TIMBER

TIMBER
 Wood is one of the oldest known
materials used in construction
 It is the only naturally renewable
building material
 Species of wood in Malaysia –
more than 2500
 Wood in Construction
 In the form of lumber – pieces of
wood cut from tree trunks
 Wood products – glue laminated
timber, pressed wood, chip board
etc.

Tree trunks → Log → Lumber

 Names of wood
 Vernacular – given by the local
community e.g. Cengal – Cengai
or Penak
 Botanical – given by botanical
member e.g. Balanorcarpus
Heimeii (Cengal)
 Commerce – given for trading
e.g. Cengal
 Classification of Wood
 Hardwood – tree has broad leaves,
seeds with hard shell, mostly grow in
tropical climate e.g. jati
 Softwood – species that has needlelike
leaves, seed without hard shell, mostly
grow in seasonal climate e.g. Pine
trees
This classification is based on the
Botanical aspects, not the hardness of
the wood
 Cont.
 Generally, most hardwoods are
harder to work with than
softwood
 The term hardwood and softwood
do not necessarily indicate the
relative hardness or density
between the two categories
 Forest Research Institute of Malaysia
(FRIM)
 Hardwood in Malaysia – classified based
on the density and durability
Three categories
 Heavyweight hardwood – density greater
than 880 kg/m3, very durable e.g. balau,
cengal
 Normal/Intermediate weight hardwood –
density in the range of 720 to 880 kg/m3,
less durable compared to heavyweight
hardwood, e.g. kempas, keruing
 Lightweight hardwood – density less than
720 kg/m3, not durable except being
preserved, e.g. meranti
 PROPERTIES OF WOOD
 Strength is one of the main
properties that determines the
suitability of wood in
construction
 Strength – the ability of material
to resist external load without
failure
 Strength of wood
 Tensile strength
 Compressive strength
 Flexural strength
 Shear strength hardness
 Impact strength
 Splitting strength
 Cont.
 Hardness of wood is generally defined
as how easy the wood to be work with
i.e. cut, nailed
 It depends on the density, stiffness, and
bonding between wood fibres
 Impact strength – the ability of wood to
absorb sudden external load
 It depends on the hardness, elasticity,
plasticity of wood
 SEASONING OF WOOD
 The process of controlled
drying of lumber (water in cell
cavity and wall) to increase its
structural properties
Reduction in moisture content:
 Increase strength

 Reduce shrinkage

 Reduction in weight

 More durable
 Methods of drying

 Air drying – drying naturally

 Kiln/Oven drying – controlled
drying (temperatures and
humidities)
Stacking lumber
Factors affecting drying process

 Temperature
 Relative humidity
 Air circulation
 Duration of drying
 Types of wood – softwood,
hardwood
 Size of lumber

 Surrounding envirnment

 Stacking method

Air-drying vs Oven drying

 FACTORS AFFECTING
STRENGTH AND DURABILITY

 Moisture content
 Density
 Defects
 Wood grains
 Treatment
 Moisture Content
 Higher moisture content will
reduce the strength and
durability of wood
 Moisture will cause wood to
decay
 Density
 Wood with higher density will
have higher compressive
strength and better durability
due to dense microstructure
 Defects
 Any irregularities in the
structure of wood or lumber
that will reduce the strength
and durability
Types of defect:
 Natural defect

 Defect during processing

 Due to insects or fungus

Natural Defects
 Processing Defects
 Generally is due to improper drying
methods
 Insects and Fungus

 Wood destroying insects –

termites, pin-hole borers, beetles
 Fungi – brown rot, white rot
 pin-hole borers
termites

beetles
 Wood Grains
 Straight grain
 Edge grain
 Flat grain
 Cross grain
 Spiral grain
 Diagonal grain
The slope of grains will affect
the strength of wood
 Preservative Treatment
 Is the process of introducing or
injecting special chemicals into
wood cell by special techniques
 The purpose is to prevent the
destruction from fungi and
insects and to inhibit combustion
 Classes of wood preservatives
 Creosote oil
 Water-borne wood preservatives
 Light organic solvent preservatives
It is important that the
preservatives must penetrate into
the wood and to such extent it is
effectively protect the wood
 Attributes of ideal wood
preservatives
 Easy penetration into wood cell
 Permanent in the wood cell
 Toxic to insect and fungi
 Safe to handle
 Colourless
 Compatible with coatings and
finishes
 Cheap
Ease of injecting preservatives
 Wood density
 Microstructure of wood
 Chemical composition of
cell wall
 Size of lumber
 Moisture content
Methods of treatment process
 Non-Pressure Method
 Brushing
 Immersion
 Hot and cold open tank
treatment
 Pressure Treatments
1) Full cell
2) Empty cell
 Cont.
 The only method to achieve any
worthwhile degree of
penetration is by way of pressure
treatment
 Brushing – not very effective,
chemical will not be able to
penetrate into wood cell, need to
repeat the process
 Immersion
 Cold immersion – lumber is
immersed in tank for few weeks
 Hot immersion – immersed in tank
at higher temperature 90 °C
 Hot-Cold immersion – immersed in
tank at 90 °C, during heating air in
cell cavity will expand and pushed
out, during cooling the cell will
shrink and absorb the chemical
 Pressure (full cell)
 Lumber is put in container
 Half vacuum (to pull out air)
 Spray hot chemical, increase pressure
(chemical enters wood cell)
 Half vacuum to push out extra
chemical from the cell
 Cell wall and cavity filled with
chemical
 Suitable for construction in damp soil
 In buildings, chemical may leach out
 Pressure (empty cell)
 Lumber placed in container
 Apply pressure (compressed the air)
 Spray chemical
 Increase pressure (forcing chemical
to penetrate into cell wall but air in
cell cavity is compressed)
 Reduce pressure, half vacuum, air in
cell cavity will expand pushing out
extra chemical
 Cell wall filled with chemical but cell
cavity is empty
 More economical, cleaner lumber
Advantages of timber as
Construction materials
 Simplicity in fabrication
 Lightness
 Reusability
 Material availability
 Simpler connections
 Environmental compatibility
 Adaptability to modifications
and remodeling
Disadvantages of timber
 WOOD PRODUCTS
Wood in construction can be
divided into two forms
 In the form of lumber
 In the form of wood-based panel
Two types of panels: veneered
panels and non-veneered panels
 Panels
 Veneered panels – also called
plywood, made from thin sheet
of wood
 Non-veneered panels –
manufactured from wood
particles or fibres
Used for structural applications
such as floor and wall panels,
non-structural applications such
as in furniture and cabinets
Wood-Based Products
 Manufactured by bonding
together using resin under
heat and pressure
 Non-Veneered Panels
Divided into two major categories:
 Particleboards

 Fibreboards
 Particleboard
 Manufactured from discrete pieces of
wood particles (chipboard, flakeboard,
splinterboard), combined with a
synthetic resin or glue, bonded together
under heat and pressure in a hot press in
which an entire interparticle bond is
created
Particles – piece of wood smaller than
veneer sheets but larger than wood fibre
 Classified into three types
 Low-density particleboard – density
590 kg/m3 and specific gravity of
0.59
 Medium-density particleboard –
density between 590 and 880 kg/m3
and specific gravity between 0.59 and
0.80
 High-density particle board – density
greater than 800 kg/m3 and specific
gravity of 0.80
 Fibreboard
 Is a generic term for a
homogeneous panel made from
wood fibres
 Fibreboard panels have density
between 160 and 500 kg/m3, and
specific gravity between 0.16 and
0.50
 Cont.
 Veneer, plywood, and blockboard
are natural wood panels
 Particleboard and fibre building
board – are reconstituted wood
panels which are manufactured
mainly from various wood
wastes
 Plywood
 Is a panel comprising an assembly of
plies bonded together
Glulam or Glue-laminated timber
 Consists of sawn lumber
laminations bonded with an
adhesive so that the grain of all
laminations runs parallel with
the long direction
 Can be manufactured in a variety
of shapes and sizes
Structural section
Application of Timber

 Structural
 Non-structural
Thank You