Pine or Poplar

[Grasshopper]

I'm getting ready trim out a hallway and dining room with framed wainscot.  I'll be buying around 400 linear feet of 1x stock (1x4's, 1x2's, and 1x8's).

Historically I buy poplar for paint grade, but tried some WindsorOne pine baseboard, casing, and header stock and liked how it painted up and installed.  It was pre-primed, and was easy to spray with paint and done. 

The difference in price is pretty big poplar vs. pine (the pine being close to 1/2 the price, with the added benefit of coming pre-primed).

I've always considered pine and poplar pretty similar as far as soft woods, but thought I'd see what you thought.

Pine (WindsorOne) vs. stock poplar - - -

What do you think?

 

[Holzhacker]

I also like poplar for paint grade. Sands and paints so nice.
Its hard to beat some of the pre-primed pine when taking material and labor costs into account.
On higher end jobs I'll use poplar unless the client has specified ordering pre-primed specialty something or other. On more moderate jobs I like the pre-primed pine. As long as its 3/4" it should be fine. A lot of it is closer to 5/8".
I don't use the particle board or paper trims. Too low rent for me. The PVC stuff is nice but a bit pricey.

 

[Grasshopper]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I do prefer poplar.

Does anyone here on the FOG have experience with WindsorOne pre-primed interior trim?

The stuff I have tried is 3/4" thick, and paints super easy. Gary Katz uses them as a sponsor I believe, so I'm inclined to think it's pretty good stuff.

 

[tjbnwi]

As long as there are not large swings in humidity, it should be fine. I've seen the finger joints swell due to changes in humidity. Make sure you prime the cuts.

Tom

 

[NHSP759]

To echo Tom, my biggest problem is humidity with pine. I'm going to be retraining my living room and am set on Poplar.
Most of my house is in line and every spring the wood trim in my arts and crafts living room expands causing misalignment in the cabinet doors. Love the look of the old pine knotty board but it is a pain to deal with every spring.

 

[justinh]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I do prefer poplar.

Does anyone here on the FOG have experience with WindsorOne pre-primed interior trim?

The stuff I have tried is 3/4" thick, and paints super easy. Gary Katz uses them as a sponsor I believe, so I'm inclined to think it's pretty good stuff.

Their mouldings aren't bad.  Consistent profiles, consistent thicknesses, and sharp details vs rolled. Their bead board is also nice to work with.

I do not like their S4S trim boards.  I've run miles of the stuff.  The finger joints do telegraph and often come that way.  The primer is frequently a mess.  It is very subject to humidity swings.  The grain on a sanded but unprimed intersections on something like a wainscot run or coffered ceiling will ripple if it picks up ambient humidity and then dries out indoors.  When ripping, the grain on the reverse sections of the finger joints tears out badly and if for some reason you need to put a routed profile on it there is a ton of tearout with sharp bits and even with shear cut bits.  I have never experienced these problems on poplar to the degree I have on Windsor. 

Pricing on the product may be a regional thing but here FJ poplar and S4S poplar are both cheaper unless you are buying it from a box store.

 

[curt boyer]

Popular is actually a hardwood which will hold up better than pine when it comes to to day to day wear and tear. Most of the pre primed pine is Raita pine from South America. It's a quick growing and relatively inexpensive wood to use for boards and mouldings. We use it when budget demands but my vote would be for popular. The primer that is used is crap and the finished texture of the boards are really poor. Typically we have to try and sand the rough texture to make the surface smooth and uniform. Sometimes we have to prime it again because the sanding removes the factory primer. Sanding and priming negate the small cost saving of using finger jointed pine versus popular. Milling the pre primed pine makes a mess and wears on the saw blades and router bits. 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. Remember that materials are always cheaper than labor! Spend a little more for better quality materials, you'll thank yourself when the job is complete and looking great!
Cheers
Curt

 

[Grasshopper]

Thanks everybody!

Poplar it is.

Time to get to work!!!