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Brush Box | Lophostemon confertus

Brush Box is an attractive Australian hardwood often used for timber flooring.

Brush Box is an attractive Australian hardwood used for a variety of applications, including flooring.

Brush Box is a medium to large sized Australian hardwood that grows along the edges of the rainforest areas of New South Wales and Queensland. It is used for a variety of applications including flooring, cladding and bridge decking.

Other Names: Pink Box, Scrub Box, Tristania conferta

Overview
Properties
Description
Applications
Suppliers

Overview

Brush Box is a medium to large sized Australian hardwood that occurs along the edges of the rainforest areas of the central coast of New South Wales to Bowen in Queensland.

Its heartwood can vary in appearance, from a greyish pink through to a reddish brown, while the sapwood is usually paler in colour. Brush Box has a fine and even texture with an interlocking grain – a feature that is appealing for appearance-based applications such as timber flooring, but can cause significant distortion during drying.

Brush Box has a poor workability in part due to its density, interlocked grain and the presence of silica. It does however provide good resistance to wear and splintering. The natural waxiness may cause problems with some adhesives but provides a very good base for paints and stains. Brush Box is not suitable for steam bending.

Brush Box is used for a variety of applications including flooring, cladding, paneling and some structural applications. It is generally available for use in New South Wales and Queensland.

Properties

Shrinkage

	Very Low	Low	Medium	High	Very High
Tangential:
Tangential:					9.7
Radial:					> 5
Unit Movement:					0.38 %

Strength Group

	Very High	High	Reasonably High	Medium High	Medium	Reasonably Low	Low	Very Low
Unseasoned:	S1	S2	S3	S4	S5	S6	S7
Unseasoned:
Seasoned:	SD1	SD2	SD3	SD4	SD5	SD6	SD7	SD8
Seasoned:

Stress Grade

	Structural No. 1	Structural No. 2	Structural No. 3	Structural No. 4	Structural No. 5
Unseasoned:	F17	F14	F11	F8	F7
Seasoned:	F27	F22	F17	F14	F11

Density per Standard

Unseasoned:	1160 kg/m³
Seasoned:	900 kg/m³

Joint Group

	Very High	High	Reasonably High	Medium	Low	Very Low
Unseasoned:	J1	J2	J3	J4	J5	J6
Unseasoned:
Seasoned:	JD1	JD2	JD3	JD4	JD5	JD6
Seasoned:

Colour

White, yellow, pale straw to light brown	Pink to pink brown	Light to dark red	Brown, chocolate, mottled or streaky

Mechanical Properties

Modulus of Rupture - Unseasoned:	85
Modulus of Rupture - Seasoned:	123
Modulus of Elasticity - Unseasoned:	12
Modulus of Elasticity - Seasoned:	15
Maximum Crushing Strength - Unseasoned:	38
Maximum Crushing Strength - Seasoned:	68
Impact - Unseasoned:	17
Impact - Seasoned:	15
Toughness - Unseasoned:	Medium - 15 - 25 Nm
Toughness - Seasoned:	Medium - 15 - 25 Nm
Hardness - Unseasoned:	7.9
Hardness - Seasoned:	9.5

Durability

	Low	Moderate	Reasonably High	High
	(0 - 5 yrs)	(5 - 15 yrs)	(15 - 25 yrs)	(more than 25 yrs)
In-Ground:
	(0 - 7 yrs)	(7 - 15 yrs)	(15 - 40 yrs)	(More than 40 yrs)
Above ground:
	(0 - 20 yrs, usually < 5)	(21 - 40 yrs)	(41 - 64 yrs)	(More than 60 yrs)
Marine Borer Resistance:

Lyctid Borer Susceptibility:	Not Susceptible
Termite Resistance:	Resistant

Fire Properties

	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
EFH Ignitibility:

	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
EFH Spread-of-Flame Index:
EFH Smoke-Developed Index:

Critical Radiance Flux - Lower:	>2.2 and <4.5 kW/m²
Critical Radiance Flux - Higher:	≥4.5 kW/m²
Smoke Development Rate:	<750

	1 - non-combustible	2 - reasonably non-combustible	3 - slightly combustible	4 - combustible
Fire Properties Group Number:

Average Specific Extinction Area:	<250
Bushfire Resistance:	BAL 12.5 and 19 – All AS3959 required applications

Description

Botanical Name:	Lophostemon confertus
Preferred Common Name:	Brush Box
Other Names:	Pink Box, Scrub Box, Tristania conferta
Species Type:	Hardwood

Appearance

Brush Box has a fine, interlocked grain and even texture with the heartwood ranging from greyish pink through to a reddish brown, while the sapwood is usually paler in colour. It is free of gum veins. The grain is especially appealing for appearance-based applications such as flooring.

Common Applications

Brush Box is used for a variety of applications, which consist mainly of flooring, cladding, paneling and some structural applications. Brush Box has also been used for mallets, mauls, handles, shuttles, turnery, wharf and bridge decking, carriage building, weatherboarding, boat building and wedges.

Common Form

Sawn

Workability

Brush Box has poor workability in part due to its density, interlocked grain and the presence of silica. Nailing and screwing brush box may cause splitting.

The silica content can cause major problems for tool edges, while the natural waxiness, known as arjunolic acid, may cause problems with some adhesives but provides a very good base for paints and stains.

Box Brush is not suitable for steam bending. It does however provide good resistance to wear and splintering.

Origin of Timber

NSW, QLD

Readily Available

NSW, QLD

Availability - Further Information

Brush Box is limited in availability in its States of origin and rarely available in the other States and Territories.

Source of Timber

Native Forest

Applications

Decking

Timber decking creates spaces that are functional, practical and aesthetically pleasing. With the right design and care a timber deck will make a valuable addition to any home or business, creating an outdoor living space that will be enjoyed for years to come.
External Cladding

The natural appeal, versatility and strength of timber makes it the superior choice for external cladding. Through specification, planning, design and finishing processes, timber cladding not only creates a building of superior strength, acoustic and thermal performance but also creates a place of beauty, style and natural appeal.
Flooring

Whether for structural or finished flooring applications, timber offers durability, versatility and adaptability. The warmth, strength and natural beauty of timber flooring has proved enduringly popular in a wide variety of interior settings.
Framing

Since people began building simple shelters, wooden framing has played an important role in shaping structures of many kinds. One of the most popular types of wooden framing is known as lightweight timber construction.
Internal Paneling

Timber paneling creates interiors as warm as they are stylish. Commonly utilising an MDF or plywood substrate, internal timber paneling is natural and versatile and comes as either solid natural timber panels or as sheets of engineered wood products