ForMatter/Materials/wood/Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
mat_douglas_fir

Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)

domestic Western North American softwood, evergreen conifer, primary structural lumber species · Doug fir, Pacific Coast Douglas fir, Oregon pine (a misnomer; not a true pine), structural fir
highlast updated 2026-04-28

The structural lumber of the American West. Every framing 2x4, every glulam beam, every CLT panel from a West Coast mill is Douglas fir or a close cousin. Tall, straight, fast-growing, strong for its weight, and abundant from Northern California through British Columbia. The ridge beam of every Pacific Northwest house, the structural floor of every modernist Case Study House, the ladder framing of every San Francisco Victorian. Visible grain because of the strong contrast between early-wood (light, soft) and late-wood (dark, hard) bands within each annual ring. Stains beautifully if you want it to read as a furniture wood; left unstained, it reads as honest structural lumber, which is the Pacific Northwest aesthetic. Buy from any lumberyard for construction grade; from clear-grade premium specialty houses for furniture / architectural exposed-structure use.

Pseudotsuga menziesii, family Pinaceae (Douglas fir is in its own genus, not a true fir). Density 480–550 kg/m³ (12 percent MC). Modulus of rupture 80–95 MPa. Modulus of elasticity 13.0–14.5 GPa (one of the highest E values among softwoods, the structural-canon property). Compression parallel to grain 50–55 MPa. Shrinkage radial 4.8 percent / tangential 7.6 percent. Janka hardness ~2900 N (660 lbf — softer than the structural hardwoods, harder than pine). Color: heartwood pale yellow to reddish-brown depending on age and growth region (Coast Doug fir reads more reddish, Interior reads more yellow); sapwood pale white. Ring contrast is the visual signature — alternating soft early-wood and dense late-wood bands within each annual ring, more pronounced than in fir or pine. Works well — saws, planes, mills cleanly; the ring-contrast tears slightly under low-quality cutters in the early-wood bands, calling for sharp tools. Glues with PVA or polyurethane readily; takes nails and screws without pre-drilling in most thicknesses. Pressure-treatment-friendly for ground-contact uses (the canonical residential deck post material).

Mechanical

  • density · kg/m³510
  • modulus of rupture · MPa88
  • Janka hardness · N2900
  • shrinkage radial · %4.8
  • shrinkage tangential · %7.6
source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook (FPL-GTR-282, 2021), Chapter 5; Western Wood Products Association grading literature

Sustainability

  • embodied carbon · kg CO₂e/kg0.3
  • recyclabilityhigh — solid Douglas fir reworkable; salvaged old-growth Doug fir is a premium reclaim market for visible furniture / architecture
  • biodegradableTrue
  • certificationsFSC, SFI, PEFC certifiable; APA-rated structural plywood graded under PRP-108
  • localityPacific Northwest US (Oregon, Washington, Northern California, Idaho), British Columbia
source: Editorial estimate — domestic North American softwood, short transport, FSC- and SFI-managed forests common across the Pacific Northwest region.
visual
the strong ring-contrast — alternating pale early-wood and dark late-wood bands — is the visual signature; warm pale-tan to reddish-brown overall; reads clearly at arm's length
tactile
smooth on planed surfaces; rougher on rough-sawn structural lumber; the late-wood bands are harder under fingernail pressure than the early-wood
weight perception
moderate to light; characteristic of structural softwood
acoustic
a clear bright tone when struck; the sound of a framing crew measuring a stud

PBR starter values

finish · woodgrain — open for table, JSON, host snippets, downloads

Principled BSDF defaults derived from the sphere woodgrain finish. Reasonable seed for Blender, Substance, Keyshot, Rhino — tune per material. Or grab the whole library at once: ForMaterials library →

# finish:                   woodgrain
albedo                      #c89868
metallic                    0.00
roughness                   0.60
ior                         1.45
transmission                0.00
clearcoat                   0.00
sheen                       0.00
anisotropic                 0.60
copy as JSON 
{
  "albedo": "#c89868",
  "metallic": 0.0,
  "roughness": 0.6,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "transmission": 0.0,
  "clearcoat": 0.0,
  "sheen": 0.0,
  "anisotropic": 0.6
}
Blender 4.x Python 
# Blender 4.x — Principled BSDF
# Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) · finish: woodgrain
import bpy
mat = bpy.data.materials.new(name="mat_douglas_fir")
mat.use_nodes = True
bsdf = mat.node_tree.nodes["Principled BSDF"]
bsdf.inputs["Base Color"].default_value         = (0.5776, 0.314, 0.1384, 1.0)
bsdf.inputs["Metallic"].default_value           = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Roughness"].default_value          = 0.600
bsdf.inputs["IOR"].default_value                = 1.450
bsdf.inputs["Transmission Weight"].default_value = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Coat Weight"].default_value        = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Sheen Weight"].default_value       = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Anisotropic"].default_value        = 0.600
KeyShot Python (lux) 
# KeyShot 11+ — lux Python API, Generic material
# Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) · finish: woodgrain
# Run from Window → Scripting Console
import lux
mat = lux.createMaterial(name="mat_douglas_fir", materialType="Generic")
mat.setProperty("diffuse",      (200, 152, 104))   # 8-bit sRGB
mat.setProperty("metallic",     0.000)
mat.setProperty("roughness",    0.600)
mat.setProperty("indexOfRefraction", 1.450)
mat.setProperty("transparency", 0.000)
mat.setProperty("coatingWeight", 0.000)
Substance pbrMetalRough 
{
  "_format": "Substance Designer / Painter \u2014 pbrMetalRough constants",
  "_about": "Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) \u00b7 finish: woodgrain",
  "baseColor": {
    "r": 0.5776,
    "g": 0.314,
    "b": 0.1384
  },
  "metallic": 0.0,
  "roughness": 0.6,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "opacity": 1.0,
  "anisotropyLevel": 0.6,
  "_notes": "Channels listed are the standard Substance pbrMetalRough output. Drop into a Uniform Color node per channel, or as the constant input on a layered stack."
}
glTF 2.0 Metallic-Roughness 
{
  "asset": {
    "version": "2.0",
    "generator": "ForMatter"
  },
  "materials": [
    {
      "name": "mat_douglas_fir",
      "pbrMetallicRoughness": {
        "baseColorFactor": [
          0.5776,
          0.314,
          0.1384,
          1.0
        ],
        "metallicFactor": 0.0,
        "roughnessFactor": 0.6
      },
      "extensions": {
        "KHR_materials_ior": {
          "ior": 1.45
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}
USD Preview Surface 
# USD Preview Surface — UsdShade.MaterialLook prim attributes
# Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) · finish: woodgrain
def Material "mat_douglas_fir" {
    token outputs:surface.connect = </mat_douglas_fir/PreviewSurface.outputs:surface>

    def Shader "PreviewSurface" {
        uniform token info:id = "UsdPreviewSurface"
        color3f inputs:diffuseColor = (0.5776, 0.314, 0.1384)
        float   inputs:metallic     = 0.000
        float   inputs:roughness    = 0.600
        float   inputs:ior          = 1.450
        float   inputs:opacity      = 1.000
        float   inputs:clearcoat    = 0.000
        token   outputs:surface
    }
}
↓ download glTF material
ProcessCNC Milling
Substitutes
Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata)
Baltic Birch Plywood
Finishes that suit this material
Polyurethane varnish · polished
Pure linseed oil (raw / boiled) · matte
Where to buyhttps://www.rockler.com/

Second life

repairabilityhigh — standard wood repair tradition.
recyclabilitymoderate — solid stock reusable.
disposal pathcompost / mulch; salvage.
typical longevity80 years (typical)
failure modes
  • drying checks
  • moderate rot resistance — outdoor service requires preservative
  • cup / twist in poorly-dried boards

USDA Forest Products Lab Douglas-Fir entry.

Citations

Further reading