Building Technology 1

WOOD

WOOD
Fibrous substance which composes the trunk and branches of a tree that lies between the pitch and the bark.

defined as the lignified water conducting, strengthening and storage tissues of branches, stem and roots of trees.
wood is known as xylem.

PARTS OF WOOD

PARTS OF WOOD
heartwood Hard dark-colored wood layer made of dead sapwood; it encircles the pith and supports the trunk and branches. pith Central part of the trunk, composed of soft tissue that contains nutrients essential for sapling growth.

PARTS OF WOOD
bark Trees external protective layer; its texture and color vary depending on the species. Phloem Tissue located immediately below the bark, whose main function is to transport sap transformed by photosynthesis from the leaves throughout the rest of the tree.

PARTS OF WOOD
cambium Growth tissue that simultaneously produces the external phloem and the internal sapwood, thereby enabling the tree to increase in diameter. sapwood Relatively new layer of wood that is generally pale in color; it transports raw sap, composed of water and nutrient minerals, from the roots to the leaves.

PARTS OF WOOD
annual ring Each of the concentric circles representing the layer of wood produced in one year; the age of the tree can be determined by the number of rings. wood ray Conduit connecting the pith to the core and circulating nutrients horizontally within the trunk.

Properties of Wood as a Building Material

Strong material Durable

Light in weight
Ease of working and fastening With artistic and natural beauty

Advantages of Wood as Building Material

In proportion to weight, wood is stronger than other materials. Wood is easily worked out with tools and fabricated into many shapes, sizes and design. Wood is excellent non-conductor of heat. It is warm in winter and cool in summer.

Advantages of Wood as Building Material

It is abundant in many shapes, color, sizes, and as renewable resources. The use of timber connectors in wide trusses and spans generally permit the use of small wood members.

In terms of value, wood does not deteriorate if properly handled and protected.

Advantages of Wood as Building Material

It is not readily affected by changing styles. It has prompt resale value. Neither heat nor cold or climate changes would seriously affect the physical properties of wood.

Physical Properties of Wood

1. Strength- ability of wood in resisting stress and strain. Strength of different wood varies in the following manner: Resistant to compression Stiffness or ability to resist bending stress Strength in tension or ability to resist lengthwise stress Shearing strength or ability of the fibers to resist rupture along or across the grain

Physical Properties of Wood

2. Knots and other defects in wood- affects the strength more particularly the size, character and location of the knots or defects. 3. Weight- heavy woods are generally stronger than lighter wood.

Physical Properties of Wood

4. Hardness- expressed as resistance to indentation or to the saw or axe across the grain. -generally dependent on the weight of the wood, structural elements and degree of seasoning. 5. Cleavability-resistance of wood to split along the grains

6. Flexibility- the moisture content of the wood influences the flexibility to a considerable degree.

Physical Properties of Wood

7. Toughness- refers to the combined strength, shock resistance and pliability or flexibility of the wood.
8. Durability- ability to resist decay ; length of its life under a given condition; resistance of the wood to the influence of mechanical wear.

Classification of Wood
Mode of Growth: Exogenous- outward growing trees most preferred for lumbering Indigenous- inside growing trees; less preferred for lumbering because the center core of the log is soft and brittle in character.

Classification of Wood
Density- mass & volume of the wood 1. Softwood- known as conifers or evergreen 1.1 Conifers: Tree that usually retains its needle- or scalelike leaves all winter long; it bears cones, hence its name, and produces a sticky sap known as resin.

Classification of Wood
1.2 Evergreen- having foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year or through more than one growing season

Classification of Wood Softwood

Classification of Wood Softwood

Classification of Wood
2. Hardwood-generally deciduous with broad leaves Deciduous- shredding leaves annually or at the end of a growing season.

Classification of Wood Hardwood

Classification of Wood Hardwood

Classification of Wood Hardwood

Classification of Wood
Leaves: Needle shape Broad shape

Classification of Wood
Shade or color of wood: White Red Yellow Brown Orange Black, etc.

Classification of Wood
Grain: Straight grain

Cross grain
Fine grain Coarse grain

Classification of Wood Grain

When you cut a board across the grain (perpendicular to the grain direction and the growth rings), you reveal end grain.

Cut wood parallel to the grain direction and tangent to the growth rings, and youll see plain grain (also called tangential or flat grain).

Classification of Wood Grain

Cut it parallel to the grain direction but through the radius of the growth rings to see quarter grain (also referred to as radial grain). Both flat grain and quarter grain are sometimes called long grain.

Classification of Wood Grain

Classification of Wood
Nature of the Surface when sawed: Plain Grained

Figured or marked

Classification of Wood Figured

Wood grain isnt always straight and even. The longitudinal and ray cells sometimes grow in unusual patterns, many of which are strikingly beautiful. These are known as figured grain.

Classification of Wood Figured

A few wood species, such as white oak, have especially prominent rays. When quartersawn, these produce silver grain. Crotch figure, such as this walnut crotch, is cut from the part of a tree where the trunk divides into smaller limbs and branches.

Classification of Wood Figured

Curly grain occurs when the longitudinal cells grow in waves. This occurs in many species but is especially striking in maple. Birds eyes like those in this maple are caused by small dimples in the layers of cells. These are thought to be caused by a fungus that affects the growth of the longitudinal cells.

Classification of Wood Figured

Larger dimples result in quilted figure, like the quilting in this soft maple. This, too, is the result of a fungus

The longitudinal cells of certain species, such as mahogany, sometimes spiral around the trunk, reversing direction every few growth rings. This creates ribbon figure.

Classification of Wood Figured

Sometimes a tree produces a large growth on the side of the trunk or a branch. The cells seem to swirl around each other inside these growths. When sliced, these produce a burl figure such as this elm burl.

Texture & Pattern

TEXTURE AND PATTERN The size, type, and arrangement of the wood cells differ with the species, and this also affects the appearance of the grain. The texture of the wood is determined by the relative size of the longitudinal cells. Wood species with large cells are said to have a coarse texture, while those with smaller cells have a fine texture.

Texture & Pattern

The pores in ring-porous hardwoods such as red oak create a strong grain pattern

Texture & Pattern

The pores in ring-diffuse hardwoods like mahogany are more evenly distributed and the grain pattern is less distinct

Texture & Pattern

Softwoods such as yellow pine have no pores. The grain pattern is due to the color difference between the springwood and the summerwood.

Changing Shape

Because of the difference in tangential and radial movement, boards change shape as they expand and contract. The way in which they change depends on how they are cut from the tree.

Changing Shape
The difference in tangential and radial movement has other important consequences. Depending on how its cut from the tree, a board may change shape as it dries: If the annual rings run side to side in square stock, the stock will shrink to a rectangle.

Changing Shape
If the rings run diagonally from corner to corner, the stock will become diamondshaped.

Changing Shape
Round stock becomes oval as the tangential diameter shrinks more than the radial diameter.

Changing Shape
Plain-sawn lumber tends to cup in the opposite direction of the growth rings because the outside face (the face farthest from the pith) shrinks a little faster than the inside face.

Changing Shape
In quartersawn lumber, both faces shrink equally and the board remains flat.

Preparation of Wood
1. Logging- harvesting of the tree crops consisting a sequence of operations such as: Cutting of the tree Skidding- when logs are moved to an assembly area loaded to transport equipment then carried out of the forest to the sawmill. Bucking- process of sawing into smaller pieces after the removal of branches.

Preparation of Wood
Skidded- when the log is dragged and carried down to an assembly area. Yarded- when logs are delivered through the cable or a helium filled balloon. Lumbering- operation performed in preparing wood for commercial purposes. It involves logging which is the process of felling trees, hauling and delivery to the sawmill. Sawing

Methods of log sawing employed

1. Plain or Bastard sawing- by cutting the logs entirely though the diameter with a parallel chord tangential to the annual rings.

Methods of log sawing employed

2. Quarter or rift sawing- categorized into four methods of sawing: Radial method Tangential method Quarter tangential Combined radial & tangential

Methods of log sawing employed

Live saw (This is sometimes called sawing through and through.) Live sawing produces much wider boards than other methods, and these boards show mostly mixed grain flat grain near the center of the face and quarter grain near the edges.

Definition of Terms
Surfaced or dressed lumber- is a planed lumber having at least one smooth side. S2s & s4s- planed or dressed lumber of which the number connotes the smooth sides. S2s means smooth on two sides & s4s on four sides. Slab- kind of rough lumber cut tangent to the annual rings of wood running the full length of the log containing at least one flat surface.

Definition of Terms
Timber- is a piece of lumber five inches or larger in its smallest dimension. Plank- is a wide piece of lumber from 2 to 5 inches thick. Board-is a piece of lumber less than 1 thick and at least 4 inches wide. Flitch- is a thick piece of lumber.

Definition of Terms
Fine grain- when annual rings are small, the grain marking which separates the adjacent rings is said to be fine grain. When large, it is called Coarse-grained. Straight grained- when the direction of the wood fibers are nearly parallel with the sides and edges of the board.

Definition of Terms
Lumber- is the term applied to wood after it was sawed or sliced into boards, planks, sticks, etc. for commercial purposes. Strips. Lumber less than 2 thick and less than 8 wide. Board Lumber. Pieces less than 2 thick and at least 8 wide. Dimension Lumber. Pieces more than 2 and less than 5 in any dimension. Timbers. Pieces 5 or more on the smallest dimension

Definition of Terms
Rough lumber- is the term applied to newly sawed lumber. Silviculture- is the process of growing timber crops of a better and more valuable species as rapidly as possible through scientific forestry.

Defects in Wood
1. Abnormal growth Heart shakes are radial cracks originating at the heart of the logs. Wind shakes or Cup shakes- cracks or breaks across the annual rings of timber during its growth caused by excessive bending of the tree due to wind. Star shakes- composed of several heart shakes radiating from the center of the log in a star-like manner. Knots- usually occur at the starting point of a limb or branch of the wood.

Defects in Wood
Dry-rot- is the presence of moisture in seasoned wood caused by fungi. Wet rot-usually takes place sometime in the growth of trees caused by water saturation.

Defects in Wood (Man Made Defects)

Bow A curve along the face of a board that usually runs from end to end. Usually resulting from imporper storage.

Check A crack in the wood structure of a piece, usually running lengthwise. Checks are usually restricted to the end of a board and do not penetrate as far as the opposite side of a piece of sawn timber. This is easily overcome by removing the endpieces of the board.

Defects in Wood (Man Made Defects)

Defects in Wood (Man Made Defects)

Crook Warping along the edge from one end to the other. This is most common in wood that was cut from the centre of the tree near the pith.

Defects in Wood (Man Made Defects)

Cup Warping along the face of a board across the width of the board. This defect is most common of plain-sawn lumber.

Defects in Wood (Man Made Defects)

Shake
Separation of grain between the growth rings, often extending along the board's face and sometimes below its surface.

Defects in Wood (Man Made Defects)

Split A longitudinal separation of the fibers which extends to the opposite face of a piece of sawn timber.

Defects in Wood (Man Made Defects)

Twist Warping in lumber where the ends twist in opposite directions. Probably the worst of the defects. This board is unworkable unless it is cut into smaller pieces and flattened with a jointer.

Defects in Wood (Man Made Defects)

Wane The presence of bark or absence of wood on corners of a piece of lumber.

Machine Burn

Defects in Wood (Man Made Defects)

Discoloration of the wood due to overheating caused by friction, and either scorching the wood or the resins within it. Machine burn is caused by stopping or not feeding the wood across the blades at the correct rate of speed. Although species like cherry, pine, or walnut are more susceptible than others, machine burn can almost always be prevented by using sharp blades and correct feed rates.

Defects in Wood (Natural Defects)

Worm hole- This is caused by insects boring through the wood.

Defects in Wood (Natural Defects)

Blue Stain A discoloration that penetrates the wood fibre. It can be any colour other than the natural colour of the piece in which it is found. It is classed as light, medium or heavy and is generally blue or brown.

Defects in Wood (Natural Defects)

Spalt Typically found in dead trees, spalting is any form of wood discoloration caused by fungi. There are three types of spalting that are typically incorporated into woodworking as design elements, pigmentation (or sapstain), white rot, and zone lines.

Defects in Wood (Natural Defects)

Pitch An accumulation of resinous material on the surface or in pockets below the surface of wood. Also called gum or sap.

Defects in Wood (Knot)

Dead or Loose Knot having annual rings not intergrown with those of the surrounding wood. This is caused by a dead branch that was not fully integrated into the tree before it was cut down.

Defects in Wood (Knot)

Tight Knot- a knot held firmly in place by growth or position

Seasoning of wood
Seasoning- drying of wood

Methods of Seasoning Wood

1. Natural or air seasoning-one of the best methods of seasoning lumber although the period involved is relatively longer than the artificial seasoning method. Air drying Sun drying

Methods of Seasoning Wood

2. Artificial seasoning- quick drying of wood Kiln drying Forced air or pressure drying Vapor drying Radio frequency dielectric drying

AIR DRYING

KILN DRYING SEASONING

RADIO FREQUENCY DIELECTRIC DRYING

VAPORDRYING

Methods of Treating Lumber

Tantalizing Permanizing Wolmanizing Bolidine salt

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