5 - Timber

Abstract

Timber is an appreciated building and construction material, especially for lightweight structures. Today, sustainability and the storage of carbon are among the major benefits of using timber, a renewable resource. The longer timber is kept in use, the more carbon is stored and does not negatively affect the climate and global warming. The service life of wooden commodities and structures depends on a multitude of factors such as the exposure conditions, applied loads, use frequencies, and wear. Timber is a biodegradable material. Different biotic and abiotic agents can cause severe damage to timber elements. Hence, for many applications, in particular outdoors, wood products require protection, either by design, wood preservation, or wood modification. Besides the use of wood preservatives, the dimensional stability and durability of wood can be enhanced through thermal or chemical wood modification without the use of biocides. More recently, many efforts were made to develop a reliable methodology for performance prediction and classification of wood-based building products.