https://thecraftsmanblog.com/is-finger-joint-lumber-worth-it This summer I noticed the finger joints are becoming visible through the paint. Hardwood Flooring in Kitchens Review: Pros and Cons, Tongue-and-Groove Pine Wood vs. Drywall Ceiling, How to Join Baseboard Moldings With Scarf Joints, Carpet vs. Hardwood Flooring Comparison Guide. Is not too heavy. Well, you may not want “cheap” lumber, but you certainly don’t want to pay any more for your materials than you have to. Everything is teachable if you only give it the chance. What does that tell you about the quality you are getting? European’s would not accept any shipload that had even one board with a pitch pocket that wasn’t repaired. and its stronger than any piece of #2 spruce you’ll find on the market, Your email address will not be published. MDF, as molding, can be made to work in the same way. Can You Burn MDF Particleboard (Medium-Density Fiberboard)? It’s a great way to make a piece of wood extend to almost any length by adding more and more pieces to the end. But not all finger-jointed trim is created equal. The rest of the trim looks fine. L. Sweet Lumber. How many? Joints like in the picture at the top of this post tend to perform best because of the large glue area, but small finger joint moldings like door stop, cove molding, quarter round and other similar items often don’t even have the strength to survive transport from the store to the job site. But we have old growth pine that’s as hard as cement and a bear to drill through…, Do I use finger joint lumber – nope. On its own, the fiberboard base, similar to MDF, would likely be the worst possible choice for flooring material. Skip to content Tell: +38 095 229 2109 | E-mail: evspallc@gmail.com - info@evspallc.com Also, wood as strong as weakest joint. Finger-jointed. I love old houses, working with my hands, and teaching others the excitment of doing it yourself! So let’s see. Two years ago I re-sided my garage with a lot of expensive red cedar shingle. Re: Mdf vs finger jointed pine trim I used MDF IIRC, the price was good and it comes primed. they are actually making finger jointed 2x structural material now. High quality materials and some say rather pricey. Plus, these were $300K homes. Only when coupled with another material does MDF achieve the strength needed to act as a baseboard. We doesn't provide finger jointed pine boards products or service, please contact them directly and verify their companies info carefully. This is just my opinion from working around the stuff for years. My husband has been saying this very same thing. Once the glue is cured and the clamps are removed you can sand or plane the wood smooth so that the joint lines up perfectly and once painted the joint is usually invisible (for a time). Read more…. The Spruce uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. The problem with finger joint lumber is that every piece of wood moves differently and the piece of wood on one side of the joint vs. the other side will almost always expand and contract at different rates. Combine pine lumber with different wall panels, creating a … These boards meet structural requirements NZ/AUS service class 3. Milling the pre primed pine makes a mess and wears on the saw blades and router bits. We also stock unit quantities as well. Building a Solid Pine Wood, Finger Jointed Guitar Amplifier Cabinet. But when installing hundreds of linear feet of baseboards, MDF tends to be favored by economy-minded owners, contractors, and builders. Goes 10 + years before a re-coat is needed. Finger-Jointed Pine. Don’t know what I was thinking with the finger jointed stuff. Even if there isn’t failure of the joint the expansion and contraction often results in the joint projecting through the paint where it can be clearly seen. Sure you can buy non-finger joint versions which are usually called stain grade, but they cost a lot more than their finger jointed cousins. I guess it was dirt cheap at the local Builder’s Surplus. The Windsor One that is available to us has been decent in appearance but the cost is so close to popular that for us the popular is more readily available and easier to work with. Canfor finger joined studs are interchangeable with solid studs of the same species and visual grades, including stud and #2. The most popular size of baseboard material is 3 1/4 inches high. The theory was the coverage would help protect the white glue. typical orange store piece of 1x6x8. So I’ll be spending good money after bad to fix the issue. In fact, MDF baseboards are usually sold primed not so much for the convenience of the customers but because primed wood ships better and with less risk of damage. It has a tight, uniform grain, and small limited knots making it great for appearance applications. So care must be taken when installing these baseboards and some amount of excess should be figured into the purchase price. The MDF Intrim use, is one of the best on the market due to it being the most environmentally friendly MDF material available, and if you are on a budget, is still quite a suitable product. This type of joint is a strong and aesthetically pleasing one and can make a seemingly ordinary object come alive with design and style. Natural wood may be bowed. It’s not complicated, you can make your own finger joint profile with a finger joint router bit if you wanted to. Sometimes I’ve installed it myself, but more often I’m the one removing it when it fails. A wide variety of finger jointed pine boards options are available to you, such as project solution capability, design style, and warranty. When contemplating the purchase of baseboards in the past, typically you only had just one choice: natural wood, usually pine or hemlock. One issue with MDF as a general building material is that it is not structurally sound on its own. Finger joint lumber is cheap because the manufacturers can use small lengths of leftover wood to assemble full length of moldings. Sanding and priming negate the small cost saving of using finger jointed pine versus popular. Get daily tips and tricks for making your best home. finger jointed pine boards. Cost: $2.34 per board foot. Finger-jointed pine is used for manufacturing and designing different elements for wooden frames and wooden legs for furniture such as; windows, doors, cabinets, tables, shelves, chairs and more. As a result, hardwood baseboards are usually stained and sealed. I’ll croak and the next person who buys my house will slap vinyl all over it cuz they hate maintenance. MDF baseboards' soft material cuts easily and does not split under the force of power-driven brad nails or even manually-hammered finish nails. people have said to me. Also, be sure to check for straight baseboards. Correction. You are definitely going to be appreciated by the next guy! Not necessarily. But it's mainly the wall behind the MDF baseboards that acts as its structural support. finger jointed pine. Has rot resistance similar to Cedar and Redwood. From Engineering point more the joints; lesser the strength of structure. China Primed Finger-Jointed Pine Base Baseboard Moulding, Find details about China Wooden Door Jamb, Wooden Door Frame from Primed Finger-Jointed Pine Base Baseboard Moulding - Deqing Deke Wood Industry Co., Ltd. Can you say, “ugly”? Wood expands and contracts in response to the conditions in the environment around it like heat, cold, and moisture. This results in the joint weakening and pushing apart over time. Finger joints, like scarf joints, create long baseboard runs out of shorter pieces of material. Radiata Pine is a very dimensionally stable pine. Outside corners, though, are MDF's weak points, since these areas are prone to chipping. Speaking as a structural engineer. In S4S, we stock widths from 3-12″ and in the Edge and Center Bead, we stock 4″ and 6″ widths. I know how to use a coping saw. It can work well, in larger pieces when there is ample gluing surface to help hold the pieces together, but it still has one fatal flaw. By using The Spruce, you accept our, How to Decide Between MDF and Wood Baseboards, How to Remove Door Trim and Other Molding Without Breaking It, How to Install Shoe Molding or Quarter-Round Molding, Solid Wood, Solid Core, and Hollow-Core Door Comparison. When carpenters plan to stain interior trim, their first choice is solid wood. If you are installing in great numbers and cost is an issue, then choose MDF baseboards for the cost advantage that they offer. At many home centers and lumberyards, MDF is up to 10-percent cheaper than hemlock and can even be the same price as primed, finger-jointed pine. Properly prepared it may last several years. Pine baseboards are better. It would be interesting to see finger-jointed studs getting manufactured. 1×6 Philippine Mahogany (Meranti). MDF baseboards on straight runs are nearly as strong as real wood baseboards. Real wood baseboards, such as those found in home centers, tend to be made from softwoods such as long, uninterrupted pine boards and finger-jointed pine or from hardwoods such as oak and hemlock. How do MDF baseboards compare to solid wood baseboards and are they worth purchasing? We stock Primed and Finger Jointed in S4S and Edge and Center Bead profiles. In my area you can get 16 ft pre-primed finger jointed products for about $8 a board. Takes a finish well. Finger jointed boards are long tapered fingers that interlock to join two pieces lengthwise as in commercial moulding or side by side in panels. The finger joint is then glued with a wood glue or other adhesive and clamped together to cure. Your Comparisons. Finger joint lumber should never be used for anything structural or exposed to the elements, but if you want to save a little to put some new casings in your closet then sure go ahead. I’ll be using mahogany for the trim boards. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. I’m re-siding my house now, red cedar, stained with BM solid stain. Oh, that’s expensive! Primed & Finger Jointed Pine. Just kidding! Wood moves. Because primed and painted natural wood is only marginally better than MDF at standing up against moisture, PVC is your best bet for highly wet spaces.