After stone, wood is the material that has been utilized in construction since ages. If you are in construction, you would have come across terms like lumber and timber.
Lumber is a piece of wood which is smaller than 5 inch in width and thickness. They are majorly being used in the construction of a residential area. If the size increases from 5 inches in thickness, then it is called as timber.
Hardwood Timber since is large pieces so they are used to make frames for large buildings and bridges. Apart from that, people can also install hardwood timber flooring in their house. Even some manufacturers also design their furniture with hardwood timbers, and you can install such furniture and cabinets in your home.
Properties of Hardwood Timber
Here let’s see some properties of hardwood timber which you must look out for when purchasing it for construction. These are:
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Specific Gravity
It is a light material and its gravity has always been less than 1. In timber, it could range from 0.3 to 0.9 as well. Though through processing it can be compacted to the gravity of 1.5 as well.
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Moisture
All of them have moisture in them, and they are porous in nature. For construction purpose, 12-15% of moisture content in the timber is acceptable and can be used. Furthermore, they can be processed in kilns to prevent moisture. If Moisture is high, timber would be of low strength.
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Grain
Look at the growth of fibers and vessels in wood which will depict the grain direction to you. Based on that they are distinguished as coarse-grained, fine-grained or cross-grained. Deformation can also happen due to this, and it depends on the direction that you follow to customize your furniture with hardwood timber.
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Shrinkage or swelling
If newly cut wood is left to natural drying or artificially it will shrink. Hardwood Timber shrinks more than softwood due to the cell cavities present in it. The same swelling happens if it is left in place with moisture or rain.
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Strength
The strength of wood is not the same in every direction. It depends on the grain of the wood. If the density of the timber is high, and it has fewer defects such as knots and shakes, then it has great strength.
But hardwood timbers have the great straight and they can be installed in your construction sites to make your house durable.
Benefits of using Hardwood Timber
- One benefits which make it the most valued material is that it is renewable, recyclable and natural resource. While a tree is harvested for the construction process, 10 trees are planted in its place so that the natural resource doesn’t go extinct. Since it is natural it is safe and not toxic, it decomposes naturally and doesn’t leave any foreign material in the environment.
- It doesn’t require much energy to be processed for manufacturing purposes as compared to other materials like stainless steel, aluminum or concrete. Thus, it is a carbon positive material which is hardly found in other materials.
- Hardwood Timber is prone to fire, we all know that. But the burning is a predictable process, first, a charcoal layer is formed which acts as the resistance. This feature increases the possibility that it will maintain its steadiness during the fire.
- Wood has always been a natural insulator; thus, it maintains the heat and cold. Apart from that, they are very strong and durable. But hardwood timber is quite expensive than other materials.
Nature has its ways which can calm our mind and body, various researches have indicated that being surrounded by woods creates a positive environment for the person. It gives you a feeling of warmth and reduces the stress level as well. So, to keep your building strong and make it environment-friendly you can use hardwood timber for your construction and home improvement projects.
