Characteristics of timber as a building material

This paper explores the modern uses of timber in building structures and components. Timber is a naturally occurring material and is used for several engineering purposes. Timber is the most environmentally responsible building material. New sustainable building materials developed from trees. Hardness and strength of wood depend to a great extent on its density. The hardwoods have a specific gravity ranging between 0. Grain signifies arrangement and direction of fibers and vessels in the wood.

Timber is one of the oldest and most versatile building materials in the world. Simply put, it can support its own weight better, which allows for larger spaces and fewer necessary supports in some. Wood has been used as a building material for thousands of years, being second only to stone in terms of its rich and storied history in the world of construction. As a result the grading of timber for aspects of material behaviour 3 structural purposes is essential for ensuring that the material is reliable and has defined properties that can be used in. Characteristics of building materials essay example graduateway. Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. Mar 27, 2018 for areas that are prone to natural calamities, the material wont suit good. The moisture content of wood is another property of timber which effects the quality of timber to. As a natural material, timber exhibits inherent variation of its properties, even across samples of the same species 52. Because wood is anisotropic, natural wooden beams work better as vertical posts where they are in compression than horizontal beams where they are in tension. Timber disadvantages become advantages landmark products. These properties of building materials are responsible for its quality and capacity and helps to decide applications of these material.

These uses have made timber an important building material. Building materials industry which is one of the important basic industries of national economy promotes the development of the construction industry. A good quality timber is defined by certain good quality properties that will enable good construction. Timber with higher modulus of elasticity are preferred in construction. Timber is a cost efficient building material which has many great characteristics for outdoor structures and products. Tensile strength for being a relatively lightweight building material, wood outperforms even steel when it comes to breaking length or selfsupport length. Clt is a type of mass timber used for wall, floor, and roof construction that could support better forestry management, one of the strategies scientists are eyeing to address climate change, said peggi clouston, a professor of wood mechanics and timber engineering in the universitys school of earth and sustainability. Tree species are normally grouped into two categories. There is a predominant use of glass in contemporary architecture as there is an increasing demand for transparent building elements. Building material is any material which is used for construction purposes.

An important aspect of any material study is its durability. Cork is the lightest wood having a specific gravity of 0. Traditionally, glass was used a as single pane in concurrence with a load. As a natural and renewable building material, timber has excellent ecological attributes. Building projects evolve with binderholz solid timber products and construction solutions, which all standard requirements in terms of structural physics and fire protection. Wood is a very light material, its specific gravity being always less than 1 that of water. It acts as a carbon sink and has low embodied energy. Top 6 properties of wood and timber used in construction. Timber denotes wood which is suitable for building or carpentry and for various engineering and other purposes. From building construction to furniture making, timbers have numerous uses. The organic matter obtained from trees is called wood.

Wood timber lumber as a construction material longhouse. The chemical properties of wood are inherently complex, but even in spite of this challenge, human beings have successfully harnessed the unique characteristics. Pdf introduction to timber as an engineering material. The chemical properties of wood are inherently complex, but even in spite of this challenge, human beings have successfully harnessed the unique characteristics of wood to build a seemingly unlimited variety of structures. Timber is used for building houses and making furniture. Characteristics of good building stone expert civil. Wellmanaged forests produce timber on a sustained continuous basis, with minimal adverse effects on soil and water values. Moderntechniques of using timber in building structures and. What becomes extremely essential is the choice of good quality timber for construction. Embodied energy is the sum of energy required to create a product or service.

The energy needed to convert trees into wood and hence into structural timber is significantly lower than that required by other structural materials such as steel and concrete. However, the natural characteristics of most timbers have some related disadvantages, these disadvantages can be. Properties of building materials used in construction and. Timber has low production energy requirements and is a net carbon absorber. Aggregates metal wood softwood igneous igneous texture can be smooth, fine grained, coarsegrained, glassy or porphyritic dykes these are vertical intrusions formed where magma solidifies in a vertical. What is timber and what are various uses of timber. At the opposite of brick or concrete walls, timber walls dont need to be very thick. Wood as a building material timber lumber understand.

From tall tower blocks and bridges to doors and windows and interior decoration timber structures find their application everywhere. Older timber is often far superior to modern timber in terms of quality and durability. Timber material will be costly if it is not available locally. Building material an overview sciencedirect topics. It is universally recognised by architects and engineers for its high strength to weight ratio. Characteristics timber is a natural material, and each piece tells part of the story of the tree that produced it. Introduction to timber as an engineering material ice. Softwoods are mostly used for structural beams or framing in walls. It is an organic material a natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin that resists compression.

Its a key part of almost all of scotlands historic buildings. Mar 16, 2018 the benefits of timber as a building material jeremy english, sales director at sodra swedens largest forestowner association explains how timber is perfectly placed to meet the needs of the uk construction industry. While the desire to not rely on the worlds forests for building demands is wellintentioned, the advantages of wood as a building material still outweigh other products on the market when looking at the environmental impact and performance. Italy and india are both known for the variety and quality of stone they produce. Stone is a great floor finish and is affordable in many countries. General properties color a darker color in wood indicates greater durability. A good quality timber should be hard enough to resist deterioration. Finished timber is supplied in standard sizes for the industry. Engineered timber makes for quieter, calmer, cleaner building sites, without the noise and dust of hammer drills and grinders. It requires a fifth of the deliveries by truck that concrete does. The advantages of its physical and aesthetic qualities, workability. Wood is a traditional building material, as popular today as ever. Hardwoods are mostly used for interior woodwork as well as furniture. Timber has been a building material for thousands of years, and in europe, there are timber buildings that are 100 years old or more.

Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, rocks, sand, and wood, even twigs and leaves, have been used to construct buildings. Characteristics of building materials by abby sanidad on prezi. Building materials are the material foundation for all the construction engineering. These include its high strength to weight ratio, its impressive. Apart from naturally occurring materials, many manmade products are in use, some more and some less synthetic. Team members anugraha n grace henry jidhin janardhanan navami c. The air seasoned timber contains 1216 percent moisture whereas in the kiln seasoned timber it can be brought down to as low limits as 46 percent. Insect attack causes the tree to lay down extra wood to protect the tree giving a lump or burl, or may produce a resin or sap pocket. Thus we say that a wood is hard, or tough, or brittle, or flexible, and frequently we use these terms without having a clear understanding of just. We say wood is anisotropic, which means a lump of wood has different properties in different directions. Timber is an expensive material to be incorporated in a building for different purpose therefore it should necessarily be strong, tough and durable. It is often chosen due to its good lasting performance and natural appearance, depending on timber typegrade. Sep 25, 2019 wood has been used as a building material for thousands of years, being second only to stone in terms of its rich and storied history in the world of construction. Hardwoods and softwoods have different characteristics and uses.

Fire resisting properties of common building materials such as stone, brick, timber, castiron, glass, steel and concrete are mentioned below. Wood as a building material solid timber is natural, beautiful and cozy. There is high demand for timber as a building material. Wood an introduction to its structure, properties, and uses. Proponents perceive timber as an attractive building material while opponents opine that it is unreliable for construction.

There is a great advantage to stone that is almost unique to floor finishes. Jul 27, 2017 fire resisting properties of common building mterials fire resisting properties of common construction material. For a material to be considered as building material, it should have required engineering properties suitable for construction works. Branches that are engulfed by the growing tree cause knots. The most common classifications are based on their chemical components and functions. Trees exogenous conifers deciduous endogenous classification of trees 4. General characteristics of timber in speaking of wood we are accustomed to use certain words to express our idea of its mechanical properties, or of its probable behavior under certain conditions. Timber the wood which is suitable or fit for engineering construction or engineering purpose is called timber it should have structural as well as aesthetic merits. There are a number of inherent characteristics that make timber an ideal construction material. Its mainly used for building a structure or for other reasons.