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Wood durability in the light of recent trends and research on the durability of building materials and components
2000 - IRG/WP 00-20195
Building-related research of today demonstrates a clear shift in focus from the design and production phases to usage and to the entire life time. A consequence is that the performance criteria of materials, components and of the entire building must be regarded over the life time rather than at the time of production or delivery. As one example can be mentioned the Building Construction Directive...
K Ödeen


A real scale evaluation method and results on termite resistance of housing wall systems and floor framings
1999 - IRG/WP 99-10314
For evaluating the termite resistance of real scale houses especially housing wall systems and floor framings, a experimental building was prepared. After initial feeding of termite, this house was constructed. In this experimental building, several parts which were built by different wall systems and floor framing. The room temperature of these parts were controlled. Water can be provided in the ...
K Suzuki, K Okada, K Hagio, Y Tanaka


Major insects attacking timber used for building purposes and a practical approach for their control
1990 - IRG/WP 1449
Lignocellulosic materials like wood, bamboos, palmyra palms, reeds, leaves and grasses have been the oldest materials used by human beings. Although with the rapid pace of industrialisation, specially in several western countries, wood began to be replaced with alternative materials like cement, steel etc. yet its use has not vanished even in highly developed countries. Some of the reasons for thi...
V R Sonti, B Chatterjee


Long-term preservation technology for a large-scale timber structure building in Japan
2001 - IRG/WP 01-40203
Several 1.000-year-old Buddhist temples and shrines built of wood are surviving in Nara, some areas of which are inscribed on the World Heritage List. These old buildings are indicative of excellent timber construction technology having existed in ancient Japan, though it is thought that such technology has not been handed down. This paper introduces one of large-scale wood buildings built in rece...
Y Iimura


Serpula lacrymans the dry rot fungus. Revue on previous papers
1989 - IRG/WP 1393
It is found that the Dry rot fungus Serpula lacrymans grows in houses only because of its need for basic materials to neutralize the oxalic acid production or heavy metals which celate the oxalic acid. The average distance from the mycelium to the basic materials is found in average to be 14.2 cm with a variation from 0-100 cm. In contrast to Serpula lacrymans the Coniophora puteana and the Rigido...
J Bech-Andersen


Compatibility of deltamethrin with wood-finishing and construction materials
1993 - IRG/WP 93-30010
Under normal use conditions, treated wood comes to close contact with the structural components of a buiLding, and/or receives finishing, forming a new interface, which can affect the performance of a new product such as deltamethrin. To study this possibility, block-tests of Parana-Pine (Araucaria angustifolia), measuring 12 x 24 x 0.5 cm³ (with the largest dimension parallel to the wood-grain),...
E S Lepage


Termite physical barriers: update on retrofitting Granitgard™ around 'mock-up' buildings after five years
1997 - IRG/WP 97-10226
This field experiment was installed five years ago (March 1992) to evaluate the effectiveness of graded crushed granite stone, commercially marketed under the name Granitgard™, as a physical barrier when retrofitted around 'mock-up' buildings. The field site is located at Walpeup in the semi-arid mallee region of north-west Victoria (360 km from Melbourne), and there are eight ...
J R J French, B M Ahmed


Water transfer in wood in relation to fungal attack in building - Effect of condensation and diffusion
1992 - IRG/WP 92-1543
Wood is continuously exchanging moisture with the surrounding atmosphere, the temperature and relative humidity are important factors. Wood moisture in this case is not enough to provoque decay by fungi. However, when, during the night, condensation appears cyclically, wood absorbs water and moisture content may be sufficiently high to allow development if drying does not take place. The water tra...
D Dirol, J-M Vergnaud


Factors affecting the resistance of fibre building boards to fungal attack
1975 - IRG/WP 252
Fungal decay is initiated at lower moisture contents in standard and tempered hardboards (18%) than in pine sapwood (26%). In contrast, in a saturated atmosphere, the equilibrium moisture contents of standard hardboard (14%) and of tempered hardboard (12.5%) are much lower than the moisture content permitting decay initiation whilst the equilibrium moisture content of pine sapwood (25.1%) approach...
C Grant, J G Savory


Evaluation of decay fungi in Norwegian buildings
2005 - IRG/WP 05-10562
During a period of 2 years and 3 months (1 January 2001 - 20 March 2003) Mycoteam had 3161 consultations in buildings in southern Norway, 1428 revealing damage from decay fungi. One consultation often revealed several occurrences of fungi, and the total number of occurrences of decay fungi was 3434. Thirty-five different species/genera/groups of decay fungi were recorded. During this period brown ...
G Alfredsen, H Solheim, K Mohn Jenssen


A roadmap for performance-based specification of wooden components based on service life prediction
2007 - IRG/WP 07-20351
The need for an unified and harmonised system for performance classification and specification of wood and wood-based products in Europe emanates from requirements of users and the European Construction Products Directive, CPD. A road to a feasible specification system is outlined. Exposure-related performance prediction was worked out as a key task on the way to product specification. Therefore s...
C Brischke, A O Rapp


Water Absorption of Various Building Materials and Mold Growth
2008 - IRG/WP 08-10657
Mold growth is a major problem for house owners, as it often occurs on the surface of building materials in damp houses. The principal method to control mold growth on building materials is to prevent water penetration into the materials. A study was recently conducted to determine water absorption rates of different wood species and panel materials used as building materials, when water intrusi...
Dian-Qing Yang


A preliminary note on the role of moisture absorption rate in durability assessment
2008 - IRG/WP 08-20383
The rate of moisture uptake was studied in 15 wood species using vermiculite at varying moisture levels as the exposure medium. As might be expected, moisture uptake varied widely among the species studied. While some of the more durable wood species were also resistant to moisture uptake, this was not always true. The results are discussed in relation to performance in under varying environmenta...
J J Morrell, L P Francis


Termites y otros insectos xiliofagos en bienes arquitectonicos monumentos nacionalos de Colombia
2009 - IRG/WP 08-10679
The incidence of termites and other wood destroying insects was surveyed in ten historical buildings in Colombia. The most common insects were termites (Kalotermes, Cryptotermes, Heterotermes), although numerous decay organisms were also detected, including beetles (Anobium, Lyctus, Cerambycids) and various wood decaying fungi. Structural wood elements were classified according to the degree of a...
M G Ramírez


The amazing wooden churches from Northern Romania - learning from the past, restoring for the future, preserving the present valuable heritage of forgotten wood building tradition
2009 - IRG/WP 09-10683
The beauty and the uniqueness of the north-western region of Romania called “Maramureş” are well known in Europe. Surrounded by mountains, the region remained to some extend isolated from modern influences, preserving the local village architecture and craftsman traditions learnt and passed on from generation to generation. Local folklore and past heritage sets you back centuries ago when...
R Craciun, R Möller


Building with termites: The challenge of biomimetic design for carbon neutral buildings.
2009 - IRG/WP 09-20405
The main aim of this paper is to present humanity and termites as design partners in the creation of a new dimension of ecosystem understanding. “Beyond biomimicry: What termites can tell us about realizing the living building”, Turner and Soar (2008) opens up a new era in how we think of human habitations, not only on earth, but maybe on other planets, and using the termite model as the corne...
J R J French, B M Ahmed (Shiday)


Evaluation of exposure conditions for wooden facades and decking
2009 - IRG/WP 09-20408
During their functional life, building components are exposed to moisture and other environment stress conditions in numerous ways. This is a fact that should be taken into account during manufacture, product development, designing and work execution of building components. For wood material, moisture stress and biological factors like mould and decay fungi are often critical in cladding and decki...
H Viitanen, T Toratti, R Peuhkuri, T Ojanen, L Makkonen


Estimating the age of subterranean termite attack and damage in buildings
2010 - IRG/WP 10-10727
This paper describes physical and experimental methods and a mathematical model (Rotramel 2003) to assist in estimating the age of subterranean termite attack and damage to building structures. Timber, building and termite management industries have to develop new strategies to assess and estimate termite attack and damage in the current climate of global warming. A case study will be used as an e...
J R J French, B M Ahmed Shiday, J Thorpe


Termite legislation in France: Termite control measures and prevention rules in building construction
2010 - IRG/WP 10-20448
Reticulitermes subterranean termites are considered as urban pests in France because they are harmful for wood-based in the South and the southwestern quarter of the country. Since November 2006 new protective measures of building construction have been introduced by the French parliament which must be applied across the country and in overseas territories to prevent termite infestations. All new ...
M Kutnik, M Jequel, I Paulmier, D Ansard


Drying Rates and Mold Growth on Various Building Materials under Different Environmental Conditions
2010 - IRG/WP 10-20454
Mold growth on building materials is a major problem for homeowners. The most suitable method to control mold growth on building materials is to utilize design features, construction tools and practices that prevent moisture accumulation, and keep the wood as dry as possible. In order to achieve this, engineers and homebuilders have to know the effects of various temperature and moisture conditi...
Dian-Qing Yang


Increased sustainability for wood construction by recycling
2011 - IRG/WP 10-50275
Wood is the only renewable and certified industrially available construction material that has also unique opportunities as carbon storing, energy-independent and generally approved resource. However, if burning into energy is not counted, there are only few viable and competitive solutions for re-use or recycling of various wood products. The biggest challenge related to recycling of wood product...
H Heräjärvi, I Pirhonen, T Räty, P Saukkola


Growth conditions for fungal decay in wooden constructions – practical experience versus literature
2011 - IRG/WP 11-10758
Data regarding moisture and temperature requirements of decay fungi found in literature have been compared to experience from observations in a large number of Norwegian buildings. A number of selected situations are discussed, among those exposure to high relative humidity, exposure to free water and decay in the supposedly adverse conditions on Svalbard. The moisture content in wood has to be at...
M Sand Sivertsen, J Mattsson


Improving our understanding of moisture and other durability-related properties of wood in building envelope performance prediction
2011 - IRG/WP 11-20468
Building science has become an increasingly important field in recent years with rapid changes in construction methods, building materials and consumer expectations. The field has also been brought to prominence by a few large-scale premature building envelope failures in a few regions across the world. Considerable effort has been put into developing hygrothermal models to simulate heat, air, vap...
Jieying Wang, P Morris


Termite resistance of timber envelope treated with imidacloprid then modified by typical building site operations
2011 - IRG/WP 11-30570
Imidacloprid is a new envelope insecticide approved by Australian regulatory authorities for framing timber. It is a non repellent insecticide. Results are reported for timber envelope treated with imidacloprid and altered post treatment with typical building site operations to expose untreated surfaces. These modifications included, cutting, notching and drilling. Pinus radiata timber samples w...
K Day, A Siraa, P Lobb


In-situ experimental treatment and consolidation of degraded timber elements from a XIX century building
2012 - IRG/WP 12-10767
This paper presents the in situ experimental conservation work performed on three timber structural elements from a XIX century building: two floor beams and one roof beam. The palace was built in 1877 in the centre of Lisbon initially with residential purposes. It has four floors, with timber structural horizontal elements, stairs and roof beams (generally of Pinus sylvestris L.). The exterior wa...
D F Henriques, J de Brito, L Nunes


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