Wood Enhancement Flashcards
Resins
Used in engineered wood - e.g. Manufactured boards
Enhances the properties of usually parts of the tree such as sawdust, wood chips and fibres
Chipboard is made from compressing wood chips with resin - urea formaldehyde
This makes chipboard very stable - not effected by temperature and humidity, and it has uniform strength with no grain problems
Resins with fire retardants
Resin used in manufactured board is impregnated with fire retardants
Reduced likelihood of the wood product combusting
E.g. For indoor flooring
Preservatives
Protect wood from fungal and insect attack
Wood can be pre treated with a copper based preservative which penetrated the wood to protect the whole plank
Copper has excellent fungicidal properties
Laminations and veneers
Veneers are thin shavings of wood are laminated onto the surface in order to enhance aesthetics
E.g. Natural wood veneer could be laminated onto chipboard
Pigments
Added to the preservative to give different colour shades to enhance aesthetics
Can be used on cheaper softwoods to make them look like hardwoods
Used on outdoor decking
Fire - retardant preservatives
A preservative used in pressure treatment of wood to protect the wood and prevent combustion
E.g. Roof joists and cladding
Modified natural polysaccharide
Wood is impregnated to cure within the wood cell structure
Results in increased hardness, toughness and stability
Often added to hardwood floor panels
Structural composite lumber (SCL)
Laminated veneer lumber (LVL)
Made by layering strands (SCL) or veneers (LVL) of wood with resins and then pressing and heat curing to produce a stable wood billet
Less prone to defects:
Warping
Splitting
Shrinking etc
Greater load bearing properties
Used in structural applications e.g. Beams, joists and rafters
Wood enhancement methods
Resins and laminations
Resins with fire retardants
Laminations
Preservatives
Pigments
Fire-retardants preservatives
Modified natural polysaccharide
SCL and LVL
