It grows in altitudes between 400 feet and 1200 feet
in semi-arid conditions with annual rainfall levels between 12 inches
and 20 inches a year. Growing slowly in such dry areas accounts for the
exceptional density and hardness of Australian Cypress, which is the
only commercial softwood with a Janka hardness (1375lbs) harder than
American Red Oak (1290lbs) — making it the ideal softwood flooring
choice for residential or commercial settings!
There are 1,000,000 acres of commercial Cypress
forests, 90% of which are on Crown lands, well managed by the Australian
Forestry Department through selective cutting and natural regeneration.
In the past, Cypress was cleared to make way for additional grazing
lands, but now is protected as a valuable species & is sustainably
managed.
In Australia, cypress is typically used for fence
posts, fencing, framing, flooring & siding given its unique
durability with exceptional resistance to decay and termites. Cypress is
rated as a Class One Durability timber—the highest rating given.
With a wide range of cream/straw/honey brown tones
and filled with darker character knots, Australian Cypress is the ideal
flooring choice wherever a warm, rustic country look is desired.
The Unique Character
of Australian Cypress is what causes
many to consider cypress to be the world’s most beautiful softwood.
However, you & your customer need to understand the properties, look
& grading of this wood so all concerned have the proper expectations
of how the floor will look after installation. Doing so prior to
installing avoids possible disappointment later.
Cypress is a character filled wood and that is the
beauty of using cypress. Due to the extreme hardness and density of this
wood, coupled with the knots found in this species, you will find the
following specific character intrinsic to this species. There are
Numerous Knots. During the drying process, these knots "star
check", (open up with cracks), and in the milling process they
occasionally chip on the edge. If any of these checks/edge chips are too
large, the installer may either cross cut them out and use the remaining
pieces as starter/ending pieces or may install as is and fill later.
There is occasional Face/End Checking. As cypress is extremely brittle,
once dried to N. American needs, there is minor surface checking (small
cracks in the face) and end checking that occurs from time to time.
These are not defects but simply part of the Australian Cypress
character.
Other Australian Flooring Items Available from WFI
include:
