Pine is the softwood timber of pine trees — the cheapest and most widely used construction and furniture wood in South Africa. It is also the source of pine oil, the disinfectant smell in a great many household cleaners. Both meanings are covered here.
What is Pine?
Pine is a softwood from conifers of the genus Pinus. In South Africa the commercial species are mostly Pinus patula, P. elliottii and P. radiata, grown in plantations in Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
“Softwood” describes the botany, not the hardness — it means a conifer rather than a broadleaf. Pine also happens to be soft, but the two facts are separate.
What makes pine useful is availability and price. It reaches harvest in 20 to 30 years against a century for many hardwoods, so it is cheap, plentiful and easy to work with basic tools.
Its limitations follow from the same properties. It marks easily, its knots weaken it and bleed resin through paint, it moves with humidity, and untreated it rots quickly outdoors and is readily attacked by borer.
Two grades matter when buying: structural grade, graded for strength for trusses and framing, and clear pine, selected for appearance and considerably dearer.
Treated pine is pressure-impregnated with preservative and colour-coded by hazard class — H2 indoor dry, H3 outdoors above ground, H4 in-ground contact, H5 heavy wet exposure. Using the wrong class outdoors is the commonest and most expensive mistake with pine: untreated or H2 pine in a garden project rots within a few seasons.
Pine oil, distilled from the wood and needles, has genuine antibacterial and antifungal properties — mainly from alpha-terpineol — which is why it appears in disinfectants and why the smell became synonymous with cleanliness.
What is Pine commonly used for?
As timber: roof trusses and structural framing; furniture of almost every entry-level kind; shelving, skirtings, architraves and door frames; decking, pergolas, garden furniture and fencing in the treated grade; shuttering and formwork; pallets and crates; tongue-and-groove cladding and ceilings; and as the base material for plywood, chipboard and MDF.
As pine oil: disinfectants and floor cleaners, degreasers, deodorisers for bins and drains, and soaps.
Common household applications
Pine cleaner is a genuinely useful all-purpose cleaner. Diluted as directed it disinfects and degreases floors, bins, drains and bathrooms. Neat, it strips wax finishes and dulls varnish, and it is not suitable for unsealed wood at all.
Building with pine. Outdoors, buy the treated grade for the exposure. Indoors where it will be seen, buy clear grade or accept knots. Seal every cut end — cutting exposes untreated timber inside the piece.
Finishing pine is where most projects disappoint. It absorbs stain unevenly, the softer growth rings drinking it in, so use a conditioner or pre-stain sealer first and test on an offcut. Knots bleed resin through paint, so seal them with shellac knotting solution before priming.
Store it flat, dry and off the ground with spacers between boards. Pine stored damp bows as it dries, and a warped board cannot be straightened.
How to use Pine appropriately
- Match the treatment class to the exposure. H2 indoors, H3 outdoors above ground, H4 in the ground.
- Seal cut ends, and pre-drill near ends — pine splits readily close to an edge.
- Let it acclimatise for a few days in the room where it will be used.
- Use a conditioner before staining, and shellac on knots before painting.
- Dilute pine cleaner as directed — neat concentrate damages finishes — and ventilate in a small bathroom.
- Wear a dust mask when sanding or cutting; treated timber dust contains preservative.
- Never burn treated pine. The smoke carries the preservative chemicals — dispose of offcuts with builder’s rubble.
Safety, surfaces and situations to avoid
Do not use pine cleaner on:
| Surface | Why |
|---|---|
| Unsealed or waxed wood | Soaks in, raises grain, strips wax |
| Natural stone — marble, granite | Can damage the finish |
| Aluminium and some soft metals | May corrode |
| Painted surfaces, undiluted | Softens and lifts paint |
Never mix it with bleach or other cleaning chemicals. The combination is unpredictable and can produce harmful fumes.
Pine oil is more hazardous than its familiar smell suggests.
- It is harmful if swallowed, and a small amount can seriously harm a child. Keep it well out of reach, and never decant it into a drink bottle — a genuinely common cause of poisoning. If swallowed, do not induce vomiting: pine oil can enter the lungs and cause severe chemical pneumonitis. Get medical help immediately and take the container.
- It irritates skin and eyes. Wear gloves and rinse eyes thoroughly if splashed.
- It is toxic to cats, which cannot metabolise phenols and terpenes properly. Keep cats off freshly cleaned floors until dry, and preferably use something else in a home with cats.
With timber: do not use untreated pine outdoors, never burn treated offcuts, and check structural timber is graded for anything load-bearing.
For other household staples, see borax and camphor blocks.
Related household product guides
Frequently asked questions
What is pine used for? As timber: roof trusses, framing, furniture, shelving, decking, fencing and packaging. As pine oil: disinfectants, floor cleaners and degreasers.
Is pine good for furniture? Cheap, light and easy to work, which is why entry-level furniture is largely pine. It dents easily and stains blotchily without a conditioner.
Can I use pine outdoors? Only treated pine matched to the exposure — H3 above ground, H4 in ground contact.
What do H2, H3 and H4 mean? Treatment hazard classes — H2 indoor dry use, H3 outdoors above ground, H4 in-ground contact, H5 heavy wet exposure.
Why does my stained pine look blotchy, or paint show brown patches? Pine absorbs stain unevenly across its growth rings — use a conditioner first. Brown patches are resin bleeding from knots; seal them with shellac before priming.
Can I burn treated pine offcuts? No. The smoke carries the preservative chemicals.
Is pine cleaner safe around pets? Not around cats — they cannot metabolise the phenols and terpenes properly and can become seriously ill. Keep them off floors until dry, and preferably use something else.
What if a child swallows pine cleaner? Get medical help immediately and take the container. Do not induce vomiting — pine oil can enter the lungs and cause severe chemical pneumonitis.