The paper contains a study of the deterioration of wooden heritage in Romania, in outdoor exposure. Romania belongs to the few countries having a rich heritage of this kind. A quantitative image of this heritage reveals the 1,350 objectives transferred and reconstructed in 16 open-air museums, over 1,500 wooden churches, more than 4,000 buildings and technical facilities, historical monuments listed and found “in situ”.The research work was made on 200 wooden churches, historical monuments, found “in situ”, 400 buildings and 100 popular technique outdoor facilities (water mills, floating mills, wind mills), from 6 open-air museums. Beside buildings, investigation was made on wooden polychrome heritage, consisting of 50 painted wooden crosses, belonging to the well-known “Merry cemetery” of Săpânta. The durability of various wooden buildings elements (roof cover, technical utilities) and polychromatic wooden artifacts directly exposed to the influence of environmental factors, was studied. The main biological pests, which cause the decay of the timber are presented as well as the other causes of decay. We also made an analysis of the treatments applied to timber in open air museums, during the latest 4 decades and their efficiency throughout the time. On the basis of the data processing in building books and other documents, one managed to establish resistance throughout the time of certain parts of the building and deadlines were suggested for their replacement in due time.

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