. Due to its incredible strength and durability, Douglas Fir is a very popular softwood used in heavy timber, post-and-beam, mortis-and-tenon and timber frame construction projects. It's also a great wood to stain to create unique interiors, and extraordinary exterior spaces.

Explore the many advantages of using Douglas fir in heavy timber construction in your next project.

Interior Uses

• Timber Frame Trusses, Full Frame Systems, Foyers, and Structural Vaulted Ceilings
• Doors, door frames, window frames, beds, small and large tables.
• Kitchen cutting boards and kitchen platforms (no poisonous chemicals are found in this wood).
• Flooring.
• Wood walls and interior art pieces. Douglas fir holds polish, paint, and glue well.
• Specialty millwork, such as crown molding, chair rails, onlays and appliques, ceiling medallions, bun feet, and more. 

Exterior Uses 

• Timber Frame Pavilions, Timber Frame Barns, Post-and-Beam Construction, Mortis-and-Tenon Architecture, Outdoor Kitchens, Pool Covers, Event Centers, and Timber Frame Equestrian Stables
• Boat making, bridge parts, and port constructions. Douglas fir has excellent longevity after exposure to water.
• Building and construction, including framing, siding and roofing.
• Plywood and other veneers.