Southern Pine lumber has been popular since Colonial times and remains the preferred choice for today’s design/build professionals. There are many advantages of Southern Pine including great value and variety of applications. From framing a house to building a deck, Southern Pine is a dependable product for any project.
To be certain that treated wood products will provide the service life desired, it is important to use products that have been treated in accordance with AWPA standards and identified with a quality mark of an accredited inspection agency of the American Lumber Standard Committee (ALSC). This quality mark may be in the form of an ink stamp or end tag. Refer to the image below:
Here are a some inherent advantages of using Southern Pine:
Latest Design Values
The lumber industry conducts ongoing testing and invests millions of dollars to provide the most accurate and reliable design values for structural lumber. Design values for visually graded Southern Pine dimension lumber became effective June 1, 2013. These design values were determined from destructive tests of more than 7,400 full-size samples of commercially-produced Southern Pine that resulted in more than 300,000 data points. Additional background information about the development of these values is available here.
Cost Savings
Wood products are the most cost-effective building material on the market. Southern Pine is competitively priced because of an abundant timber supply, manufacturing expertise and established market preference.
Best Treatability
Southern Pine has long been the preferred species for pressure treatment because of its unique cellular structure that permits deep, uniform penetration of preservatives. Some 85% of all pressure-treated wood produced in the U.S. is Southern Pine.
Highest Density
Southern Pine has the highest specific gravity of all common structural lumber species, providing superior fastener-holding power and load-bearing capacity.
Comparable Strength and Stiffness
Design values for Southern Pine are comparable to other softwood species used in residential and commercial construction. Users can choose from a variety of visual grades and an increasing supply of mechanical grades providing a wide range of dependable strength and stiffness properties to meet the needs of any project.
Natural Beauty
Southern Pine offers a distinct grain pattern and an appealing golden color. Because of this natural beauty, exposed Southern Pine provides architectural appeal.
Widespread Availability
Southern Pine is an abundant and renewable resource, growing in a vast band across the Southern United States from East Texas to Virginia. These forests are in close proximity to hundreds of Southern Pine lumber manufacturing facilities, offering ready availability to major markets.
Dimensional Stability
Southern Pine dimension lumber 2″ and less in thickness must be dried to a maximum moisture content of 19%. This minimizes shrinkage associated with green lumber and provides long-term stability.
Proven Quality
Southern Pine lumber is graded in accordance with the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau (SPIB) Standard Grading Rules for Southern Pine Lumber.
Green Building Material
Southern Pine consists of four main species: longleaf, loblolly, shortleaf and slash. Southern Pine forests are some of the most productive and sustainable timberlands in the world, capturing large amounts of carbon from the air and storing it in lumber used every day. Southern Pine is grown and manufactured in the U.S. South, further improving local economies, reducing transportation costs and minimizing impacts on the environment.
Find Your Perfect Pole Barn Today – Get an Instant Quote Online!
Do you have questions about pole barns? Call our knowledgeable staff at (937) 547-9100. If you’re ready to build your pole barn, lock in a quote with DIY Pole Barns using our Instant Quote tool!
Connect with us on social media!