Is Hardwood Fire Resistant

When comparing hardwoods vs softwoods it s the density of the wood that makes all the difference.

Is hardwood fire resistant.

Reinforcing this claim in 2007 the united states forest products laboratory released a report entitled cone calorimeter tests of wood based decking materials which show that the density of untreated ipe outperforms other traditional. Softwood is less costly as compare to hardwood. If you are not already familiar with this material it is an exotic hardwood from south america and it is one of the hardest toughest most insect and rot resistant wood on earth. Hardwood has more resistance against fire as compare to softwood.

Class 1 requires below 25 for flame spread and below 450 ds for smoke generation. It has the same fire rating as steel and concrete making it a more fire resistant choice than softwoods. If you have been through a fire and are in the process of rebuilding there are many solid reasons to consider using ipe wood as siding decking and fencing. However ipe is the wood with the best flame spread resistance better than any other decking option.

Most industry publications show these high density hardwoods as class a fire rated. This tests the flame spread and optical density of smoke generated for building materials. One of the densest hardwoods it sinks in water. Australia has a number of high density timbers that provide an inherent natural bushfire resistance seven of these are defined by as 3959 2009 as bushfire resisting timbers brts.

Softwood has less resistance against fire as compared to the hardwood. As we ve said before they don t call it ironwood for nothing. The tree is native to madagascar and inland africa. Benefits of fire resistant floors and walls.

It has high concentrations of tannic acid which makes it resistant to rot insects and fungi. The only wood that really can handle fire to any significant degree is ipe. But it s the baobab s bulk and stature that is so astonishing. Nova s fire rated ipe and fire rated cumaru decking has also been tested.

When it comes to fire resistant wood the king is ipe wood of course. They are solid dense hardwoods that performed well in extensive fire testing both fire retardant fr treated timbers and specific species can be used in many. The products made from softwood can be costly or cheap. Many have trunks 30 feet in diameter.

It can grow to be nearly 100 feet tall. Three times harder than cedar. Hardwood is commonly expensive as compare to softwoods due to immense use in the furniture industry. Mold fire weather and pest resistant.

One of the most fire resistant of all tree species is the baobab. While not quite as fire resistant as the batu both ipe and cumaru hardwood have very low flame spread ratings and meet cal fir san diego county and astm 84 10 specifications. They also work great when mixed with hardwood to help freshen up a slow burning fire. Overall hardwood vs softwood.