Why Heart-Cut Cypress Makes Better Cypress Log Homes

Why Cypress Heartwood Is Naturally Durable

One of the remarkable characteristics of Bald Cypress is the natural durability of its heartwood. As Cypress matures and sapwood converts to heartwood, natural extractives accumulate within the wood. The USDA Forest Service identifies Cypressene, an oil extracted from Bald Cypress wood, as being believed to contribute to the wood’s high decay resistance. This distinction is important when selecting Cypress for log-home construction because the natural decay resistance is associated with the heartwood, not the sapwood.

Source: USDA Forest Service — Baldcypress (Taxodium distichum)

Bald Cypress has some remarkable characteristics beyond its legendary durability. Young Bald Cypress can produce vigorous sprouts from a cut stump, allowing new growth to develop from the established root system. Even more fascinating are the unusual woody “knees” that rise from Cypress root systems. Their exact biological purpose remains a scientific mystery, although aeration and structural support are among the theories researchers have explored. And these knees can become enormous—National Geographic reports Cypress knees reaching about 4 meters (13 feet) tall, while Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum documents a historical record of an extraordinary 14-foot Cypress knee along Florida’s Suwannee River. This is the home base area for Log Home Guys.

Source: USDA Forest Service - Baldcypress , Harvard Arnold Arboretum — Cypress Knees , National Geographic — Wetlands

A Green, Renewable American Building Material

One of the remarkable differences between Bald Cypress and commonly used pine species is how the trees can regenerate after cutting. Pine forests generally regenerate through seed or replanting. Young Bald Cypress, however, can produce vigorous new sprouts directly from a cut stump and its established root system. This natural ability to regenerate, combined with responsible forest management, is one of the reasons Bald Cypress stands out as a green, renewable American building material for log-home construction.

Source: USDA Forest Service — Baldcypress, Vegetative Regeneration

Why Heart-Cut Cypress Means Less Settling in a Log Home

The type of wood used can make a major difference in how much a log wall shrinks and settles. Mature, slow-grown Bald Cypress can develop tight growth rings and has favorable dimensional characteristics for log-home construction. USDA Forest Products Laboratory data documents the shrinkage and dimensional properties of Bald Cypress. In a stacked-log wall, even small dimensional changes in each log accumulate through every course, so reducing movement in the individual logs can mean substantially less movement in the completed wall.

Cypress also has a long history of use in demanding applications where durability and long service life are important. Historically, Cypress has been used for building construction, tanks, vats, ship and boatbuilding, cooling towers, pilings, docks, posts and other applications where resistance to decay and long service life were important. USDA research documents many of these historical uses of Bald Cypress.

This matters to the homeowner. Pine is the predominant wood used in the U.S. log-home construction industry, and the shrinkage that occurs as pine logs dry can accumulate through every course of a stacked-log wall. This cumulative movement is why traditional pine log homes commonly require settling spaces, sliding connections, adjustable screw jacks, and special allowances around posts, cabinets, doors, windows, fireplaces, and other components that cannot move with the log walls. The ICC 400 Standard for Log Structures specifically addresses log-wall settlement and the construction provisions needed to accommodate this movement.

Heart-Cut Bald Cypress gives us a very different approach. Its favorable shrinkage and dimensional characteristics allow Log Home Guys to design a substantially more dimensionally stable stacked-log wall with far less cumulative movement. This greatly reduces the need for the settling systems and repeated adjustments commonly associated with traditional pine log construction. For the homeowner, that can mean fewer settling-related problems, less maintenance, fewer subcontractor adjustments, and lower long-term ownership costs.

Why does this matter? A log home should not require years of adjustments simply because the walls are continuing to settle. Heart-Cut Cypress helps us build a more dimensionally stable log home from the beginning, reducing settling-related maintenance while saving the homeowner time and money.

Source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory — Wood Handbook , USDA Forest Products Laboratory — Baldcypress , ICC 400 — Provisions for Settling in Log Structures

Was Noah’s Ark Built of Cypress? A Mystery Thousands of Years Old

Could one of history’s most famous wooden structures have been built from Cypress?

Genesis 6:14 records that Noah was instructed to build the Ark from a mysterious material traditionally called “gopher wood.” There is one fascinating problem: the Hebrew word gopher appears only in this passage, and its exact botanical identity has never been conclusively determined.

Cypress, however, has long been considered one of the possible identities of gopher wood. This isn't simply a modern Cypress-industry story. Biblical reference works identify Cypress as a possibility and note its historical use in shipbuilding. The New American Bible Revised Edition similarly explains that gopher wood is unidentified but may have been Cypress, noting Cypress's ancient use for shipbuilding.

Even more interesting, a number of English Bible translations don’t say ‘gopher wood’ at all—they translate Genesis 6:14 directly as Cypress wood.

 The NIV and NRSVUE are examples, although both acknowledge that the underlying Hebrew word is uncertain.

The NET Bible does the same, translating the passage as an instruction to make the Ark from Cypress wood. Its translators explain that the Hebrew term transliterates as gopher, that the exact wood remains uncertain, and that several modern translations have interpreted it as Cypress.

So was Noah’s Ark actually built from Cypress?

No one can prove that today—and claiming otherwise would turn an intriguing piece of history into an unsupported sales claim.

But the historical connection between Cypress and gopher wood is real and well documented.

For generations, biblical translators, commentators and reference works have considered Cypress a possible interpretation of the mysterious wood described in Genesis. Its historical reputation as a durable shipbuilding timber makes the connection even more thought-provoking.

Perhaps we will never know exactly what “gopher wood” was. But thousands of years later, Cypress remains one of the woods associated with one of history’s most famous wooden vessels—and that is a remarkable piece of Cypress history all by itself.

Sources:
NET Bible — Genesis 6:14 and Translation Notes
New American Bible Revised Edition — Genesis 6:14 Footnote
Encyclopedia of the Bible — Gopher Wood

The Remarkable Story of Cypress - A Wood Chosen to Last

What could an Egyptian pharaoh, one of history's greatest philosophers, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, St. Peter's Basilica, Native American canoe builders, a 3,500-year-old Florida giant, Frank Lloyd Wright, the Chicago World's Fair, and a prehistoric forest beneath the Gulf of Mexico possibly have in common?

Cypress.

The deeper you look into the history of Cypress, the more remarkable the story becomes.

Across thousands of years, civilizations separated by oceans, cultures and centuries repeatedly turned to Cypress for important objects, buildings, vessels and demanding applications.

And some of those stories are almost difficult to believe.

Cypress and the Pharaohs

Travel back thousands of years to ancient Egypt.

Long before modern sawmills, chemical preservatives, engineered lumber or building codes existed, ancient craftsmen were already incorporating Cypress into important objects.

Modern archaeological and botanical research has identified Cypress among woods used in ancient Egyptian coffins and funerary artifacts. Research has even identified Cypress associated with the outermost coffin of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.

Another example reaches still farther back. Cypress has been identified in the coffin of Princess Mayet, dating to approximately 1957 BCE.

Think about that for a moment.

Thousands of years before Cypress became an American building material, ancient craftsmen were already selecting it for objects intended to endure.

But Egypt was only the beginning.

Source: Springer — The Ethnobotanical Evolution of the Mediterranean Cypress

Plato Chose Cypress for Future Generations

More than 2,000 years ago, Greek philosopher Plato made a remarkable reference to Cypress in his work Laws.

When describing important instructions intended to survive for future generations, Plato specified that they should be placed on:

“tablets of cypress-wood, for the instruction of posterity.”

That final word is what makes the passage so thought-provoking.

Posterity.

The generations that come after us.

Plato wasn't talking about something temporary. He was discussing information intended for people who would come afterward—and Cypress was the material he named.

More than two millennia later, the principle remains remarkably relevant:

When something is intended for future generations, the material you choose matters.

And ancient writers left us an even more astonishing Cypress story.

Source: Perseus Digital Library — Plato, Laws, Book V

Cypress Doors That Endured for Centuries

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Its Cypress doors became remarkable in their own right.

Ancient accounts describe Cypress doors at the temple surviving for centuries. Pliny the Elder, writing approximately 2,000 years ago, recorded their extraordinary longevity and described Cypress used for important work as being carefully seasoned before installation.

Imagine walking through a wooden doorway that had already been standing for hundreds of years.

No pressure treatment.

No synthetic preservatives.

No engineered wood.

The builders could judge the longevity of their material simply by looking at what had survived.

Centuries later, another extraordinary Cypress-door story would emerge—this time in Rome.

Source: Heidelberg University Digital Library — Historical Account of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

More Than 1,000 Years at St. Peter's

Historical botanical literature records a remarkable tradition involving the original St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Accounts report Cypress doors dating to the era of Emperor Constantine remaining in service until the time of Pope Eugene IV—roughly eleven centuries later.

Historical botanical accounts described the Cypress as remaining remarkably sound when the ancient doors were eventually removed.

Consider the sequence:

Temple of Artemis — Cypress doors reportedly enduring for centuries.

Old St. Peter's Basilica — Cypress doors reportedly serving for approximately a millennium.

Different civilizations.

Different buildings.

Different centuries.

Yet Cypress repeatedly appears in stories about wood selected to endure.

Then the Cypress story crosses the Atlantic—and becomes distinctly American.

Source: Trees and Shrubs Online — Mediterranean Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens)

The American Bald Cypress Story

Here we need to make an important distinction.

The Cypress associated with much of the ancient Mediterranean world and American Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) are different species.

The ancient stories are fascinating Cypress history. They are not scientific proof of how American Bald Cypress performs.

For that, we have modern forestry and wood science.

And the story of American Bald Cypress may be even more remarkable.

Florida's 3,500-Year-Old Giant

Long before Florida became a state...

Long before Europeans arrived in America...

Long before the Roman Empire...

a Bald Cypress was already growing in what is now Seminole County, Florida.

It eventually became known simply as:

The Senator

Seminole County describes The Senator as a 3,500-year-old Cypress and one of the oldest trees of its kind in the world.

Think about the timescale.

Generations were born and died.

Civilizations rose and fell.

Entire chapters of human history passed.

And the Cypress kept growing.

The Senator became a Florida landmark before being tragically destroyed by fire on January 16, 2012. Seminole County describes its loss as a significant cultural and environmental tragedy.

The Senator's story doesn't prove that Cypress lumber lasts 3,500 years.

It demonstrates something different and equally fascinating:

Bald Cypress belongs to a tree species capable of extraordinary natural longevity.

And The Senator wasn't alone.

Source: Florida Memory — The Senator Cypress Tree , Seminole County , Seminole County, Florida — History of The Senator

A Bald Cypress More Than 2,600 Years Old - Still Living

Scientists studying the ancient Bald Cypress forests of North Carolina's Black River have identified a living Bald Cypress at least 2,624 years old.

Think about that.

The tree began growing centuries before the height of the Roman Empire—and it survived into the modern world.

Researchers have identified numerous ancient Bald Cypress trees in this ecosystem, providing remarkable scientific evidence of the potential longevity of the species.

Some Bald Cypress trees don't merely live for centuries. They can live for millennia.

And enormous Cypress trees provided early Americans with something else:

Transportation.

Source: Ancient Black River Bald Cypress — The Nature Conservancy

When a City Delivered Water Through Cypress Trees

Before PVC...

Before copper...

And before modern municipal water mains...

New Orleans delivered water through hollowed Cypress logs.

That sounds like folklore.

It isn't.

The Historic New Orleans Collection preserves an original hollow Cypress water pipe from the city's early nineteenth-century waterworks.

Architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe, who also worked on the United States Capitol, selected Cypress for the system because it was readily available and valued as a durable, moisture-resistant material.

Workers bored through Cypress logs and connected them beneath the developing city to carry water.

The wooden system eventually gave way to more modern materials as New Orleans grew, but the surviving artifact tells an extraordinary story:

There was a time when an American city literally ran its water through Bald Cypress trees.

Cypress was also becoming part of American buildings.

Source: New Orleans Cypress water pipe — Historic New Orleans Collection

More Than 300 Years of Cypress History — Right Here in Florida

You don't have to travel to Rome or ancient Greece to find historic Cypress construction.

In St. Augustine, Florida, a wooden structure dating to the early eighteenth century still stands near the old City Gates.

Tax records indicate that the building existed by 1716. Its construction includes Bald Cypress and red cedar logs fastened with wooden pins and handmade iron spikes.

Today it is known as the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse.

Think about that.

More than 300 years later, visitors can still walk inside this building in Florida.

For someone considering a Cypress home in Florida today, Cypress history doesn't get much closer to home than that.

Source: Oldest Wooden School House — St. Augustine

And centuries later, one of America's greatest architects would also turn to Cypress.

Frank Lloyd Wright Chose Tidewater Red Cypress

Frank Lloyd Wright didn't simply experiment with Cypress once.

The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation documents Wright's extensive use of Tidewater Red Cypress, including at his own home, Taliesin.

Following the devastating 1914 fire at Taliesin, Wright again specified Red Tidewater Cypress during reconstruction.

Cypress later became a principal wood in many of Wright's famous Usonian houses.

A survey reported by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation found Cypress to be the predominant exterior wood in 39.1% and predominant interior wood in 41.5% of surveyed Usonian homes.

But perhaps the most interesting part isn't simply that Wright used Cypress.

The Foundation notes that Wright considered the longevity of his buildings and specified woods known for resistance to decomposition.

Source: Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation

Once again, Cypress appears when someone is thinking beyond the day a building is completed.

Then America put a Cypress log home on display for millions to see.

The Cypress Log Home at the 1933 World's Fair

Chicago's Century of Progress World's Fair was about the future.

Millions of visitors came to see new technology, experimental construction and ideas about how Americans might live in the years ahead.

Among those futuristic homes stood something surprisingly traditional:

The Southern Cypress Cabin

The National Park Service documents the Cypress Log Cabin displayed at the 1933–34 World's Fair. Designed by architect Murray D. Heatherington and sponsored by the Southern Cypress Manufacturers Association, it was created to demonstrate the versatility of Cypress in construction and decoration.

Then comes a wonderful detail.

Although primarily an exhibit, the National Park Service reports that it became the only house in its exhibit group actually used as housing during the fair.

A representative of the Cypress association and his wife lived inside the cabin during both fair seasons.

People didn't merely walk through a Cypress demonstration home.

Someone actually lived in it.

After the fair, the cabin was dismantled, transported to Beverly Shores, Indiana, and reconstructed near Lake Michigan.

More than 90 years later, it is still standing as part of the Century of Progress Historic District.

A Cypress log home built to demonstrate a material at a World's Fair devoted to the future became part of American architectural history.

Source: National Park Service — Cypress Log Cabin

But the oldest Bald Cypress story we've found isn't measured in hundreds—or even thousands—of years.

A Nearly 60,000-Year-Old Bald Cypress Forest Beneath the Gulf

Approximately 60 feet beneath the Gulf of Mexico off the Alabama coast lies something extraordinary:

An ancient Bald Cypress forest.

NOAA reports that nearly 60,000 years ago, Bald Cypress trees flourished along the banks of a prehistoric river near what is now the Gulf of Mexico.

The trees eventually became buried beneath protective layers of peat and sediment. As sea levels changed and the coastline moved, the ancient forest became submerged beneath the Gulf.

For tens of thousands of years, it remained hidden.

Then storms began exposing it.

Scientists supported by NOAA Ocean Exploration are now studying this prehistoric ecosystem. Researchers have even investigated organisms associated with the ancient wood for compounds with possible applications in medicine and biotechnology.

Source: NOAA — Ancient Bald Cypress Forest

Consider the timeline we've just traveled.

Ancient Egypt...

Plato...

the Temple of Artemis...

St. Peter's Basilica...

a 3,500-year-old Florida Cypress...

a Bald Cypress still alive after more than 2,600 years...

Native American dugout canoes...

New Orleans water pipes...

a 300-year-old Florida building...

Frank Lloyd Wright...

the 1933 World's Fair...

and finally—

a Bald Cypress forest nearly 60,000 years old beneath the Gulf of Mexico.

The deeper you look into the story of Cypress, the more extraordinary it becomes.

But after all that history, we arrive at perhaps the most important fact for someone considering a Cypress log home today.

All Cypress Is Not Created Equal

The remarkable reputation of American Bald Cypress does not mean every Cypress board or log sold today has identical properties.

This distinction is extremely important.

The U.S. Forest Service documents that older Bald Cypress—particularly old-growth virgin trees from deep Southern swamps—was historically known as Tidewater Red Cypress and was considered highly resistant to rot.

The Forest Service also distinguishes this material from younger second-growth Cypress.

The University of Florida makes a similar point: younger Cypress contains less of the decay-resistant heartwood associated with the old-growth trees that established Cypress's historic reputation. 

Source: USDA Forest Service — Bald Cypress / Tidewater Red Cypress , University of Florida — Cypress

That means asking a supplier:

“Is this Cypress?”

isn't enough.

The better question is:

“How much mature heartwood am I actually getting?”

And that brings thousands of years of Cypress history directly back to the home you're considering building.

From History to a Heart-Cut Cypress Log Home

The ancient Cypress stories are fascinating.

Modern Bald Cypress science is what matters when we're selecting material for your home.

USDA research documents the durability characteristics of mature Bald Cypress heartwood.

It also documents the dimensional properties we've already discussed when explaining why wood selection matters for log-wall shrinkage and settlement.

So the case for Heart-Cut Cypress doesn't need to rest on a slogan such as:

“Cypress is the best.”

Follow the evidence and decide for yourself.

Look at the history.

Look at the structures and artifacts.

Look at the enormous American Cypress canoes.

Look at the surviving New Orleans Cypress water pipe.

Look at Frank Lloyd Wright's material choices.

Look at the World's Fair Cypress Log Cabin still standing today.

Look at what the U.S. Forest Service says about old-growth Tidewater Red Cypress.

Look at what the University of Florida says about old-growth heartwood versus younger Cypress.

Then ask what material you want in the walls of a home intended for your family.

Source: USDA Forest Service — Baldcypress , USDA Forest Products Laboratory — Wood Handbook

A Material Chosen With Future Generations in Mind

More than two thousand years ago, Plato described Cypress tablets intended:

“for the instruction of posterity.”

Posterity means:

The generations that come after us.

That may be the perfect place to end this story.

Because when you're building a family home, you're not simply choosing what looks good on the day construction is completed.

You're choosing what will surround your family.

What you will maintain.

What you may someday hand down.

And what you hope will still be there for the generations that follow.

Build it for today. Choose the materials with tomorrow's generations in mind.

Why Cypress Is Nature's Perfect Wood

After thousands of years of Cypress history, the obvious question is: What is it about this wood that gave Cypress such an extraordinary reputation?

The answer isn't one single characteristic. American Bald Cypress combines several properties that are especially valuable when the wood becomes part of a home: naturally durable heartwood, dimensional stability, resistance to decay, workability, beauty, and a remarkable history of successful use in demanding environments.

But there is an important distinction every homeowner considering a Cypress log home should understand:

The qualities that created the legendary reputation of Cypress are found primarily in the mature heartwood—not simply in a board or log because someone calls it “Cypress.”

As a Bald Cypress tree matures, the inner portion of the tree becomes heartwood. Natural extractives accumulate within this mature wood, and these extractives are associated with the decay resistance for which old-growth Bald Cypress became famous.

USDA Forest Service research specifically distinguishes the highly decay-resistant heartwood historically associated with older Tidewater Red Cypress from younger second-growth Cypress containing a greater proportion of sapwood. This distinction matters enormously when Cypress is being selected for the exterior walls of a home.

In other words, the name “Cypress” alone does not tell you the quality of the wood you are buying.

A younger Cypress log containing a large percentage of sapwood and a mature Cypress log containing a high percentage of heartwood may both legally be called Cypress—but they are not the same material.

That is why Log Home Guys focuses on Heart-Cut Bald Cypress. We want the portion of the tree responsible for the characteristics that established Cypress's reputation in the first place.

For a homeowner, this isn't simply an interesting lesson in forestry. It affects the material that will become the walls of the home: its resistance to decay, its dimensional behavior as moisture changes, its long-term maintenance requirements, and ultimately the performance expected from the structure.

Nature grows the tree. Time develops the heartwood. Proper material selection determines how much of that mature heartwood actually goes into your home.

Source: USDA Forest Service — Baldcypress / Tidewater Red Cypress , USDA Forest Products Laboratory — Wood Handbook

The Many Names of Cypress

Bald Cypress, Southern Cypress and Tidewater Red Cypress — What’s the Difference?

The Cypress used by Log Home Guys is American Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum).

You may hear this same wood called Southern Cypress. The Southern Cypress Manufacturers Association uses Southern Cypress as the industry name and identifies the species as Taxodium distichum — Bald Cypress.

You may also hear the historical name Tidewater Red Cypress.

Here's where customers can become confused:

Tidewater Red Cypress is not a different species of tree. It is Bald Cypress.

Calling Cypress “Tidewater Red Cypress” does not, by itself, mean you're being offered a different or superior species.

The real difference to look for is inside the log.

As a Bald Cypress tree matures, it develops heartwood in the interior of the tree. It is this mature heartwood that is especially important when discussing the historic durability and decay resistance associated with Cypress.

So instead of asking:

“Is Tidewater Red Cypress better than Bald Cypress?”

Ask:

“How much mature heartwood is actually in my Cypress logs?”

That's a much more important question.

At Log Home Guys, we keep the terminology simple.

Bald Cypress = the species.

Southern Cypress = the commonly used industry name.

Tidewater Red Cypress = a historical name associated with Bald Cypress, not a separate species.

And:

Heart-Cut Bald Cypress = what we select for our log homes.

We aren't trying to make Cypress sound better by giving the tree a different name.

We want the customer to understand exactly what they're buying.

Source: Southern Cypress Manufacturers Association ,  USDA Forest Service — Baldcypress

A Cypress Story From 1926 — The Birth of New Orleans

Sometimes history survives in unexpected places.

The original advertisement shown below was published in November 1926—nearly 100 years ago. Published for the Louisiana Red Cypress Bureau, it told readers a story called “The Birth of New Orleans.”

At first glance, it's simply a fascinating piece of vintage Cypress advertising.

But when we began researching the history behind it, the story became much more interesting.

Cypress Was Part of the Infrastructure of Early New Orleans

Before modern PVC, copper and today's municipal water systems, early New Orleans used something that sounds almost unimaginable today:

Hollow Cypress logs were used as water pipes beneath the city.

One of the best-known early New Orleans water systems was developed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, one of America's important early architects and engineers. Latrobe had worked on the United States Capitol and Philadelphia's pioneering municipal waterworks before turning his attention to New Orleans.

His New Orleans system used steam power to draw water from the Mississippi River and distribute it through a network that included hollowed Cypress-log pipes.

Why Cypress?

The Historic New Orleans Collection, which preserves an actual surviving wooden pipe from this early system, explains that Cypress was locally abundant and valued as a durable, moisture-resistant material.

Workers bored through the centers of Cypress logs, connected the sections and buried them beneath the developing city.

The system helped move Mississippi River water for practical city needs including fire protection, cleaning streets and supplying subscribers.

And One of Those Cypress Pipes Still Exists

This is where the story moves beyond an old advertisement and becomes tangible history.

The Historic New Orleans Collection preserves an actual Cypress water pipe associated with New Orleans' early nineteenth-century waterworks.

But there is something else in this nearly 100-year-old advertisement that caught our attention.

Look Closely at What They Said About the Heart of the Tree

Near the bottom of the original advertisement, the Louisiana Red Cypress Bureau discusses Cypress for demanding applications where resistance to decay was important.

Then it specifically points readers toward:

“The Heart Grade.”

That wasn't an accidental choice of words.

Only a few years later, advertisements from the Southern Cypress Manufacturers' Association continued making this distinction. Historical Cypress-industry material differentiated Heart Grade from other material produced from the same Cypress log.

Think about what that means.

Nearly 100 years ago, the Cypress industry was already teaching customers that simply buying “Cypress” wasn't the whole story.

The part of the tree mattered.

The heartwood mattered.

And the grade mattered.

That's especially interesting today because historical names such as Louisiana Red Cypress and Tidewater Red Cypress can make Cypress sound like several completely different woods.

But underneath those historical names is the same important lesson we've been explaining throughout this page:

Don't judge Cypress by the name alone. Look at what's actually inside the log.

At Log Home Guys, we call the material we select:

Heart-Cut Bald Cypress

Bald Cypress identifies the species.

Heart-Cut identifies what we're looking for inside that tree—the mature heartwood.

Different generation. Different construction methods.

Same fundamental understanding: the heart of the Cypress tree matters.

And remarkably, you don't have to take our word for it.

Look at the original advertisement below.

It was published in November 1926, and almost 100 years later, you can still read the words “Heart Grade” for yourself.

Source: The Historic New Orleans Collection -Wooden Water Pipe, Southern Cypress Manufacturers' Association - Historical 1931 Cypress Advertisement, U.S. Government - Historical Cypress Grading Standards