CHAPTER 7: Timber
Wood suitable for building or engineering purposes.
Uses of timber
Cladding
Roof truss Stairs Flooring
Uses of timber
Panel
Cabinet
Formwork
Pergola
Tree Components
Dead /Outer Bark - Protective outer layer
Living / Inner bark - Carry nutrients from the leaves to the r
Cambium - Creates new bark cells and wood cells
Sapwood (living wood) - Nutrients are stored and sap
(sugar & starch) is pumped
upward from roots to leaves.
Heartwood - Sapwood dies progressively and becomes
(dead wood) heartwood – contribute strength to tree
Pith - A small zone of weak wood cells from first year
growth / central core of the tree.
sapwood
Tree Components
Growth rings
In temperate climates, during early pith Heartwood
growing season (spring/early
summer), the wood has vigorous
growth. Cells are larger with
thinner walls; lighter colour.
In later growing season (sunlight
or water less plentiful), wood has Growth ring
slower growth. Cells are smaller,
with thicker walls: darker colour.
Tropical regions, growth ring is
not obvious. knot
Commercial Classification
Hardwood Softwood
• Broad leafed trees • Coniferous trees (needle- like
• Heavy leaves)
• Dark coloured • Light in weight
• Do not show distinct • Light coloured
annual ring • Show distinct annual ring
• Generally stronger • Weak, liable to split easily
• Beautiful grained • Uninteresting grain
• Thicker cell walls, • Thin cell walls, open cell
close cell structure structure
Local hardwood
Heavy hardwood
(Density > 880 kg/m3)
e.g. Balau , Cengal, Resak, Tembusu
Medium heavy Hardwood
(Density : 720 kg/m3 - 880 kg/m3)
e.g. Kapur, Keruing, Kempas
Light hardwood
(Density < 720 kg/m3)
e.g. Meranti, Jelutong
Wood Structure
• Wood consists of long, narrow, hollow cells called fibers.
• Fibers are made of cellulose and bound together by
substance called lignin.
• Grain refers to the direction,
size, arrangement, appearance or
quality of the fiber.
•Grain direction is important to
the strength of wood.
Longitudinal Tangential
direction direction
Radial
direction
Grain
Moisture content of wood
• Wood is hygroscopic material i.e., it will absorb water
vapor from the atmosphere or shrink when it is dry.
• Water content in growing wood
~ 30% to 300% of its oven dry weight of wood.
• Moisture content = weight of water x 100
oven dry weight
• Moisture content affects properties such as weight, shrinkage and
strength.
vessels
• Water stored in wood in two main forms:
- As free water in the vessels or cell cavities.
- As cell water (or bound water) in cell wall.
Free water starts to leave
Cell wall
as soon as the tree is cut.
If the bound water is lost, wood
starts to shrink; strength &
stiffness increase.
Changes in % of shrinkage vs changes in moisture content
15
% shrinkage 10
5
0 Constant volume
10 20 30 40 50 Moisture content (%)
FSP
Fibre saturation point (FSP) – The moisture content of wood at
which the cell walls are saturated with bound water and no free
water is present. Usually around 25-30 %. The addition or removal
of water below FSP has a large effect on the properties of wood.
Shrinkage and Swelling
Timber loses or gains moisture to
be in equilibrium with the
atmospheric moisture in its
immediate environment.
Swelling (gain of moisture in the
cell wall) and shrinking (loss of
moisture from cell wall) are
dependent on moisture in the air
and temperature.
Shrinkage is the highest in the tangential direction and
least in longitudinal axes.
This dimensional changes causes warping,
splitting and structural performance problem.
Lumber production
Lumber
Lumber - timber that has been cut into boards, planks
or other structural members of standard length for
use as a building material.
Lumber production
• Logging & Transporting to
sawmill
• Sawing / milling
• Seasoning / Drying
• Surfacing
• Grading
• Preservation (Optional)
Lumber production
Logging
- The felling and preparation of
timber for shipment to sawmills.
Sawing / Milling process
- Convert logs into boards in a manner that
secure maximum product with minimum
waste & labour.
- Log breakdown
(Cutting log to
provide flat surface)
Seasoning / Drying
The process of drying timber to remove the bound moisture
contained in wall cells in order to produce seasoned timber.
Lumber is considered seasoned when moisture content is
less then 15 - 19%.
Purpose of seasoning
• Improved strength, reduce shrinkage
• Greater resistance to decay
• Reduced weight; easily handled & transported
• Paints applied will last longer
Methods of seasoning
Air dry (traditional method)
Lumber is stacked. Air circulate
through & around the stacks.
Takes months to reach moisture
content 20 %.
Dried in kiln
The lumber is stacked as in air dry &
placed in a special chamber. Takes
days to one week. Most commonly
used.
Surfacing
The surface of lumber is machined to give smooth
surface and a more precise dimension, easier to
work with & less damaging to hands.
Grading
All sawn timber are graded based on quality e.g.
appearance and structural strength.
Characteristics of a good timber
• Strength
- Tensile, compressive, shear, bending (depends on
species and grade)
• Hardness
– i.e wood should not be bruised by an ordinary impact
• Free from defects - e.g. knots
• Heavy weight
• Durable
– able to resist atmospheric effects, attacks of worms
or fungi
• Workable – easily planed
Factors affecting timber strength
• Moisture content
• Density – depends on cell size, cell wall thickness,
number & types of cells. Strength and stiffness increases
with density.
• Defects – e.g Knots (disturb continuity of grain), decay,
splits & checks
• Grain types - straight grain has higher strength.
• Seasoning / Drying
• Preservation / Treatment
Lumber defects
Any form of imperfection in or on surface of wood that
lowers the strength, durability and economy of wood.
Types of defects
• Growth / Natural Defects – wind, abnormal growth
• Production defects - felling, sawing or drying process
• Growth Defects
- Knots
Portions of branch over which the
tree has grown. Reduce wood
strength, desirable for appearance.
- Decay
Fungus (microscopic plant like organism)
which feeds on wood fiber.
Cause softening, loss of strength, weight
and change of texture and color.
- Damage
Due to insects such as beetle, termite & marine organisms
Production Defects
Cracks occur in various parts of trees
• Checks - radial cracks on surface of
wood as a result of rapid drying. Effect
on appearance and strength.
• Splits – deep crack that penetrate the
entire depth of wood due to drying
stresses or inappropriate handling.
Effect on appearance & reduce shear
strength.
• Shake - Defects that are caused due to
stresses during growth (heavy wind),
relief of stresses when tree is felled or
impact on soil during felling.
Timber Treatment /
Preservation
Treating wood with solutions (preservatives) to increase its
durability e. g. make it poisonous to fungi and insects attacks
and to prevent it from absorbing more moisture.
Types of preservatives
• Paints
• Oil type preservatives (petroleum based) e.g
- Creosote – brownish black oil made by distilling coal tar.
- Pentachlorophenol (PCP), copper naphthenate –
(Application – railroad ties, utility poles)
• Waterborne oxides (salts) preservatives – e.g.
chromated copper arsenate (CCA), ammoniacal copper
arsenate (ACA).
Methods of preservation
• Brushing & spraying – Surface of timber is sprayed with
preservatives.
• Cold steeping (soaking) – Timber is soaked in a tank of
preservative. Limited penetration of preservatives.
• Hot & cold open tank treatment – Timber placed in a tank
of preservative. Heated & allowed to cool. Preservatives
penetrate during cooling.
• Pressure absorption – Timber is placed in vacuum
cylinder. Air bubbles are removed from wood. Preservative
is forced into the entire structure of wood.
Pressure absorption method
Logs loaded in a pressure chamber for
impregnation with preservative.
Fire proofing of timber
The rate of burning can be retarded or to make timber fire
resistance to some extent.
• Lumber is placed in a pressure vessel.
• Impregnated with chemical salts e.g. ammonium sulfate,
borax.
• Use fire retarding paint e.g. sodium silicate.
Advantages and disadvantages of
timber as a construction material
Advantages of wood
• High strength / weight ratio
• Easy to cut
• Good finishes and appearance
• Low heat and electrical conductivity
• High durability if properly treated
Disadvantages of wood
• Easy to catch fire (Combustibility)
• Susceptibility to attack by fungi and insects
• Shrinkage & swelling