The Frame is made from Baltic Pine

To my surprise, the frame uses imported MGP10 baltic pine (machine graded pine, stress-rating 10). We grow heaps of radiata pine in Australia, so I found it amazing that an imported product can be cost competitive. With our high-dollar at the moment, it is practical to use baltic pine for the frame.

Baltic pine grows slower than radiata pine, and has a very fine grain structure that makes it attractive for furniture (e.g. Ikea). So it seems a bit criminal to put it in the frame. However, its slow growth-rate also means that is much straighter and therefore we will save money on trimming the wall studs in preparation for plaster. I was really pleased about this!