Siberian Larch Wood Properties & Advantages

A wood species native to Bavaria, the Carpathians and the Swiss Alps, Larch has been steadily introduced all over Europe since the seventeenth century. Today, it is a main constituent of the biggest forest mass in the world: the Barorial forest of Finland and Russia.

Tall and straight, reaching up to 45m in favourable conditions, Larch is the heaviest and hardest of European coniferous woods, developing best in mountainous regions with very cold winters. Although it is a conifer, Larch loses its needles in the autumn.

5. Larch Wood Construction Properties

Favoured as construction lumber for its toughness, high density and weatherproofing properties, Larch is often used for yacht building and joinery as well as for external cladding projects.

Kiln drying green larch ensures the even drying of Larch, although because it is high in resin content, this takes a while.

4. Is Larch a Hard or Soft Wood?

Larch: a cone-bearing conifer. Picture by @carl_inthewoods.

Though tough, heavy and dense, Larch is botanically a softwood and cone bearer, and therefore only moderately durable.

The best types of larch timber come from slow grown trees on the continent and northern Europe, where winter seasons are longer and colder than mild British winters, periods that are crucial to the wood’s maturing and development process. The higher north, the shorter the growing season and the denser the wood.

3. Larch Wood & Constructional Timber Properties

With nearly white sapwood and a heartwood of golden brown or reddish brown, Larch is a two-toned timber with a straight grain. The lower the grade, the higher the knot-ratio and sap content. Unsorted grades, meanwhile, will make BS1186 (part 3, class 2) for external joinery and/or cladding.

Stable and elastic when free of larger knots, the water-resistant heartwood is particularly attractive to yacht building industries and makers of small boats. The traditional Scottish construction method for fishing boats, in fact, involved layering Larch on top of Oak to best combine the extremely durable and waterproofing properties of both woods respectively.

Very prized for its appearance and texture as well as its durability, European Larch is very well suited for other features such as joinery, decking and flooring. In Central Europe in particular, Larch is widely and historically viewed as the best timber for building residences, both for internal and external purposes; for example, because it is naturally resistant to rot and decay when in contact with the ground, Larch can be used for wall-to-wall external timber cladding as well as fence posts and utility poles.

A very resinous, tough and heavy timber, Larch is used a lot in hand-split shakes but can be difficult to machine due to its high sap content gumming up blades. Though it finishes fairly well, Larch can also split during nailing.

||Fun fact: Larch species are particularly appreciated in bonsai culture, prized for their small needles, sprightly foliage and autumnal colours.

Larch bonsai by @bonsaieejit

2. Siberian Larch Cladding By WL West

Perhaps the most common and most well-known of its uses due to its geographical origins, external cladding remains the most common end-use application for Larch in W.L. West & Sons Ltd’s projects, alongside other timber species, such as Oak and Western Red Cedar.

Siberian Larch cladding possesses a combination of natural properties that make it low-maintenance while effective. The resin in the wood makes it resistant to rot and decay, while the density of the wood means it needs little treatment or maintenance. Additionally, the pleasant golden-red colour of the heartwood make it a popular choice for internal cladding or boarding features as well.

Although it is durable for a softwood, it is, nevertheless, recommended to keep Larch protected. There are treatments available to combat rot and fungi that preserve the original colour of the wood and allow for a more controlled and limited degradation over time.

For Siberian Larch prices, we recommend getting in touch with one of our experts. They will be able to recommend certain quantities and grades depending on your project in order to provide the most accurate price.

1. Larch Wood Medicinal and Magical Properties

Associated with rest and rejuvenation in the esoteric spheres of herbal medicine and Bach flower remedies, Larch is also the traditional tree used to represent the World Tree in Eurasian shamanism.

In more empirical disciplines, it has been found that Arabinogalactan, the starch-like chemical found in most plants and used as a binder in some foods, is found in particularly high concentration within Larch trees. Arabinogalactan is used to treat infections, including the common cold, flu, swine flue, HIV/AIDS, as well as liver cancer and hepatica encephalopathy. It may also be taken to boost dietary fibre and lower cholesterol levels.

W. L. West & Sons Ltd is a timber merchant and sawmill business with 150 years of experience. We provide a wide range of air-dried oak and kiln-dried oak timber products and supplies. We also build and install custom projects for our customers.

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