Materials - Wood and Wood Products
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Global Summary Building Summary Design Options Materials Stone Glass and Plaster Metals Earth Wood Strawbale Planted Roofs Ventilation Energy Savings Building Config. Room Layout Solar Orientaion Cooling/Heating Water Heaters Water Conservation Landscaping Rainwater Waste Water Readings Examples
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Properly seasoned timber can last for hundreds of years. Timber is
one of the healthiest building materials. Wood is a natural regulator
of indoor climate; it ‘breathes’ and assists ventilation; it stabilises
humidity and filters and purifies the air; it is warm to the touch and
absorbs sound. It also does not disturb the natural, subtle electrical
and magnetic fields as do most other materials.
Worldwide, continuous logging without adequate reforestation has diminished forests. In the developed world acid rain and pollution are damaging and killing large areas of woodland. In the developing world over cutting for fuel wood or timber is causing a serious shortage. It is important to avoid buying endangered hardwoods and to use instead more sustainable softwoods and the more carefully managed temperate hardwood tree species. In relation to its weight, timber is stronger than any other building material except bamboo. The strength/weight ratio of structural timber is greater than either mild steel or reinforced concrete, yet a timber building might weigh only one-eighth as much as a similar structure in concrete or brick. Engineered wood products such as glulam and parallel strand lumber (PSL) have offered more opportunities for use of lower grades of wood. These products replace the use of old growth forest quality timber products. They have all of the benefits of wood aesthetics, forms, and functions; however, the one concern about their use is the potential for off-gassing from the resins and glues used in their manufacture.
In Québec, Goodfellow is a provider of engineered wood products. They use resorcinol glue in their production. According to them, off-gassing is minimal. Furthermore, when used in laminated beams, off-gassing is even less because in these beams, glue accounts for less than 3% of the beam’s content.
Despite its off-gassing potential, laminated wood is a very versatile product.
It can be used both for architectural and structural purposes and fabricated
in almost any size and length, straight or curved.
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