Cypress

Overview

At Schulte Sawmill we also cut and supply Western Cypress. Cypress is also in our region meaning your timber travels less distance to get to your project, and has similar desirable traits to Ironbark. It's hard wearing, it's termite resistant, and, you guessed it; that’s what Granddad used.

We focus on custom matching old Queenslander floors in Cypress, and in panelling such as VJ, and as an inexpensive decking option. Also available are Cypress 4x2’s commonly used in old Queenslander framing construction.

White cypress is a softwood timber species growing to a height of up to 25 metres and a stem diameter of 0.6 metres. It is commonly found throughout western Queensland from Inglewood to Goodoowindi. Most of our Cypress comes from Inglewood.

In contrast to a creamy-white band of sapwood, the heartwood of this species ranges in colour from light yellow through orange to light brown, with occasional dark brown streaks. Grain is generally straight with a very fine and even texture. The presence of numerous tight knots is a distinctive feature that produces a strikingly decorative figure on exposed faces.

Natural resins in the wood impart a distinctive odour to white cypress and are believed to contribute to the timber's impressive natural durability. Heartwood is resistant to termites. Life expectancy for above ground applications is greater than 40 years and up to 25 years in-ground. Both the sapwood and the heartwood of this species resist impregnation with commercially available preservatives.

In terms of hardness, white cypress is a firm timber (rated 4 on a 6-class scale in relation to both indentation and hand tooling). It can be satisfactorily machined and turned to a smooth finish. Pre-drilling is recommended for hand nailing seasoned timber, although machine nailing with shear-point nails works well. White cypress readily accepts most standard coatings, stains and polishes. Special techniques, such as surface roughening, are required for gluing.

In its area of natural occurrence, white cypress is commonly found as sawn timber (usually unseasoned) in framework and other aspects of general building construction. More widely, it is used as flooring, cladding and fencing material. Decorative uses of white cypress include quality indoor and outdoor furniture, turnery, joinery, carving, parquetry and linings. Other common applications include oyster stakes and jetty piles in low-salinity environments, as well as beehives.

Qualities

PROS	CONS
High rot and termite resistance	Hard to work
Very high durability, hardness and density	Boards need to be pre-drilled
Widely available	Expensive
Used for over 200 years in heavy construction	Grain & Colour can vary widely so hard to get uniform looking flooring
Long lengths available readily	Strong cypress smell (this could be considered a pro as well!)
Can be used in freshwater environments	Low structural strength (F7 maximum)

Properties

NAME	Callitris glaucophylla. Family Cupressaceae Other names:- Cypress pine; • western cypress; • cypress
DESCRIPTION	White cypress grows to 25m high, typically conical. Stem is 0.3 to 0.6m diameter. Bark is dark grey, hard and deeply furrowed. Foliage is grey-green.
OCCURRENCE	Widespread natural distribution from central western Queensland to Victoria throughout most of the western New South Wales. Occurs in major commercial forest in the Tambo–Dalby–Inglewood region of southern Queensland Occurs in the Baradine–Narrabri and Cobar districts of northern New South Wales. Sawn timber is readily available.
APPEARANCE	Colour Heartwood varies from light to dark yellow-brown. Sapwood is creamy white. Grain Very fine with an even texture and generally straight. Knots are common.
USES	Construction: sawn timber (usually unseasoned) in general house framing, fascias, barge boards and fencing; also cladding, flooring, linings and joinery. Decorative: internal quality furniture, outdoor furniture, turnery, joinery, carving, parquetry flooring. Others: beehives, oyster stakes, jetty piles (low salinity river or canal situations).
PROPERTIES	Density: 675kgm³ at 12% moisture content; about 1.5m³ of seasoned sawn timber per tonne. Strength groups: S5 unseasoned, SD6 seasoned. Stress grades: F4, F5, F7 (unseasoned); F4, F5, F7 (seasoned) when visually stress-graded according to AS 2858-2008 : Timber—Softwood—Visually graded for structural purposes. Joint groups: J3 unseasoned, JD3 seasoned. Shrinkage to 12% MC: 2.6% (tangential), 2.4% (radial). Unit shrinkage: 0.26% (tangential), 0.22% (radial). Durability above-ground: Class 1 (life expectancy more than 40 years); heartwood is highly resists decay when fully exposed to the weather. Durability in-ground: Class 2 (life expectancy 15–25 years); heartwood moderately resists decay when used in the ground. Lyctine susceptibility: not susceptible. Termite resistance: resistant. Preservation: sapwood and heartwood are both very resistant to impregnating with commercial preservative. Seasoning: dries quickly, but restrict the drying rate during the early stages to avoid fine surface checking; rarely distorts during drying. Hardness: firm (rated 4 on a 6-class scale) to indent and working with hand tools. Machining: satisfactorily machines and turns to a smooth surface. Fixing: pre-drill seasoned timber when hand nailing, but if machine nailing, using shear point nails will be satisfactory; unseasoned timber generally nails well using either method but pre-drill when hand nailing close to board ends. Gluing: satisfactorily bonds using special techniques, e.g. slightly roughening surfaces and increasing open assemble times. Finishing: readily accepts paint, stain and polish.
IDENTIFICATION FEATURES	General characteristics Sapwood: creamy white, distinct from heartwood. Heartwood: light to dark yellow-brown. Texture: very uniform with some figure (pattern) and numerous knots. Wood structure Growth rings: indistinct. Vessels: absent. Rays: indistinct. Other features Burning splinter test: burns well leaving a white ash. Odour: distinctive and characteristic.