Segheria Valle Sacra

Durmast oak

Natural heritage of our wood

Durmast oak (Quercus petraea Liebl.) is a deciduous tree native to Europe. In Italy, Durmast oak can be found in the Central and in the Northern part of the country. In Piedmont, this species grows in hilly areas and in floodplains. It is less spread in the Alps and in the Appennine mountains. Durmast oak often grows with lime trees, beech trees, pines and other oak species. In the past, shepherds used to bring pigs in durmast oak wood because of the great nutritional properties of the acorns. Indeed, pigs eating acorns produced a higher-quality meat when compared with pigs eating other kind of food, as for instance beechnuts.

Why we value durmast oak

Durmast oak timber is a high-quality timber of great aesthetic value. Durmast oak wood can be used to create products with different sizes and purpuses, and thus it's a multifunctional wood. As durmast oak spontaneously grows in our region, the local availabilty of this species is high in Piedmont.

Technical info and uses

Appearance: heartwood is a yellowish-brown color, sapwood is brown. Wood grain is coarse and can be irregular. Heartwood is aesthethically pleasing.
Durability (fungi): durable wood (class 2)
Durability (insects): Cerambycidae ssp. = susceptible (sapwood only); Anobiidae ssp. = susceptible; Lyctidae ssp. = susceptible (sapwood only); Termites spp. = moderately durable
Hardness (Brinell): high (~34 N/mm²)
Average dry weight: high (~780 kg/m³)
Volumetric shrinkage: high
Mechanical properties: medium to high resistance to axial compression (~60 N/mm²); medium resistance to bending (~110 N/mm²); medium elastic modulus (~12500 N/mm²).
Workability: overall easy to work. Easy to glue, and takes and finishes very well.
Common uses: durmast oak timber is good at withstanding shoks. It is used in a wide range of pruducts: joinery (furniture, windows, decking, flooring), structural timber products, barrels containg wine. It is used as fuel.