# Building a new house, Choosing a type of wood



## jj4nu (Mar 31, 2008)

We are building a house and want to go with a dark choclate colored stain for our trim. Our cabinets are maple. I would like to stay in the oak priced wood catagory, but I am not a huge fan of the grain of oak. Do you guys have any ideas? Thanks in advance.


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## aclose (Nov 11, 2007)

what do you want the wood for? flooring? framing? paneling?


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## jj4nu (Mar 31, 2008)

*I thought I had stated that it was for our trim*

base boards, casings, jambs. Sorry, if I wasn't clear enough before.


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## skymaster (Oct 30, 2006)

not many choices for pre made trim; pine is standard, since you are staining clear is necessary. You might be very surprised if you price it out with clear pine and oak that oak could be cheaper. If money is no object than Mahogany will give you the color you like. Poplar is inexpensive, tho I dont think it is readily available in pre made trim. It will take DARK stain quite well.


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## morgid (Apr 1, 2008)

skymaster said:


> not many choices for pre made trim; pine is standard, since you are staining clear is necessary. You might be very surprised if you price it out with clear pine and oak that oak could be cheaper. If money is no object than Mahogany will give you the color you like. Poplar is inexpensive, tho I dont think it is readily available in pre made trim. It will take DARK stain quite well.


Pine is a good choice :thumbsup:


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## joesdad (Nov 1, 2007)

If cost is a factor, poplar would be the more economical choice over more expensive darker wood. In my area poplar moldings are readily stocked in many yards ie: casing and baseboard. I can't say I've ever seen poplar window stool, and they always have common dimensional boards...1x4 1x6 etc.

As Skymaster mentioned, poplar is fine to stain as long as you're going really dark (like chocolate) One, or as little as two good coats of a concentrated dye stain would probably put the color where you want it to be. I can't say the same for _some_ pines. They tend to become very blotchy with dark stains, and the poplar does not.


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## thekctermite (Dec 23, 2007)

Walnut would be a beautiful wood to use as well. A coat of polyurethane is just about all it takes to get a deep chocolate color with nice depth. Walnut is readily available and you can get any competent millwork shop or supply house to run it through the moulder to make your trim profiles.

If you go with a softer wood like pine, be sure to use sanding sealer to avoid the "splotchy" look you can get with the stain.


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## pianoman (Jan 16, 2008)

You will pay a premium for WALNUT!!! Give me a break! Poplar is the best choice. But if you just do not like poplar... Lauwan... a cheap alternative to Mahogany. Really, If you want to see the grain...and you don`t like Oak... try Ash with a tinted laquer...or talk to a professional painter. The`re are really alot of techniques to explore!!


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## joesdad (Nov 1, 2007)

pianoman said:


> You will pay a premium for WALNUT!!! Give me a break!


:laughing:...I heard that! Last job I special ordered 6" black walnut crown with a really nice profile it cost my customer $9.00 a ft. for that stuff...


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## pianoman (Jan 16, 2008)

Yah, 9 dollars a ft. and $15.00 a cut to install.


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## thekctermite (Dec 23, 2007)

Wow pianoman, way to jump on me for suggesting walnut. The original poster is looking for options, and I gave one. My suggestion of pricey walnut is no sillier than to suggest poplar for interior stained trim on a house. Sure, you can do it, but it will look like you stained poplar. :thumbdown:


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## joesdad (Nov 1, 2007)

thekctermite said:


> Wow pianoman, way to jump on me for suggesting walnut. The original poster is looking for options, and I gave one. My suggestion of pricey walnut is no sillier than to suggest poplar for interior stained trim on a house. Sure, you can do it, but it will look like you stained poplar. :thumbdown:



No bad intent kctermite, I think I was surprised too you suggested it considering the original poster stated he wanted to stay in the oak priced category which walnut is certainly not if he was comparing to standard red oak you can readily buy everywhere.

hey! Don't knock the stained poplar too bad :laughing:, everyone laughs when I tell them I stain polar _occasionally_, but once they see it, they can't believe it. Three things: Only dark stains. Pull only boards with the lighter grain and analine dyes. You can pull off some amazing stuff once you experimented, failed, and then succeeded over the course of many years...:thumbsup:


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## Suz (Dec 8, 2006)

Another choice that you might want to look at would be alder or soft maple. Both have 'subdued' grain patterns and take stain well.
But, both will dent easily.


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## Cdat (Jun 27, 2007)

If you have the shaper or large router to do the cutting and want to invest in a good router bit or two for right around $60 each, I would suggest you check our some wood suppliers who buy lots of wood flooring from people who canceled their orders. You can pick up some nice wood for a fraction of the regular cost. We are trimming out a bedroom in royal mahagony and Brazilian cherry. 3 bucks a foot. Got ipe for 3.50. Santos Mahagony for 2.50. Purple heart for 3 bucks.

The only downside to this is you have to buy the entire lot. I am eye'ing some Bolivian Rosewood at 4.50 a foot but I'd have to buy 2,000 sf. I figure I can find a use for it.:thumbsup:


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## TheStairguy (Mar 25, 2008)

I think the poster should stay with maple but go with a natural maple because it is cheaper than white. I am was under the impression that oak and maple were relatively close in cost. Maybe it depends on the part of the country you are living in. Because maple has such a degree of open and closed grains that give you the "Splotchy effect" a pre-sealer should be considered. I love mixing wood but only if the finish is going to be cleared or very lightly stained. This way the looks are more striking. Poplar is a good idea if you have a dark stain however the down side is that if it is too dark and the grain can't show through it. I, personally, think it looks like plastic when a finish is applied.  ROLe.


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## Al Killian (Aug 14, 2007)

jj4nu said:


> We are building a house and want to go with a dark choclate colored stain for our trim. Our cabinets are maple. I would like to stay in the oak priced wood catagory, but I am not a huge fan of the grain of oak. Do you guys have any ideas? Thanks in advance.


If you are close to someone with a molding machine you could get what ever wood you like and find the profile you like. If you are close to me , you can come over and use my machine.


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## pianoman (Jan 16, 2008)

I`m thinking Alder, it`s a light consistant grain...I have not stained or even worked with it yet...but after reading this thread...I`m going to try staining it to see how it works. Rick


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## mlightfoot (May 13, 2008)

I don't like the look of oak grain either. I used poplar when for all the base, case, jambs, doors, etc. 2 years ago when I built my house because my budget would not allow for cherry. There is alot of "character" in the wood as it is difficult to get pieces that do not have different color streaks through the wood such as black, green, and purple. I took the time to sand each piece so the stain would take evenly. It looks great. My local trim supplier stocks every profile in poplar.


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