Not all Southern Pine is Southern Yellow Pine. The word yellow differentiates those pine species which are sometimes called “hard pines” or heart pine from the white and red versions which are technically “southern”. Southern Pine has become endangered species, not literally of course, but as in hard to find and expensive. Our job at SYP Direct, get you the best floor for your money with an emphasis on your floor. We realize this decision is an investment; we treat it as such, with the goal of adding homeowner equity. SYP Direct provide customers unfinished Southern Pine that match every budget. 3/4 solid, real wood, the kind of floors that get reclaimed one day. Unfinished Southern Pine..the best DIY investment.
Southern Pine includes the yellow pines
Misconceptions about Southern Pine
The misconceptions about Southern Pine never cease to amaze me. Now a FAQ found online; “is southern pine toxic”? Yes, the species that we build our houses, decks, fences and furniture is toxic. “Is is durable?” Well, the floor at Independence Hall still looks good after 275 years, and my Grandmothers was just refinished after a 100.
Southern Yellow Pine not a species
If not a species, what is it?
If you read any part of this post, here it is, Southern Pine is not a species. Southern Pine exist in two categories, soft pines such as white, lacebark pines (Christmas trees), and Yellow or hard pines. Inside of Yellow pine are several sub species including Loblolly and Longleaf, the only two that really matter. One, builds our houses and is a commodity, literally (see lumber futures), the other gives us our gorgeous Heart Pine floors. Investment, Eco-Friendly and Hypo-allergenic.
Pine Lumber
Flooring versus lumber grades
Grades of dimensional lumber are standard, on the other hand, flooring grades more “fluid”. For example, Southern Yellow Knotty Pine is not a grade and a #2 depends on the #1, right? Forgive the attempt to confuse, but if you do not understand the product what difference does the price make? You deserve the best price, character, age, durability, stability and all the other positive characteristics of pine floors. We help do that for homeowners in every single one of our 50 states.
The term new Heart Pine indicates that the floors are not reclaimed.
Our Heart Pine floors are produced using mature, i.e. old Longleaf Southern Pine trees. ‘New’ separates it from antique or reclaimed heart piNo worries- for over a decade SYP Direct has been getting homeowners “direct” unfinished floors. Saving money, increasing the length and the quality of every Southern Pine floor sold since 2012.
By definition rustic refers to ‘having country charm’ or worse. That is unless you add rustic to style, as in Rustic Shabby Chic. Rustic includes knots, of course, but with those knots comes sapwood which translates as color and color variation.
Clear is not vertical grain
Vertical Grain unfinished and yes, dirty
Clear pine has long been a favorite for walls, trip and ceilings. One reason is that without sapwood (knots) the boards are very easy to paint. SYP Direct offers our customers clear pine with a variety of profiles including, V-Groove and Nickel Gap both of which remain popular and stylish.
Yes the picture shows dirty unfinished boards!
Why did I choose this pictures? If you are bird watching and you get a bad picture of a rare bird you keep it so I do not end up showing you the same finished pictures over and over- clear or natural. But wait..there is more.
New Pine is not new
The word new tells you “This is not reclaimed heart pine.” The fact is that heart pine is not a grade. Nope, just a term to indicate the presence of heartwood, defined by color in the market. What is heart content? A percentage range given to indicate a minimum amount of heartwood on each board, the problem is heartwood includes sapwood; and sapwood can be found in 300-year-old trees and 30-year-old trees.
Ninety percent of things you read or hear while shopping for flooring is a narrative with its own language. For example, select grade rustic pine or select heart pine sound great, but actually they are silly. Select means ‘selected by hand’ (or hand selected) and by definition heart pine is selected by hand and rustic is not a grade. The moral of this story, flooring companies want repeat business building shareholder NOT HOMEOWWNER equity.
Jason Howard August 2023
Partner & C0-Founder SYP Direct