Suppose, you made bedding for your hamster. After a few days, your hamster becomes sick. You used a certain type of wood shavings for making that bedding.
You’re totally lost and wondering why on earth did it become sick from its bedding?
It’s because you didn’t know which wood to prefer. And it’s not for pet bedding only but for every wood-related item.
So, which one to prefer in aspen vs pine comparison?
To choose between aspen and pine, evaluate a few factors. For pet bedding, aspen is preferable for its non-toxic elements. Aspen is also ideal as firewood. It’s durable and harder than pinewood. Pinewood only costs less than aspen. And both the wood need high maintenance.
This is not a complete answer. You’ll get all the answers in detail.
Keep reading to know more!
Aspen vs Pine (Quick Comparison)
Aspen and pine are the two most common names of wood. Mostly, they are considered to be used for home.
However, they differ in various criteria. I’ve picked up six such factors. There, you’ll see differences between these two types of wood.
Next, up is a table attached. You can do a quick scan. It’s important for you to get a brief idea of aspen vs pine comparison.
| Factors | Aspen | Pine |
| Usage | Furniture, toothpick, matchsticks, etc | Home furniture |
| Pet Bedding | Safe for pet bedding | Unsafe for pet bedding |
| Firewood | Safe for burning | Unsafe for burning |
| Hardness | Harder | Less harder |
| Maintenance | High | High |
| Price of shavings | Relatively higher | Relatively cheaper |
Hope it helps clear out your initial confusions. There is an elaborative discussion on this topic.
Stay a little longer to know more!
Aspen vs Pine (Elaborative Comparison)
It’s time to discuss broadly the differences between aspen and pine. It’ll be all factual and free from biases.
Let’s get right into it then!
Usage
Aspen is widely used for making good furniture. Aspen wood furniture is difficult to split. The softness of aspen wood makes it easier for hand tools. Also, aspen wood doesn’t easily show dents.
Other than furniture, doors, and cabinets are also made of aspen wood. It’s not extremely flammable, for that it’s an ideal wood for making matchsticks.
Just like aspen trees, aspen wood is also used for making papers. Aspen is surprisingly softer to use for kids’ toys.
Aspen wood is said to be water non-absorbent. Still, it’s not ideal to use for basement, bathrooms, and kitchen flooring.
Talking about pine wood’s usage, it has a wide array as well. Wooden flooring, cabinets, and decks are made of pine wood.
Being a softwood, it catches a dent easily. Though it’s durable and strong, its surface is softer than aspen. Still, pine is popular for making home furniture.
Apart from furniture, both aspen and pine are used for pet bedding. Just like furniture, will aspen win in pet bedding as well?
What do you think?
Pet Bedding
Both aspen and pine can be used for pet bedding. But, there are some pluses and minuses of using these woods.
Aspen wood shavings make pet bedding for hamsters, rats, and other small animals. It’s considered to be a safer wood for pet bedding. But why?
It doesn’t contain any harmful oil and is unscented. That’s why there is no fear of animals’ respiratory problems.
Aspen shavings are easy to composite. Thus, it’s fair to say, Aspen is environment-friendly. Although, aspen shavings cost more but are worth every penny.
You can try any of the suggested aspen wood shavings. It’s right here:
| Product 1 | |
| Product 2 |
Quality and quantity may differ but characteristics will be the same.
On the other hand, pine wood is just bad for pet bedding. It can be a good option for human bedding because the smell doesn’t bother humans.
Pine wood shaving has oils similar to cedar bedding. This is a major discriminatory factor in aspen vs pine shavings. As we already know, aspen shaving doesn’t have toxic oils in it.
Toxic scent of oil can cause respiratory problems to innocent pets. You’ll find kiln dried inside pine which is completely unsafe.
Moreover, pine wood has an acidic reaction on animals that live on those pine bedding. Those pets suffer from liver problems living on pine bedding.
It’s clear that aspen bedding is highly recommended for pet bedding. Though it may lose its shape, it is not toxic at all.
So, in aspen vs pine bedding aspen wins by flying colors.
Firewood
Let’s see now who wins in the aspen vs pine firewood challenge.
Aspen woods are better options for fireplace wood. It burns well without creating excessive smoke because it has low sap content. For this reason, it doesn’t spark as well.
Aspen gives your room a warm and cozy atmosphere. But, one con is that aspen wood burns out quickly. So, your room can’t be warm for too long. Other than that aspen fits perfectly for fireplace wood.
Pinewood has high sap content. It creates smoke while burning. Also, pine wood generates the least amount of fire. So, it’s not worthy of fireplace wood.
Aspen has been in the lead till now. You may try making other woods fireproof but not aspen at least.
Hardness
Aspen is lightweight but is hardwood. It’s one of the softest woods in the hardwood category. But, it’s durable and harder.
Conversely, pine wood is softwood. It weighs around 352 to 849 kg per meter cube. Whereas, aspen wood weighs 420 kg per meter cube. It weighs more than hardwood.
Clearly, it’s not as durable as hardwoods, aspen.
So, in hardness aspen wood takes the crown proudly.
Maintenance
Maintaining aspen and pine wood requires some extra effort.
Aspen-made flooring, doors, furniture, and cabinets need to be varnished. Varnish locks the color and gives added protection from wear out. Apart from that, you can do a few more things.
- Daily cleaning with a clean microfibre cloth is recommended. It takes out more dirt than regular cloth.
- Use a dry or slightly damp cloth for wiping out dust.
- Try to maintain a weekly vacuum routine. This ensures deep cleaning.
- Using furniture pads gives your hardwood floors extended life. It won’t cause problems like removing glue from wooden floors.
- Yearly or monthly maintenance is a must for hardwood-like aspen. Refinishing and sanding after every 3 to 5 years is like a longevity tonic.
This is how you can take care of aspen-made furniture. What about pine wood maintenance?
Pinewood also needs high maintenance. You can do the following things to maintain pinewood-made things.
- As it’s a softwood it gets dented quickly. That’s why daily cleaning is a must.
- Use floor mats on pinewood flooring. For pinewood dining tables use coasters to avoid unnecessary marks.
- Pinewood is also vulnerable to scratches. To hide its scratches try using paste wax to fill the scratches.
- Lastly, invest in good wood furniture cleaners. This will wipe out stubborn dirt from pinewood furniture, floors, doors, etc. It can also be used for cleaning wooded backyards.
So, this section clearly tells both need routine maintenance for lasting longer than expected.
Price
Coming to the last factor is price. Aspen is slightly more expensive than pine.
Aspen shavings come at $12 whereas pine shavings start from $7. However, the pricing depends on its quantity and type. There are different types of aspen and pine available.
Pricing differs according to the region as well. The same quantity of aspen shavings is priced at 15 pounds in the UK. But it’s around $10 and so in the USA.
Pine wood comes cheaper than aspen, that’s the bottom line for this part.
Which One to Pick?
You have already learned everything you need to know. That’s why I won’t be stretching this part long.
I would recommend aspen. Aspen is good for both human and pet bedding. It serves better in the fireplace than pinewood.
Also, it’s more durable than pinewood. Its density varies with its strength. Most amazingly, it’s lightweight.
Hopefully, you will make the right decision from your end.
FAQs
Is Aspen Wood Harder Than Pine?
Aspen is harder than pine wood. It’s obvious because it’s hardwood. Conversely, pinewood being a softwood is less hard but weighs more. It often tends to be stronger than aspen based on density. Generally, softwood is short-lived. But, you can make similar products from both kinds of wood.
Is Aspen a Good Wood to Build With?
Yes, aspen is a good wood to build with furniture, doors, cabinets, and floors. It’s water-resistant. You can build stronger furniture with aspen that will last longer. Aspen-made items decay late. So, you can easily build a new dining table from scratch with aspen wood.
Is Aspen a Hardwood or Softwood?
Aspen is hardwood. Aspen wood is made from the aspen tree. It’s often called soft hardwood. As its texture is soft. But, aspen is actually a pretty tough hardwood. It gives tough competition in the softwood category. It’s versatile so you can substitute it for softwood as well.
Is Aspen a Durable Wood?
Yes, aspen is a durable wood. There is no exact timeline though. It depends on its density, type, and maintenance. Normally, hardwood tends to be more durable than softwood. Since it’s a soft hardwood, people are sketchy about its durability. If aspen gets proper maintenance, it’ll last longer.
Final Thoughts
Glad you’ve come this far. Now, pick between aspen vs pine easily.
Both the wood is capable of making furniture as well as paper. But, they belong to two different types of wood. Choose your type based on what you want to make of that.
So, which wood would you prefer?