CONST MTRLS & TESTING: TIMBER

courtesy of Smith Currie

Wood has benefited mankind for so many things. In construction, wood cut down to be used as a construction material is termed as timber. With the movement to save the earth, designers are strongly discouraged to use timber in construction but can take alternative materials which can be shaped and designed as timber.

Click here for downloadable notes on Timber

courtesy of James Latham

There are three kinds of timber used in construction:

1. Cocolumber, from palm trees, is the softest type of lumber used in construction. They are commonly used for scaffolding although the steel alternative is rising popularity nowadays. Cocolumber would usually have discrepancies on the standard sizes and contractors would need to watch for tapered ends.
2. Rough lumber is the type which would still need planing. This type of timber is used most commonly to covered places like studs for partitions where they are covered by other materials. With their cheaper cost, most designers use this kind of lumber for those parts of the structure which would not be seen exposed.
3. Finished lumber is the smoothly planed lumber that we mostly see exposed on sight inside of outside a structure. This type of timber has been cut and planed carefully for aesthetic purposes more than structural.

Seasoning of lumber is vital for construction. Seasoning is lessening of removing the moisture from timber. There are two ways of seasoning:

1. Wet seasoning where timber is left into water for a few days to remove its sap and then dried.

2. Dry seasoning is the method where timber is left exposed to reduced its moisture content before being used in construction.