birch lumber wood |alamo hardwoods

Birch

Birch (Betula alleghaniensis) is one of the more common American woods, if not noticeably so. It is somewhat soft to be used for flooring, but has been used occasionally in historic homes in the King William district. Birch has small pores compared to oaks and ashes, but larger than maple or cherry. These small pores, when stained, do a wonderful impression of walnut or the mahoganies. The center of the birch tree turns red, compared to the outer, lighter colored wood. Sometimes, birch products will be specified as all white or red or unselected. It is very common in plywood products, furniture and doors. Most often, it is stained to imitate other woods.Often birch was used to imitate these more expensive woods when labor for staining was cheap. In one house in Monte Vista the stain job was so perfect that the only way to determine the actual wood used was to pull one of the giant panel doors all the way out on its track. The very end of the door was left unstained. The rest of the house looked exactly like Honduras mahogany. Much of the birch plywood used has a "rotary" cut veneer, which gives it an irregular appearance. Due to the smooth grain, this is not as noticeable as the oak done the same way.

Flat Cut Birch, showing red and white

alamo hardwoods | san antonio | birch plywood cabinets 1950s mid century mod

Birch plywood cabinets, white stained

alamo hardwoods | san antonio | mid century mod | birch plywood cabinets white stain

Rotary Cut Birch Plywood Cabinets