Exterior trim is essential to add structural stability to various parts of your home. Be it the windows or doors, the edge stabilizes and seals the architecture and protects them against harsh weather conditions. And given that you need a solid wooden frame for this job, would pine be a good choice for exterior trim?
Pine wood is excellent for exterior trim due to the elasticity that helps to re-shape it according to the shape and size of your architecture. You can install it over uneven walls. It is also paint-grade so that you can seal it with one coat of clear exterior grade for its structural maintenance.
To understand more about pine wood, let’s check out the various benefits that pine brings to our exterior trimming projects. We will also check out a few features to clear up any questions you might have. Let us begin!
Why Is Pine Wood Good for Exterior Trim?
Pine wood is a very versatile building material due to its flexibility and durability against deterioration and drastic climate changes. They are easy to maintain and do not change dimensions according to weather changes. Moreover, they are widely available, which makes them a cost-effective investment.
Before we head to the benefits of using pine wood for exterior trims, let’s check out some features of this widely popular wood for home’s architectural stability:
Pine Wood Is Available Internationally
Pine wood is a softwood (comes from coniferous trees). It is one of the most sought-after softwoods grown in lush areas in the Northern Hemisphere. These places include:
- America
- Bhutan
- India
- China
- Europe
- Canada
- Afghanistan
- Mexico
And due to being this widely available from well-known global areas, you can expect the highest quality woods to grace your trims.
There Are Many Pine Wood Species
There are over 170 types of pine wood, each with their particular usefulness for us. Some of the most notable ones are:
- Red Pine
- Scotch Pine
- Sugar Pine
- Caribbean Pine
- Yellow Pine
- Blue Pine
- Chir Pine
- Eastern White Pine
- Black Pine
- Mountain Pine
Pine Is a Hardy Wood
Let’s begin by learning about the concept of the Janka Hardness Test. It is a test to assess a wood sample’s resistance to deterioration. If you look at the Janka Hardness Test results for pine Wood, here is what the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service had to say back in 2010:
- Yellow Pine Wood Janka Hardness: 870N
- Eastern White Pine Wood Janka Hardness: 1300N
Pine Wood’s Flexibility Comes With Perks
Pine Wood is your best bet if you want carved wood exterior trim. Its flexibility makes it a choice wood for professionals. Moreover, they bend and adapt perfectly under both manual craftsmanship, as well as machine tools. It is easy to screw nails over it due to its softness and have it stay in one dimension in all climates.
Pine Wood holds all the features that make it a durable, available, and easy wood to work with for your exterior trims. Moreover, it is an affordable choice for home renovation or installing protective seals to keep your house safe.
Now, if you’ve been involved in a few woodworking projects, you know that nail pops can occur when you install a new roof. But do you know the reason? I’ve dedicated a complete article to this question. Find out the answer by clicking on the link. [Why Do Nail Pops Happen in a Ceiling After a New Roof?]
Benefits of Using Pine Wood for Exterior Trim
Pine has various advantages, primarily when you use it for your doors’ and windows’ exterior trims. Be it your first time installing exterior trims or just renovating for a different look, pine wood is the way to go! So let us check out a few noteworthy ones to help you understand the benefits of this wood:
Pine Wood Is Easy To Install
According to various professional woodworkers, pine wood is easy to install and work with, thanks to its flexible surface yet sturdy build. With most other wood, it takes time to cut, shape, carve, and stain them according to the client’s demands. But that is not a problem with pine wood for exterior trimming.
You can:
- Shape these pine woods as needed.
- Bend them to form an arch, a base, etc.
- Use nails and screws without damaging the nearby surface.
They make woodworkers’ lives easier by reducing the hours spent installing exterior trims. Not to forget, they are also easy to stain. This means you can seal them without worrying about deteriorating the aesthetics. And thanks to these perks, most woodworkers opt for pine wood for your exterior trim over any other types of wooden frames.
They Have Pleasant and Natural Shades
The uniqueness in the natural colors of pine wood gives it an aesthetic upper hand over other woods. These planks come in various shades, such as:
- Creamy white color
- Light yellowish
- Slightly darker shades
It is soothing to look at and goes excellent with home exteriors with a darker shade. For example, if your house exterior is darker, you can opt for a creamy white shade of pine wood to install as the exterior trims. And thanks to its natural look, many love the rustic tones of pine wood to grace their homes.
They are naturally pleasing and refreshing to the eyes and add more value to your property. These shades do not darken quickly, so your exterior trims will look as good as new for many years, especially with proper maintenance.
Pine Wood Comes With Rot Resistance
While a little expensive, investing in the rot-resistance coating is the best way to ensure your pine exterior trim remains safe and sound for many years. It is a long-term solution to keeping your installation away from termite and weather-related damages.
Most professionals work with non-toxic chromated copper arsenate (CCA) or Alkaline Copper Quaternary (ACQ) to make pine wood resistant to mites and other causes of wood damage. These increase your exterior trims’ resistance to any time of breakage or deterioration from within. Not to forget, pine woods become easier to maintain thanks to these professional treatments.
Always say yes to these wood treatments for your pine installation. Neglecting this choice will ultimately lead to your trim exterior getting damaged and weak over time, costing more to replace. They are popular in today’s property market and help you maintain a sturdy home.
It Is a Pocket-Friendly Choice
Exterior Trim installation costs about $1,952 on the national average. Hence, opting for a stable yet affordable wooden base, such as pine wood, is best. And the reason for its cost-effectiveness is due to its wide-range availability. Pine wood is available worldwide, and its quality remains at par with the best available wood choices.
Moreover, its abundance and affordability make it a sought-after option for various highly-professional woodworkers. And while it is available worldwide, its extensive popularity all around the United States reduces its cost in the property market.
Not to forget, pine trees are easy to grow. This aspect of pine wood makes it pocket-friendly for middle-class and lower-middle-class families. So if you want an inexpensive softwood that stays durable all year round at a lower expense, then pine wood is your best bet.
Pine Wood Is Highly Durable
Pine wood is highly durable, even as a softwood, making for a tremendous exterior trim. It is also lightweight, making it flexible for all installations. It has higher endurance against wear and tear and breakage. And the best part about pine wood is that even after years of staying stable, it will be affordable to replace if it does face wear and tear.
The best example of pine wood’s durability is its popularity among homeowners for flooring and patio. This is due to its endurance and resistance against high-foot traffic during long-term usage.
And since pine wood takes a long time to succumb to high traffic, imagine how long it will stay untouched as your exterior trim! So if you are looking for a study trim that does not need frequent maintenance, then ask professionals about pine wood planks.
The Aesthetics Work With Both Traditional and Modern
One of the best aspects of pine wood is its ability to blend in perfectly with all types of property aesthetics. Pine wood’s light and creamy textures are perfect for your home if you have a traditional-style house with beautifully rustic undertones. Its lightness in color and feel seals it in a visually pleasing form for your exterior trim.
And the best part is that pine wood looks equally fantastic in modern architecture. For example, if your doors and windows have a sleek and dark coat of paint, the light and peachy pine wood would beautifully complement the trim.
Conclusion
In conclusion, you can use pine wood for your exterior trim without worry! Their quick installation process and low maintenance make it a breeze to own for your property’s architectural stability. And since they come in pleasantly beautiful shades, you can install them in traditional homes as well as modern apartments.
Thanks to its global availability and ease of growing, pine wood is affordable for all homes, making it a sought-after material for your exterior trim. It is also one of the most durable softwoods for external edges, which does not rot or deteriorate quickly with time.