IRG Documents Database and Compendium


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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


The microbial ecology of treated birch stakes in a soil-bed
1983 - IRG/WP 1209
The microbial ecology of small birch stakes exposed in soil beds in two Fungus Cellars was investigated. Patterns of fungal colonisation and decay initiation are described in untreated birch and copper fluosilicate-treated stakes. Results are based on fungal isolation onto selective media and direct light microscopical observations of decay features. In untreated stakes there was a rapid build-up ...
C P Clubbe


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


Microbial ecology of treated Lap-joints exposed at Hilo, Hawaii for 24 months
1997 - IRG/WP 97-20107
This paper is a continuation of previous work reported in IRG/WP 96-20089 by Molnar et al. (1996) in which Lap-joints, made from Southern yellow pine and treated with ACQ, DDAC or propiconazole were sampled over 12 months exposure at Hilo, Hawaii. 18 and 24 month samplings have since taken place and are reported here. TnBTO treated Lap-joints made of scots pine which were exposed later as a standa...
S Molnar, D J Dickinson, R J Murphy


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


Observations on the morphology, ecology and biology of Xylophaga dorsalis (Turton) (Mollusca: Xylophagainae) in the Trondheimsfjord (Western Norway)
1981 - IRG/WP 466
The paper deals with the various aspects of the systematics, ecology and biology of the little known pholad wood-borer, Xyophaga dorsalis (Turton) of the Trondheimsfjord (Western Norway). Diagnostic characters of the species have been given, based on examination of fresh living specimens and accomodating the several morphological variations. A key to the identification of Norwegian species of Xylo...
L N Santhakumaran


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


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


Durability of wooden shop-name signage coated with Urushi lacquer and gold leaf attached to the facade of building in Japan
2012 - IRG/WP 12-20493
Wooden shop-name signage plated with gold leaf is one of the characteristics of newly developed westernized commercial buildings appeared after the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923 in Japan. The signage still remains mainly in old districts. The signage with independent letters (Chinese character) shows off the name of the shop with golden colour on the façade of building. The number of these shops...
K Yamamoto, M Kiguchi


Wood-leather panels – A biological, fire retardant building material
2012 - IRG/WP 12-40615
The poor flame retardant properties of wood-based products are among the severest obstacles, hindering its use in the commercial building sector. Recently, some attempts to improve the fire properties, relying on inflammable salts or reactive halogen compounds, have been presented, although they either cause problems with machining or embody harmful compounds (halogen derivates). In this paper, ...
S Wieland, U Stöckl, T Grünewald, S Ostrowski, A Petutschnigg


Communities of mold fungi on flooded building materials
2013 - IRG/WP 13-10799
A small building built to residential code was flooded using farmland pond water to a depth of two feet at Tuskegee University. The building was drained and left enclosed for an additional three weeks. A total of 168 material samples were removed either immediately after opening (wet) or seven months after flooding (dry). Wall materials sampled included fiberglass batt insulation, gypsum wallboard...
F Skrobot III, H Aglan, S V Diehl


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