Are there special hardwoods that should be used for built-ins?
Yes and no. Once you’ve chosen your space for the built-in it’s time to specify a hardwood for the job. The first item to consider is how the built-in will be used. A bookcase, for example, must be able to accommodate both heavy reference books (a complete Encyclopaedia Britannica set weighs 133 pounds) and lightweight paperbacks. Therefore, looks as well as load-bearing capacity must be taken into account.
