Using Timber In Construction

– the truth is out there!

Dr. Wong Tuck Meng
Director, Timber Industry Development Division,
Malaysian Timber Council
WOOD IS TIMELESS
1ST MATERIAL USED BY MAN
Fuel
Shelter

Weapon
IN THE OLD DAYS…

With limited
technology our
forefathers can
still use timber
efficiently
However the most important reason why we
are shying away from timber
Architects & Engineers will probably tell you...
But ............

or
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Myths and
Misperceptions
1) TIMBER DOES NOT LAST
2) TIMBER IS A FIRE HAZARD
3) TIMBER IS NOT STABLE
4) USING TIMBER CONTRIBUTES TO
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE
ENVIRONMENT
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Nature of Wood
NO TWO PIECES OF WOOD IS
EXACTLY SIMILAR
WOOD IS A BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL
 WOOD IS ANISOTROPIC
Cross Section

fibre lumen rays

parenchyma cells
vessels

Scalariform perforation
plate
pits

rays

Radial Section
Tangential Section
 WOOD IS HYGROSCOPIC

Cell Lumen

Bound Water

Water Vapour

Cell Wall
Free Water
 WOOD IS HYGROSCOPIC

Cell wall saturated

with moisture

Wood Looses
Drying
wood Free Water
In Cell Lumen

a. As wood dries, it first looses its free water.

b. There will be a point when there is no free water

in the lumen but the wall is saturated with bound water.
c. At this point the wood is said to be at Fibre
Saturation Point (FSP)
 HOW DOES WOOD SHRINK?

Drying Drying

Drying
WOOD LOOSES
BOUND WATER
WOOD LOOSES
FREE WATER

WOOD
SHRINKS
 WOOD IS
SURPRISINGLY INERT
 WOOD IS
BIODEGRADABLE
 WOOD IS
COMBUSTIBLE
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Positive Attributes
of Wood
 STRENGTH
Wood has a high strength-to-weight ratio

16 Times better than steel

5 Times better than concrete

 Wood is one of the oldest construction materials

Hōryū-ji
Pagoda
Nara, Japan-
7th century

Height:
32.5 m
 Istana Sri
Menanti ~
Old Timber Built in 1902 -
Buildings in 112 years
Malaysia

Kg Laut Mosque ~
> 300 years
 The Forté – the world’s tallest timber apartment building
32.17 m 485
tonnes of
high
timber
Year of
759 CLT construction
panels 2012
Saving
1,451 tonnes of Carbon
 Timber Bridges in Norway
Nesoddveien and Måna Bridge

Kjøllsæter Bridge

Flisa Bridge
 The Leonardo Bridge
109.2 m 40 m
long main span
Total cost
NOK 12 millions
Cost of glulam
NOK 4.1 millions
Year of construction
2001
Durability
USE
NATURALLY KEEP WOOD
DURABLE DRY
TIMBER

PROTECTION PRESERVATIVE
BY DESIGN TREATMENT
 Protection by Design
Copper cladding

ISI Bridge

Kjøllsæter Bridge

Ground separation
 What about Termites?

1) Timber structure sits on concrete podium for ground separation

2)Preservative treated timber

Skarnes Bridge

3) Physical termite barriers

4) Annual inspection
Require minimal
external energy
to keep a
building within
thermal comfort
zone
 6 Times better than brick

8 Times better than glass

15 Times better than concrete

390 Times better than steel

1,700 Times better than aluminium

 ACOUSTIC PROPERTIES

Enhance sound or reduce sound

Stronger sound dampening capacity

Reduced echo
TIMBER IS VERSATILE
 Timber’s Versatility

Structural
Kempas Bintangor
Decorative
Outdoor
Merbau Rubberwood
Indoor

Cherry Maple Thousands of grains and shades

ENERGY EFFICIENT
Energy required to produce one tonne of each material

Wood

Cement – 5 times

Glass – 14 times

Steel – 24 times

Aluminium – 126 times

OH! WHAT ABOUT FIRE!
Wood behaviour is very predictable in fire - known charring rate

Density (kg/m3) Charring rate

at 12% MC (mm/min)

400 0.75
500 0.70
600 0.65
Note: Based on a study carried out by BRANZ, New Zealand, 1992.
MTC Fire Test on Glulam Beam at BRANZ, New Zealand
Pilot test was carried
out in May 2014:
Temperature of
thermocouples
after 77 minutes of
burning 92oC
50mm

20mm 696oC

10mm 787oC
5mm
906oC
 Unique Charring Properties of Wood

Note:
B = Initial breadth
D = Initial depth,
b = Breadth after fire attack
d = Depth after fire attack
The wood beam was burned but remained structurally strong enough to support
the twisted steel I-beams that softened because of fire.
Academy Square strip mall, located in Salem, Oregon.
Additional Protection
against Fire
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Green Credentials
 Growing trees
absorb CO2 store
Carbon efficiently
Half the dry weight
of a tree is
CARBON

CARBON
SEQUESTRATION
Malaysia Forest
Plantation
Programme

3.94 million ha
forest plantation
by 2020
 Leaving
the forest
alone
 The CO2 that is
absorbed remains
“imprisoned” in
the wood

Wood-based material
contributes to the
continued
imprisonment
of the CO2

CARBON
LOCKING
 Harvesting older
trees will allow the
under-storey and
younger trees to
grow faster and
absorb more CO2
 CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION

One of the ways to

mitigate the effects
of climate change
is by planting trees
 Sustainably
harvested
timber has a
very low
carbon footprint
 Every unit
of
timber decking
produced

0.25 tonne of CO2

Manufacturing
Ceramic tiles

5 tonne of CO2
 Timber Mills

Off-cuts, sawdust
other residues

Boilers to generate
power
SUSTAINABLE
RESOURCE

Timber is the only

building material
that is sustainable
Green Terrorism Ignoring the truth
 Sustainably managed
FOREST

Young Trees Timbers

Carbon Carbon
Sequestration Locking

Environment
 RECYCLABILITY

Old timber buildings

Reclaimed timber
Restaurant Lisung
in Bandung
 - An award-winning
architect’s view on using
timber… -
 WOOD…
The Truth is Out There!
1) BITS AND PIECES OF TERMITES
2) BIODETERIORATION OF WOOD
3) A COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO SPECIFYING TIMBERS
4) ENSURING QUALITY ASSURANCE IN TIMBER APPLICATIONS
5) GOING GREEN WITH TIMBER