WOOD

 ARCH. CRISTINA SUMERA-MIRAFLOR

 MAPUA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
 SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, INDUSTRIAL
DESIGN AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
WOOD
a building material
made from trees.
 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF
WOOD THAT ATTRACT US ARE:
 Natural warmth – to the touch; wood insulates
 Workability – easily shaped with simple tools
 Infinite variety – no two trees, or even pieces
from the same tree, are alike
 Strength-to-weight ratio for bridges, boats,
homes, furniture
 Flexibility – watch even huge trees bend
before the wind
 Fire protection – wood chars and therefore burns
slowly, doesn’t melt or crumble
 Color – natural, has ability to receive many types
of stains and finishes
 ADVANTAGES OF WOOD:
 In proportion to weight, it is stronger than most materials.
 easily worked with tools, can be fabricated into many
shapes, sizes and designs.
 excellent non-conductor of heat, make dwellings warm in
winter and cool in summer.
 grains and appearance is conducive to artistic and
architectural designs
 abundant in many shapes, sizes and forms and is a
renewable resources
 permit the use of small wood members through the use of
timber connectors in wide trusses and spans, towers and
general construction
 Does not deteriorate in value if properly handled
and protected
 Not readily affected by changing styles
 Has prompt resale value
 Neither heat, cold nor climate changes, may
seriously affect wood
 Classification of Wood
 Softwoods – come from the conifers (evergreens)
which have needles instead of leaves, e.g. pine, fir,
hemlock, and spruce used for general construction.
 Hardwoods – come from the broad-leaved
flowering trees, as cherry, maple or oak typically
used for flooring, paneling, and furniture. Most of
Philippine timber are of this kind.
 STRUCTURE OF WOOD
 Sapwood – softer, younger outer
portion of a tree that lies between the
cambium (formative layer just under
the bark) and the heartwood. It is
more permeable, less durable and
usually lighter in color than the
heartwood.
 Heartwood – older, harder central portion of a
tree. It usually contains deposits of various
materials that frequently give it a darker color
than sapwood. It is denser, less permeable
and more durable than the surrounding
sapwood.
 DEFECTS OF WOOD
 Decay – caused by the attack of fungi
 Checks – are lengthwise separation across the
annual rings of growth caused by irregular
shrinkage during drying. Formed when the
circumference shrinks more than the interior
section of the log
 Shakes – cracks between and parallel to the annual
rings of the growth
 Knots – irregular growths in the body of a tree
which interrupt the smooth curve of the grain. The
fibers of the tree are turned from their normal
course and grow around the knot at that point of
the tree.
 Pitch pockets – well-defined openings between
annual rings containing solid or liquid pitch
 Wane – presence of bark or absence of wood on
the edge or corner of a piece
 Warping – any variation with the plane surface of
the piece caused by unequal shrinkage of the
board.
 Forms of warp:
 Crook – curvature along the edge of a wood piece
 Bow – curvature along the length of a wood piece
 Cup- curvature along the face of a wood
 Twist – distortion of the board in which one corner
is raised
 The manner in which lumber is cut from a log
affects its strength as well as its appearance.
PLAINSAWING
 May have a variety of noticeable grain patterns
 Tends to twist and cup
 Wears unevenly
 Tends to have raised grain
 Shrinks and swells less in thickness and more in
width
PLAINSAWING
 May have a variety of
noticeable grain patterns
 Tends to twist and cup
 Wears unevenly
 Tends to have raised
grain
 Shrinks and swells less
in thickness and more in
width
QUARTERSAWING
 Has more even grain pattern
 Wears more evenly with less
raised grain and warping
 Shrinks and swells less in
width, more in thickness
 Less affected by surface
checks
 Results in more waste in
cutting and is more expensive
DEFINITION OF TERMS
 SURFACED OR DRESSED LUMBER – planed
lumber having at least one smooth side
 S2S –smooth on 2 sides
 S4S – smooth on 4 sides
 SLAB – rough lumber cut tangent to the annual
ring running the full length of the log with one flat
surface
 TIMBER – five inches or larger in its smallest
dimension
SEASONING
 To increase its strength, stability, and resistance to
fungi, decay, and insects, wood is seasoned – dried
to reduce moisture content.
 Ways of seasoning:
 Air-drying
 Kiln-drying under controlled conditions of heat, air
circulation and humidity
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO
COMPLETELY SEAL A PIECE
OF WOOD
 Below a moisture content of 30%, wood expands
as it absorbs moisture and shrinks as it loses
moisture
 Wood is decay-resistant when moisture content is
under 20%
 Thepossibility of shrinkage and swelling must
always be taken into account when detailing and
constructing wood joints
 Fiber saturation point (30%) is the stage at which
the cell walls are fully saturated but the cell
cavities are void of water, ranging from a moisture
content of 25% to 32% . Further drying results in
shrinkage and generally greater strength, stiffness
and density of the wood.
 Wood is decay-resistant when its moisture content
is under 20%. When installed and maintained
below this moisture content level, wood will
usually not rot.
 Preservative treatments – protect wood from decay and
insect attack. Pressure treatment is the most effective.
 Types of preservatives:
 Water-borne preservatives – leave the wood clean,
odorless, and readily paintable; do not leach out when
exposed to weather
 Oil-borne preservative – may color the wood but treated
wood is paintable; pentachloropenol is highly toxic
 Creosote treatment – leaves wood with colored, oily
surfaces; odor remains for a long period; used
especially in marine and salwater installation
 CLASSIFICATION OF
SOFTWOOD
 YARD LUMBER – intended for general building
purposes, including boards, dimension lumber, and
timber.
 FACTORY AND SHOP LUMBER – sawn or
selected primarily for further manufacture into
doors, windows and millwork
YARD LUMBER
 BOARDS – less than 2” thick and 2” or more
wide, siding, subflooring, interior trim
 Examples”
 1” X 4” Tanguile board
 1” x 5” Tanguile board
 DIMENSION LUMBER – 2”
to 4” thick and 2” or more
wide
 joists and planks – 2” to 4”
thk. And more than 4” wide.
Ex: 2” x 6”
 Light framing – 2” to 4” thk.
And 2” to 4” wide. Ex: 2” x
2”, 2” x 3”, 2” x 4”
 Decking – 2” to 4” thk. And
4” or more wide
 Ex.: 2” x 5”
 TIMBERS – 5” or more in the
least dimension
 Beams and stringers – at least
5” thick and width more than
2”. Ex. 2” x 5”
 Posts – 5” x 5” or larger and a
width not more than 2” greater
than the thickness
 TIMBERAND DIMENSION LUMBER ARE
BOTH STRUCTURAL LUMBER
 Lumber is measured in board feet:
 1 board foot is equal to the volume of a piece
whose nominal dimensions are 12” square and 1”
thick.
 The board-foot is a specialized unit of measure for
the volume of lumber in the United States and
Canada. It is the volume of a one-foot length of a
board one foot wide and one inch thick. Board-
foot can be abbreviated FBM (for "foot, board
measure"), BDFT, or BF.
 Board foot - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Nominal dimensions are dimensions of a piece of
lumber before drying and surfacing, used for
convenience in defining size and computing
quantity and written without inch marks (“).
 Dressed sizes are the actual dimensions of a piece
of lumber after seasoning and surfacing from 3/8”
(10) to ¾” (19) less than nominal dimensions.
 For dressed sizes:
 Subtract ¼” (6) from nominal dimensions up to 2”
(51)
 Subtract ½” (13) from nominal dimensions of 2” to
6” (51 to 150)
 Subtract ¾” (19) from nominal dimensions greater
than 6” (150)
 Lumber is generally available in lengths from 6’ to
24’ in multiples of 2’
DEFINITION OF TERMS

 SURFACED OR DRESSED LUMBER – Lumber

that has been dressed by a planing machine for the
purpose of attaining smoothness of surface and
uniformity of size
S1S – smooth on 1 side,
 S2S –smooth on 2 sides
 S4S – smooth on 4 sides
 Rough Lumber. Lumber that has not been
dressed (surfaced) but has been sawed, edged,
and trimmed.