CONSTRUCTION

MATERIALS:
TIMBER
BSR402
BUILDING CONSTRUCTION & MATERIALS I

Sr. Wan Zuriea Binti Wan Ismail

Center of Studies for Building Surveying,
FSPU, UiTM, Shah Alam
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the class, students should be able to:

1. Identify the properties of timber

2. Understand the preservation method of timber
3. Understand the application of timber in
construction
 INTRODUCTION

 Timber has been used throughout the history of

mankind. From the very first housing, bridges and
tools, timber has provided humans with a broad
range of building products and materials for
construction

 However, with the modernisation of the

construction industry and efforts to minimise costs,
new construction materials have come to the
fore. Synthetic products such as concrete and
steel have redefined the construction industry
 TIMBER
 Timber is the wood suitable for building or engineering purposes and it’s
applied to trees measuring not less than 0.6m in girth.

 Timber has many important attributes. It has a warm texture and attractive
appearance and is often used for internal finishing as well for the main
structure.
Wide use of timber for engineering aspects is due to its
special properties as given below:

 It is a naturally available, ready to use material. The

rough timber is used for temporary works like scaffolding,
centring shoring and strutting.

 It can be converted to any size and shape easily and

hence used for doors, windows, flooring and roofing.

 Timber has good strength and hence used for making

load bearing members like beams, columns, trusses and
piles.
PALACE FROM TIMBER MANUFACUTURING
 Cross-section of tree trunk

The cross-section of a tree trunk has a number of important features,

as shown in Figure above. Working from the outside in, these are the
bark, the cambium, the sapwood, the heartwood and finally the core
or pith. The cambium is where new wood cells are formed.
 TYPES OF TIMBER
Trees and commercial timbers are divided into two types: softwoods
and hardwoods.

 Softwoods, characterised by having naked seeds or as cone-

bearing trees, are generally evergreen with needle-like leaves
(such as conifers) comprising single cells called tracheids, which
are like straws in plan, and they fulfil the functions of conduction
and support.

 Hardwoods are generally broad-leaved (deciduous) trees, which

often lose their leaves at the end of each growing season. The
cell structure of hardwoods is more complex than that of
softwoods with thick-walled cells, called fibres, providing the
structural support.
 TYPES OF TIMBER

Softwood is also much easier to work with than hardwood. Due to this reason, the bulk of all timber used in
construction is softwood. • Hardwood higher cost due to higher quality, increasing scarcity and greater
transport costs. • Generally, hardwoods are only used in situations where their superior appearance, better
natural durability, and higher strength can justify their greater cost.
• Softwoods come from coniferous trees ƒ .
• Hardwoods come from broad leaf trees.
• Softwood is also much easier to work with than hardwood. Due to this reason,
the bulk of all timber used in construction is softwood.
• Hardwood higher cost due to higher quality, increasing scarcity and greater
transport costs.
• Generally, hardwoods are only used in situations where their superior
appearance, better natural durability, and higher strength can justify their
greater cost.
Softwood characteristics:
 Quick growth rate (trees can be felled after 30 years) resulting in low-
density timber with relatively low strength.
 Generally poor durability qualities, unless treated with preservatives.
 Due to the speed of felling they are readily available and
comparatively cheaper.

Hardwood characteristics
 Hardwoods grow at a slower rate than softwoods, which generally
results in a timber of high density and strength, which takes time to
mature, over 100 years in some instances.
 There is less dependence on preservatives for durability qualities.
 Due to the time taken to mature and the transportation costs of
hardwoods, as most are tropical, they tend to be expensive in
comparison with softwoods
 Classification based on durability
On the basis of durability it classifies trees into the following
three classes:

1. High durability: If the average life is more than 10 years.

2. Moderate durability: If the average life is 5-10 years.

3. Low durability: If the average life is less than 5 years.

 Important technical terms relating timber are
given below:

 Standing timber: It is the timber available in a living tree.

 Green timber: It is the freshly felled tree which has not lost much of its
moisture or the timber which still contains free water I its cells.

 Rough timber: It is the timber obtained after felling a tree.

 Converted timber: it is timber which has been sawn into various

market sizes such as beams, battens, planks, etc.
Dressed timber: It is the timber which been sawn, placed and worked
to the exact required condition.

Structural timber: It is the timber used in framing and load bearing

structures.

Clear timber: It is the timber free from defects and blemishes (stains).
 Uniform color
 Annular rings
 Straight and close fibers
 Heavy in weight
 Free from shake, flaws, dead knots or blemishes of
any kind
 Firm adhesion of fiber and compact modularly rays
 Hard and compact
 Durable: It should be capable of resisting the action of fungi,
insects, chemicals, physical agencies and mechanical. In many
cases, keeping wood dry will prevent damage from their attack
so it is important in designing with wood to minimize the
absorption of water by wood.

 Elasticity: The timber is elastic when it regains its original shape

and size when the load is removed.

 Fire resistance: Wood having dense texture offers great

resistance to fire. It should not contain resins and other
inflammable oils which accelerate the action of fire.

 Strong for working as structural member such as joint, beam, rafter

etc. It should be capable of taking loads slowly or suddenly
 Advantages
1. It is relatively easy to handle and can be planed, sawn and jointed
with simple carpenter’s tools.
2. It is easily available and can be quickly transported by simple
means.
3. On account of its light weight, timber is generally preferred for
building works in earthquake regions.
4. Repairs, additions and alterations to timber construction are easy.
5. It is considered to be an ideal material of construction in sea water
or marine works as it can resist corrosion.
 Disadvantages

1. The greatest disadvantages is its ready combustibility, which can be

diminished but not eliminated even by expensive treatments
2. Frame buildings built closely together presents a serious
conflagration hazard.
3. Timber is destroyed by decay induced by fungi, and by insects that
feed upon the timber under favorable considerations. Decay may,
however, by prevented by various methods that produce an
environment unfavorable for the growth of the causative organisms.
4. Timber swells and undergoes shrinkage with changing atmospheric
humidity.
 Timber Application
1. It is generally used in the form of piles, posts, beams, lintels, door-
window frames and leaves, roof members, e.g. rafters, purlins,
trusses etc.
 2. It is employed for flooring, ceiling, paneling and construction of
partition walls.

Timber panelling for acoustic

Timber strip flooring

Timber ceiling

Parquet flooring
 Timber Application
3. It is used for formwork for concrete, for the timbering trenches,
centering for arch work, scaffolding, transmission poles and
fencing.
 Timber Preservation
 Preservation of timber is carried out to increase the life of timber.
Preservation is done using different types of preservatives.

 Cheaper timber absolutely needs preservation to increase the

durability.

 Timber like cengal, balau, teak and oak does not need strong
preservative because they contains oil or resin that resist deterioration
factors.
 Timber Preservation

 In timber industry it utilized a rapid growth timber and less durable which
due to lack of timber sources makes preservation very important.

 Malaysia’s weather condition is easy for spread of fungi, and insect to

attack product over a year.

 To reduce timber deterioration they need good preservation method to

be applied.

 Process of impregnation preservative into the timber to increase

durability towards insects and fungi attacks.
1. It should be effortlessly and cheaply available.

2. It should not contain any harmful substances, gases etc.

3. It should cover larger area with small quantity. Hence, it should be

economical.

4. Decorative treatment or any surface treatment should be allowed on

timber after the application of preservative.

5. Strength of timber should not be affected by the preservative.

 Characteristic of Good Preservative

6. It should not contain any unpleasant smell.

7. It should not get affected by light, heat, water etc.
8. It should not get affected by fungi, insects etc. and should also
efficient to kill them.
9. It should not generate flame when contacts with fire.
10. It should not corrode metals when it makes a contact with them.
11. The depth of penetration of preservative in wood fibers should be
minimum 6mm to 25mm.
Rerefence:
https://theconstructor.org/building/preservation-of-timber-methods-materials/17324/
Classification of Timber Preservation

Class A
Oil based mixture

Divided Class B
into Organic Solvent Types
3 types
Class C
Water-borne types
 Class A - Oil based mixture

 Its odor makes it unsuitable for internal

used and it's difficult to be painted. Does not corrosive to metal and
suitable for external used.
 Method of application by brush and pressure impregnation
 Coal Tar Creosote (BS144 :1973) for
pressure impregnation
 Coal Tar Creosote (BS 3051; 1972) for
brush application
 Good quality of creosote is a very effective
and inexpensive preservative.
 Creosote left over from tar effective to avoid from marine borer
and can be mixed with petrol at reasonable quantities.
 Application for railway and utilities post.
 Class B - Organic Solvent Types

 Do not corrode the metals and timber does not need seasoning
again.
 It can be used to external and internal, and penetration is superior
than creosote.
 Preserved timber can usually be painted when volatile solvents
have evaporated and the wood is then no more flammable than
untreated wood.
 Some colorless pigments may added to
indicate the extent of their penetration or for
decorative purposes
 Some have an odor.
 Costly, this preservatives widely used for
vacuum impregnation of mass produced external joinery
and maximum sawing works before preservations.
 Consist of the following preservative substances
dissolved in water.
◦ Copper-chrome.
◦ Copper-chrome-arsenic .
◦ Fluor-chrome-arsenate-dinitrophenol
◦ Copper sulphate, sodium fluoride etc
 Odorless and non-combustible but
treatment seasoning is necessary and painting.
 Do not suitable for external and timber in wet
condition e.g. underwater because it could make
the salt dissolved.
 Inexpensive but may cause the timber expand and
some make the metal corrode.
 Brush and spray
 Deluging, dipping and steeping
 The hot-and-cold open tank method
 Pressure impregnation
 The diffusion process
 Plug inserts
 Injection
 Liquid flooded over surfaces absorb as much as possible, repeated
every two or three years
 Not effective penetration depends on timber permeability
 Deluging, dipping, and steeping

 Organic solvent type preservatives are usually employed.

 Pre heating will assist penetration. Dipping should be for at least
10 seconds for sections; 3 minutes dip is often specified.
 Large sections should be dipped at least 10 minutes as protection
against longhorn beetles in certain areas.
 Steeping or permeable timbers for several days may give quite
deep penetration and protection sufficient even for timber will be
in contact with the ground
 The hot-and-cold open tank method
 Gives protection to sapwood and permeable
heartwood.
 Timber is submerged in a tank of suitable
preservatives which is then healed between 80°
and 90° and kept at that temperature for several
hours.
 Absorption by the timber must then be allowed to
take place as the liquid cools.
 Absorption of preservatives depend types of timber.
 Pressure Impregnation
 Give deepest penetration and long life in direct contact with
the ground, in sea water and in similar environments

Timber is sealed in a pressure vessel

Air is removed under vacuum

Preservative is forced in under strict control

Second vacuum stage removes excess liquid

The followings are the five main types of defects in
timber:
 Defects due to Natural Forces
 Defects due to Attack by Insects
 Defects due to Fungi
 Defects due to Defective Seasoning
 Defects due to Defective Conversion