The Historic District

phil wrote:I think I was caught by jumping tot he conclusion that it's fir by the grain pattern which is similar to fir. It's funny because fir is a softwood technically it is a coniferous tree whereas pine looses it's leaves.

Phil...pines are conifers too, and don't have leaves--they have needles. (Did you forget to have coffee this morning? This is so unlike you!)

I recently posted this for somone else... I have both fir... AND yellow pine floors in our upstairs. The pine is original, and I used fir in the addition because I could not get matching pine. They are very close in look, when the fir is cut "vertical grain".

Here is where the two floors meet. Fir on left, pine on right.


In this photo you can kinda see what the original yellow pine floor looks like:


This is the new fir floor, just after being installed back in 2005 (the rest of the room was still under construction):


So as you can see - it's very close! All things being equal, though, I would say you have yellow pine.

Chris

Lily left the valley wrote:

phil wrote: Phil...pines are conifers too,

gosh darnit you are right. Its just at christmas they loose their nettles lol

alder and balsa are soft but are deciduous while fir and maybe the kind of pine on the east coast are harder softwoods, being coniferous.. The kind of pine we have is good for Home depot quality 2x4's, its too soft for stuff like flooring and the grain doesn't look like the picture.

yes I'm just loosing my marbles I think. don't mind me Lil

Phil

Hello from Lincoln, NE! You're probably pretty close to me - neighbor!

My 2 cents:
I have Fir throughout the floors on my second floor, and I just installed a new porch floor in fir. Its so distinctive to me. I'd say hands down you have Fir. Those orange and cream streaks are so distinctive to it. Oh, an old home I had in Kentucky had long leaf yellow pine floors. they are nothing like yours.

OK, my $.02. I vote for fir. In my opinion, yellow pine doesn't have the close, distinct grain that fir does. Heart pine IS the heart wood from a yellow pine (various types were used), no such thing as a heart pine tree.