Often times you need to understand the structure in order to understand the
wood. In the case of a cooling tower, the purpose of the structure is to
cool the water vapor so it will condense and can once again be converted to
steam to power the turbines. The structure is designed to have as much
surface area as possible so that more water will condense. The structure is
extremely wood intensive and yet the pieces are all rather small for such a
large structure. I had never before seen a wood structure five stories tall
with the largest wood member a nominal 4×4. Another first was the copper
fasteners – every nail, screw, bolt and nut was copper. Iron is cheaper but
rusts out and with all the water condensing would fail relatively quickly.
The result is a copper green patina on every single piece of this wood.
Cracking good.
Sizes: primarily 4/4 with some 5/4, 6/4 and 8/4. Primarily 4-9″ wide and
8-12′ long.
Applications: ideal for flooring, as well as all other interior
applications.
Grade: character grade, sound tight knot. No nail holes, very limited
checking.
Defining characteristic: unusual coloration from being under water so long
Milling and texture options: planed surface Grain density: about average for
heart pine, not loose but not especially tight either.