Regardless of grade, wood can split, twist, warp, cup, stain, weather, bow and crack. MDF moldings, engineered lumber and composite decking all mitigate some or all of the problems of all “pure” wood products. However, they come with their own set of disadvantages. For example, you cannot stain MDF moldings for a natural wood grain color and pattern look. One of the other “disadvantages” these man-made products have created is the increased expectation for a consistent and high quality. This is where wood falls down. By its very nature wood is NOT uniform in color, grain, weight, density or appearance. With these variations comes a wide range of qualities that the industry standardizes into differing grade levels. As part of those grade rules, wood is graded under varying standards. For instance, 1x boards are typically only graded to on side and one/two edges. Think about it – most uses of a 1x board leaves only those surfaces exposed. In the case of cedar boards, they are only graded to the one rough side. Framing lumber is usually judged on its knot and strength aspects, not its appearance.
We should expect boards that simply aren’t perfect, Mother Nature isn’t taking orders from us humans.
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