re: Knotty pine

The first question you probably want to ask yourself is what is the intended structural design requirement. If something really needs to be sturdy, perhaps it should be made or reinforced with hardwood. I use pine 1×6 for door frames. You can hang a pretty heavy door from it so long as its shimmed and fastened properly to the 2x rough framing.

On the other hand, in a project I recently worked as owner’s rep, I saw a contractor use 2×4s ripped down to about 3/4 × 3/4 spindles for replacing stair railing balusters (they needed to raise the railing height). This was fine for the pieces that were clear of knots, but you could see a few with knots in the middle that are sure to break with very little force. Hopefully it doesn’t involve a child. I protested this shoddy work, but nothing came of it.