Basswood has a Clean, Scandinavian Appearance
Basswood
Basswood is native to much of the eastern U.S. and grows beautifully in Minnesota's northern hardwood forests with rich soils. Our Basswood is world renowned for its fast, clean, uniform growth. Basswood is a critically important tree for pollinators, especially honey bees.
The wood from Basswood is soft and light, with a uniform soft white color in the Select (mostly knot free) grade. Our Premium grade includes many pieces with dark mineral streaks, making it a favorite of many customers. Due its softness it is generally used for Paneling, but not Flooring. Like Aspen, it is an excellent Sauna wood. Architects favor the clean, uniform Scandinavian appearance, and often specify this wood for high end wall and ceiling applications. Flat Paneling options (without the "V groove") are excellent choices to fulfill this style: Center-match, Shiplap, Channel-groove, and Nickel-gap.
Grades of Wood
Select
Elegant selection with consistent grain, minimal small knots, and overall smooth character. Excellent choice for a more refined look.
Premium
Varying amounts of excellent tight characteristics including medium size knots, streaks, bark pockets, and grain variation. This grade is excellent for a higher character look than Select, but not entirely Rustic either.
Rustic
This exciting grade provides the highest degree of character, with a wide range of knot sizes, streaks, a few holes and torn knots, and occasional heavy bark deposits. Rustic grade can appear a bit "loose" when unfinished, but with Prefinish applied the character holds together beautifully and really pops. This grade continues to grow in popularity, even in high end applications.
MTM is able to mix the grades in any combination to give you the exact look you are after. Some species (such as Elm) are limited in quantity and are only offered as a full mix of grades. A few species are unavailable in Select grade due to the natural characteristics of the tree (Tamarack).