Box, Brush
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Other Names
Pink Box, Scrub Box, Tristania conferta
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.
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.
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Botanical Name
Lophostemon confertus
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Preferred Common Name
Box, Brush
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Species Type
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 box is not suitable for steam bending. It does however provide good resistance to wear and splintering.
Origin of Timber
Readily Available
Availability - Further Information
Availability - Further Information
Shrinkage
| Very Low | Low | Medium | High | Very High | |
Tangential : |
9.70% |
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Radial: |
4.40% |
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Unit Movement Tangential: |
0.38% |
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Unit Movement Radial: |
0.24% |
Strength Group 
Very High |
High |
Reasonably High |
Medium High |
Medium |
Reasonably Low |
Low |
Very Low |
|
Unseasoned: |
S1 |
S2 |
S3 |
S4 |
S5 |
S6 |
S7 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seasoned: |
SD1 |
SD2 |
SD3 |
SD4 |
SD5 |
SD6 |
SD7 |
SD8 |
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
Seasoned: |
890kg/m3 |
|---|---|
Unseasoned: |
1190kg/m3 |
Joint Group
Very High |
High |
Reasonably High |
Medium |
Low |
Very Low |
|
Unseasoned: |
J1 |
J2 |
J3 |
J4 |
J5 |
J6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seasoned: |
JD1 |
JD2 |
JD3 |
JD4 |
JD5 |
JD6 |
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: |
77 |
|---|---|
Modulus of Rupture - Seasoned: |
121 |
Modulus of Elasticity - Unseasoned: |
12 |
Modulus of Elasticity - Seasoned: |
15 |
Maximum Crushing Strength - Unseasoned: |
39 |
Maximum Crushing Strength - Seasoned: |
64 |
Impact - Unseasoned: |
14 |
Impact - Seasoned: |
12 |
Toughness - Unseasoned: |
Medium - 15 - 24 Nm |
Toughness - Seasoned: |
Medium - 15 - 24 Nm |
Hardness - Unseasoned: |
7.8 |
Hardness - Seasoned: |
9.1 |
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 |
|---|---|
Lyctid Borer Susceptibility - Other: |
|
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 |
|---|---|
Critical Radiance Flux - Higher: |
≥4.5 |
Smoke Development Rate: |
<750 |
| 1 - non-combustible | 2 - reasonably non-combustible | 3 - slightly combustible | 4 - combustible | |
Fire Properties Group |
Average Specific Extinction Area: |
<250 |
|---|---|
Bushfire Resistance: |
BAL 12.5 and 19 – All AS3959 required applications |
Stairs, Interior
Interior staircase work is considered a specialised area of carpentry and joinery as its construction requires high levels of workmanship, detail and accuracy. Many interior stairs are built from quality joinery timber, cut and seasoned especially for staircases. Interior stairs differ considerably in design, from simple straight flights, commonly used in domestic work, to more elaborate stairs, constructed purposely as stand out features in public and commercial buildings.
The construction procedure described here applies to most general type stairs of either conventional or contemporary construction.
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.
Timber flooring is a timeless product, offering a warmth and natural beauty largely unmatched by other flooring options. This article provides an overview of the installation of solid timber strip flooring over bearers and joists, timber based sheet flooring products and concrete slabs. Timber flooring is typically supplied as either solid timber or laminated wood products, made from layers of bonded timber. It fits together with a tongue and groove joint and once in place, is sanded and finished. There is a wide variety of species to select flooring from and the right species for a given application will be dependent on numerous factors. Information relating to species selection, environmental assessment, finish selection and recommended maintenance routines are all provided in this section.
