How to choose the right type of wooden building?

Wooden building is definitely attractive to stay in but knowing the details of the construction process is very much important. We all know that timber is the main material used in any of the wooden building construction. Does this mean there is only one type of timber that is being used all across the world? There are numerous types of timbers each of them with different attribute values and features. Knowing them would definitely help us understand what best alternative of timber we should choose for our use case. From the point of aesthetic appearance selecting the timber would be a quite challenging task. You should be able to understand the practical differences that exist in between various timber types if we have to make a wise choice. Let us understand the criteria that we should follow for picking the best suitable timber.

Softwood/Hardwood:

How do you think these names where chosen by the manufacturers. Depending up on how well the trees would cover their seeds or else leave those so as to fall on to the ground would differentiate the softwood and hardwood. The other major difference one could sort out while picking one of these two versions is - hardwoods are made from the deciduous trees where as the softwood versions are made from the evergreen trees.

Hardwoods are also characterized as the trees that grow slowly but more dense in nature. This trait of them would make them harder and tougher than what the softwood looks like. Of course when the cost is taken into consideration definitely the hardwood is expensive than the softwood. As the hardwoods are tough to cut they would also incur more labor cost thus adding to the overall cost of these woods that are made available in the market.

The benefits one would get with the hardwoods are highly appreciable. They give long life to the construction, offers more weather resistance along with demanding less maintenance. Due to these benefits one should select the hardwood than the softwood for constructing big buildings that should last for many years. Something more eye catchy is the numbers of species that are made available in the hardwoods are many thus giving the end users a wide choice.

Does this mean that the hardwoods are highly preferred types for wooden buildings? As people have the necessity for temporary houses most of the times they are relying on the softwoods than the hardwoods because of the cost advantage that the softwoods offer them.

Seasoned timber/new timber:

The major difference between the seasoned wood and the new wood is the level of moisture content that is present in them. The seasoned timber would be treated well and hence would give longevity to the projects in which it is used. On the other hand the fresh or green wood would definitely retain the original moisture content thus taking lot of time to dry in the construction site. However, the natural process of drying the wood with sunlight is different from the systematic seasoning approach.

As we have discussed earlier that hardwoods would be denser in nature this is where you should be able to understand that seasoning them would be a major task for sure and would take nearly months and not just days. This lengthy process and huge effort would also add to the expense of these hardwoods when sold in the market.

H Level treatments:

H level treatments would play a major role in protecting the wood where the chances of fire accidents are more. Because of the increased number of fire accidents people are picking the wooden buildings as their shelters. Not only does the H value would be considered for firefighting but would also be assessed when it comes to providing susceptibility to fungal growth as well as harmful insects like the termites that spoil the wood. What are these H level treatments? The treatment of woods with the chemical compounds so as to preserve them is called as the H level treatment. In few of these treatments the fire retardant chemicals are also injected into the wood thus enabling the wood to be resistant against the flames. What type of timber would be treated well? As the heartwood that would be full of resins it would be resisting the chemical treatment, hence the treatment would be most of the times done to the sapwood.

Depending on the use case like for indoors and outdoors you should be able to pick the right H level without which the situation may become worse. The details for the H levels are given below

H1 is to provide protection against all types of insects except for termites

H2 is for the tough insects like the termites and borers

H3 does provide what H2 provides in addition to which it provides protection against Moderate decay

H4 is similar to H2 with added benefit of providing protection against severe decay

H5 is same as H2 in addition to which it addresses very severe decay

H6 is likely to act against the marine wood borers and decay

Each of these has different purpose and would be suitable for certain types of constructions. For example H1 and H2 would be best for indoors above ground whereas H3 would fit for outdoor above ground applications, H4 is for outdoors but those areas that are in contact with the ground, H5 is like H4 but it could also be used for fresh water areas and finally H6 is for marine water projects.

Apart from identifying the best treated timber one should also know what sort of wood that the timber is made from so as to understand the natural durability ratings of the wood. If this natural durability rating is too low for the timber then even if you pick the best treated H6 timber from the market it would be of no use. Apart from this you should also think about the right type of paint and finish that would give better protection to the wood.

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