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Definition
WOOD
- The hard fibrous substance which composes
the body of a tree and its branches.
Technically, wood is known as Xylem.
Wood is the most common building material
because of the following properties:
• A strong material
• Has durability
• Light in weight
• Ease of fastening
• With artistic and natural beauty
Physical Properties
Strength
- ability of wood to resist stresses and strain.
Different wood varies materially in the
following manner:
Weight
• Quality of heaviness
•Also an important consideration. Heavy
woods are generally strong, light woods are
usually weak.
Cleavability
• Resistance of wood to cleavage along the
grains
• Wood splits much more easily when wet
because moisture softens the fibers and
reduces adhesion across the grain
Classification of Wood
• Mode of Growth
• Exogenous –outward growing trees
which are the most preferred for
lumbering. e.g. pine, oak, mango, teak
2. Density
• Quality of the mass and volume of the
wood
• Softwood – conifers or evergreen
3. Leaves
• Characteristics of the tree when it comes its
leaves are:
• Needle shaped
• Broad shaped
5. Grain
• Straight grain
• Cross grain
• Fine grain
• Coarse grain
Common defects:
• Abnormal Growth are identified as:
Seasoning of Lumber
Seasoning – drying of lumber
• Moisture has to be expelled thoroughly to
preserve the lumber from shrinkage or decay
• Experiments has proven that timber which
are immersed in water immediately after
being fallen and squared is less subject to
splitting and decay
• Soaking timber into liquid is the method of
seasoning practiced and adopted by the
ancient Roman builders
Measuring Wood
Board Foot – one square foot of wood one inch
thick or 144 cubic inches. The formula for
finding a board foot is:
Board Foot =
= 70 bd. ft.
Board Foot =