Hardwoods vs Softwoods.

There  is a great range of hardwoods and soft woods and all vary in their durability and suitability for use in joinery.    The most commonly  available soft wood used in joinery is European Redwood,  which is sustainably farmed in high latitudes.  These vary enormously  in quality and suitability depending on where they were grown.  Hardwoods are divided into temperate and tropical, some are sustainable, some are more dubious particularly the tropical ones. 

  Most hardwoods are clasified as durable or moderately durable and softwoods as non-durable. However in the wrong  conditions hardwood will quickly deteriorate and in the right conditions softwood can last for generations.Talking from experience, we have seen Iroko (which is known as one of the most durable hardwoods woods) rot down to soil in less than fifteen years and we have seen soft wood in seamingly similar locations survive fine. The difference was the situation. In the case of the Iroko there was a dripping gutter providing a constantly wet environment leading to premature decay of an Iroko cill while the soft wood door jam going into it was completely unaffected.  We have also seen premature wet rot decay in relatively new Sapele windows and Maranti door cills, while we have seen countless soft wood  windows dating back decades and sometimes well over century, which are still completely sound.  So while it's true that hardwood is more durable it's not fool proof, and likewise although softwood is less durable a correct understanding of  proper instalation and an appreciation for maintenance  can make softwood last for hundreds of years even in wet climates. Just look around at the evidence. All thoughs  original Geogian and Victorian windows in our period housing stock.