Oregon Timber

The natural strength of Oregon timber has been used for centuries to build everything from bridges and boats, all the way down to your average house. Oregon timber was once the most popular type of building material used in Australia. Oregon, more commonly known as Douglas Fir, this versatile softwood comes from North America.

To discuss your project and how Oregon timber can be used, contact one of our friendly team members in the Timber department.

Oregon can be used for external applications, but only for above-ground installations. Oregon can also be used for external structural applications such as joists and bearers under weather-exposed decks.

Oregon is a softwood that can be found in North America. It has yellow-brown to pale reddish colouration, with high resin content which causes it to crystalise on the surface when exposed for long periods at room temperature.

Depending on the order volume, generally we can complete your order in two to three days, and delivery may take another two working days.

Fine Grain Oregon is the original example of Douglas fir, used in Australian housing has been around for more than a century. When processed from mature trees, it presents a superior combination of appearance, strength-to-weight ratios, stability and stiffness. The coastal area of British Columbia in Canada and some parts of the U.S. in the Pacific Northwest West has the climate, terrain and soil that are ideal for the growth and production of this timber. It should not be confused with Oregon coming from other regions.

Continuing availability is secured through strict sustainable yield forestry practices. This is guaranteed by tough environmental legislation, as well as international certification and third-party auditing. In British Columbia, Industry, Government, indigenous people and environmental groups are working closely to resolve differences. See www.coastforestconservationinitiative.com

Australian Standard AS2858-2001 describes allowable characteristics for all visually stress graded softwood and designates an ‘F’ rating for structural applications. The lower the ‘F’ rating the lower the strength of the piece. While Oregon can be graded as low as ‘F4’,
The minimum grade requirement for Fine Grain Oregon is ‘F7’ with many of the pieces actually being ‘F8’ or ‘F11’ (the highest grade possible for this species).

Heart centre (not to be confused with heartwood) describes the occurrence of the pith: the very centre of the tree in a piece of timber. This can be identified as a ‘bulls eye” at the end of a board representing the first annual growth ring of the tree. Because this area is the most unstable part of the tree, all Oregon used in external and visual applications should be free of heart centre (FOHC) so as to reduce splitting and other movement defects such as checking, bow, spring, twist and cupping. Fine Grain Oregon is readily available in FOHC

Fine Grain Oregon will not rot unless the moisture content of the wood is raised unnaturally high for an extended period. To eliminate moisture ingress, simply have a roof cover your structure so that rainwater cannot collect or pool on the timber. Where pieces are exposed, design members to promote water runoff, and apply a paint-on wood preservative to the end grain at joins, any leading edges, and incisions made for hardware. No pieces should come into ground contact, and posts should sit in stirrups.

Green refers to timber that has not been dried. Fine Grain Oregon is supplied green and has a successful history of naturally seasoning to Australian conditions with minimum distortion when stored away from the elements before use and application/maintenance of an appropriate paint system when in use. As Oregon gains or loses moisture during transportation or otherwise, it will shrink or swell until it reaches equilibrium with the constantly changing moisture level in the air of its immediate environment. Douglas Fir is unique among all softwood species in that it is naturally dimensionally stable and consequently can season well in position.

The Building Code of Australia is the primary referenced Standard, AS1684.2-1999. ‘Residential Timber-Framed Construction’ permits the use of Fine Grain Oregon (a durability class #4 timber) in above-ground external applications when ongoing protection against weather exposure and associated moisture ingress is employed. To find out more see the Standards Australia website: https://store.standards.org.au/product/as-1684-2-1999-amdt-3