All About Timber

Timber

• Timber is one of the oldest and widely used building materials, valued for sustainability, strength, versatility, and aesthetic appeal.

Properties of Timber

• Timber has high strength-to-weight ratios depending on the species making it ideal for structural applications.
• Timber is easy to cut, shape, and join using basic tools.
• Timber has good insulation properties, reducing energy consumption in buildings.
• Timber offers a warm and natural look, enhancing interior and exterior designs.
• Timber is environmentally friendly as a renewable resource, sourced from responsibly managed forests.

Types of Timber

• Softwood is derived from coniferous trees like pine, cedar, and spruce and used for framing, paneling, and furniture.
• Hardwood comes from deciduous trees like oak, teak, and mahogany and is used for flooring, high-quality furniture, and structural applications.
• Engineered Timber includes plywood, laminated veneer lumber (LVL), cross-laminated timber (CLT), and glulam, offering enhanced strength and stability.

Use of Timber in Construction

• Timber is used for beams, columns, trusses, and framework for buildings.
• Timber is used for wooden floors, exterior, and interior wall cladding.
• Timber is a preferred material for furniture, cabinetry, and decorative elements.
• Timber is used for rafters, doors, and window frames.
• Timber is used in bridges, decking, pergolas, and fences.
• Timber reduces noise, making it ideal for interiors.

Seasoning

• Seasoning is the process of reducing the moisture content of timber to prevent shrinkage, cracking, and decay, matching the humidity of the working environment.

Advantages of Seasoning

• Seasoning decreases the weight of timber and makes it lighter.
• Seasoning increases the strength and makes it stable.
• Seasoning improved the working quality of timber
• Seasoning reduces the possibility of attack by fungi and insects.
• Seasoning provides dimensional stability of timber.
• Seasoning enables timber to be easily polished and preserved.
• Seasoned timber has better electrical resistance.

Methods of Seasoning

Natural Seasoning

• Air drying seasoning involves stacking timber in a dry place about 1 foot above the floor level.
• Each piece of timber is spaced a few centimeters (at least 25mm) apart to allow air circulation.
• Air Drying does not require skilled manpower.
• Air drying takes 2 to 4 years and covers a large space.
• Water seasoning involves keeping logs of wood completely immersed in a running water system.
• Sap and sugar are leached out of the wood and replaced by water.
• The log is then kept out of water after 2 to 4 weeks and placed in air.
• Water seasoning is a quick process, but elasticity and durability may reduce and make timber brittle.
• The wood will take a long time to be dried but less than air seasoning

Artificial Seasoning

• Artificial seasoning reduces the moisture content of timber using controlled methods to speed up the drying process, allowing timber to dry within days or weeks.
• Artificial seasoning enhances the wood's strength, stability, and durability.
• Kiln seasoning is a common artificial method where timber is placed inside a temperature-controlled kiln where hot air, steam, or dehumidification techniques are used to regulate the drying process.
• Chemical seasoning involves treating timber with chemicals like salt solutions to draw out moisture before drying.
• These chemicals reduce drying defects such as warping and splitting and improves wood stability and can help prevent insect attacks.
• Chemical seasoning involves chemical handling risks and requires additional processing steps.

Timber Preservation and Treatment

• Seasoning involves drying timber to reduce moisture content and prevent shrinkage.
• Chemical treatment involves applying preservatives to enhance durability and resistance to pests.
• Fire retardant treatment involves using special coatings to improve fire resistance.

Industrial Timbers

• Industrial timber is prepared scientifically in a factory to possess desired shape, appearance, and strength and examples include Veneers, Plywood, Fiber boards, Hard board, Block board, and Particle board, etc.

Plywood

• Plywood is made of multiple sheets of wood layered on top of each other and held together with glue or cement, available in specific size orders with thicknesses from 6mm to 19mm.
• Plywood is light in weight, easy to work with, thin, and durable, making it suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.
• Plywood has grades ranging from A to D. Grades include "A" being high quality, with smooth surfaces, "B" surfaces with minor defects, "C" being un sanded with visible flaws. "D" being un-sanded with defects not been repaired and holes and is an inexpensive grade.
• Woods used to make plywood are cuttis, pine, oak, walnut, etc.

Properties of Plywood

• Plywood is stronger than wood due to multiple stacked layers and can bear high loads without breaking, is long-lasting, and is impact resistant.
• Plywood is easy to cut and shape, can be drilled and sanded, laminated or painted, and can be produced into floorings, furniture, and wall panels.
• Plywood is flexible and can be slightly bent without breaking, to be used in curved faces and is lighter weight than solid wood.
• Top grade plywood is waterproof, suitable for exterior furniture and floors, and varnish or adhesive can be added to increase its water resistance and It can be used as a frame work for holding concrete.
• Plywood is less prone to shrink, expand with temperature change, or warp.

Uses of Plywood

• Plywood can be used to make cabinets, closets, and bed shelves and is used in both indoor and outdoor settings.
• Plywood is inexpensive, easy to work with, lightweight, can be used for both finishing, modern looks and is a great material.
• Plywood can be used as a frame work for beam, slab, and columns because it is water resistant.
• Plywood is used in scaffoldings, roofings, floors, and partitions and not fire resistant.
• Plywood is a good material for wall paneling, a divider, partition, and framing and can be used as a shed outdoors.
• High grade ply wood can be used to give a rustic look in interior builds, false ceilings, doors, and window frames, and as a sound proofing items on walls.
• Plywood can make a great material from home projects or DIY, crafting hobbies and safe to be used as children play house, dog, or bird houses.
• Plywood being light weight and strong can be used to ship items from heavy machinery and fragile goods.
• Plywood is water resistant and can provide strength and protection for shipping.
• Industrial uses of Plywood includes a strong workbench

Hard Board

• Hardboard is known as high density fiberboard, and is a wood-based material made from compressed wood fibers
• Hardboard is dense, strong, and smooth and often used in furniture, packaging, and construction with a thickness from 2.5mm to 6mm.
• Wood fibers are bonded with adhesive or glue and placed under compress pressure and can be easily cut, drilled, shaped for a wide range of applications.
• Hardboard is often made from recycled wood fiber.

Properties of Hardwood

• Hardboard provides superior strength with high density, is durable against dents and scratches, has flexibility with thinner boards, and withstands heavy loads and pressure.
• Hardboard is easier to cut and shape and can be painted or laminated due to its smooth surface.
• Hardboard tends to be dimensionally stable compared to natural wood and remains less likely to warp, shrink, or expand due to changes in humidity or temperature.
• Hardboard is an affordable material, often made of recycled wood fibers, making it eco-friendly and requires minimal treatment if used indoors.
• Some hardboard absorbs moisture causing it to swell, but treated hardboard can be used in humid environments but should still not be exposed directly to water.

Timber Floor

• Wood flooring is made from timber and designed for flooring with their environmental profile, durability, and ability to be restored.
• Solid wood flooring is made from a single piece of timber.
• Engineered wood flooring is composed of two or more wood layers for increased stability.
• Wood flooring provides acoustic benefits, natural beauty, sustainability as a renewable material, and good insulation properties, requiring regular maintenance like polishing.
• Wood flooring is any product manufactured from timber designed for flooring, either structural or aesthetic, due to its environmental profile, durability, and restorability.
• Solid hardwood floors are made of planks milled from a single piece of timber.
• Solid wood flooring is milled from a single piece of timber that is kiln or air dried before sawing.

Properties of Timber Flooring

• Timber floors have natural beauty and character, providing a warm stylish and comfortable atmosphere.
• Timber is a natural, renewable and sustainable material, and carbon positive Meaning that carbon is stored for the life of the timber.
• Timber has very high insulation properties and quite low energy levels are required for its production.
• The feel and the sound of timber flooring whom walked on is different than other materials.
• Suspended timber ground floors consists of finished timber floorboards being attached to floor joists, which are suspended above the subfloor of the foundation.
• Floor joists are raised above the subfloor on small supporting walls called tassel wall (or sleeper walls).
• A wall plate is attached to the top of the tassel walls, on which the floor joists rests.
• A gap in the block work of the tassel walls ensures adequate air circulation.
• To ensure that the floor is thermally insulated, either rigid or blanket insulation is placed between the floor joists.
• Wooden floors may be laid on concrete or suspended above the ground.
• Timber floors are categorized into three main types: single timber floors, double timber floors, and framed or triple timber floors.
• Each type has distinct characteristics and is suitable for different structural requirements.
• Timber floors include single joist floor, double joist floors, triple or framed joist floors.
• Joists are horizontal timber beams that span between supporting walls or beams.
• Floorboards are fixed directly onto the joist to form the walking surface.
• Wall plates are Timbers are attached to walls to support joist ends.
• A suspended timber ground floor is a flooring system where timber floorboards are supported by joists above the ground, creating a ventilated space underneath

Single Joist Timber Floor

• Single Joist Timber Floor consists of single joists placed below the floo
• Joists are usually placed at c/c distance of 30
• Joists are supported on wall plate at their ends
• Single Joist Timber Floors are used for shorter spans mainly for residential buildings
• The end of the joist is nailed, cogged or notched to the wall plates
• If the joist of adjacent rooms run in the same direction, they may be overlapped and nailed to each other.
• Planking consists of wooden boards of 3 cm thick and 10 to 15 cm width which are fixed to the bridging joists.
• Planking is usually carried out by providing the strutting at the mid span and has two types of strutting which are Herring bones strutting, and Solid strutting
• Bridging joists are of smaller sections because of intermediate supports
• Spacing of binders is kept at 2 to 3.5m
• Binders rest on stone or wooden templates
• The depth of floors bridging joist are cogged to the binders to reduce floor depth if binders are used and accordingly the height of room is decreased.
• In Double and Triple Joists Floors the joists spanning from wall to wall are supported by horizontal member called binders
• Intermediate support known as girders are provided for the binders
• The binders are staggered and connected to the girders to increase the rigidity of the floor to decrease the overall depth of floors
• Sometimes girders are replaced by rolled steel joist
• Girders are provided in shorter spans over the binder
• After the binders and joist are fixed, the floor boards are laid over the joist.