In Croatia the primary raw material for joinery production is silver fir wood (Abies alba Mill). L-joints made of home-grown fir sapwood and prepared according to EN 330: 1993 were used to establish the infection and colonisation of micro-organisms, particularly wood decay fungi, to compare the performance of untreated and 1% TnBTO treated L-joints. The L-joints were coated with two types of coat, and 36 months exposed in Zagreb. The first type of coat was alkyd paint and the second was a stain, in three different colours: white, brown, and black. The influence of the preservative, and the type of coat were most important factors which affected the rate of colonisation. The influence of coat colours was significant at the the beginning of exposure. The fastest and the strongest colonisation occurred in untreated L-joints coated with alkyd paint and the lowest colonisation occurred in treated L-joints coated with stain. It was due to the well known vaporous diffusivity of the stains and the low natural permeability of fir sapwood. The most frequently isolated fungi were Gloeophyllum trabeum (Pers.: Fr.) Murr. and Gloeophyllum abietinum (Bull.: Fr.) Karst.

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