Things To Know About Wood

Wood is one of the world's best natural resources. It can be used to create so many different things, from doors to floors and violins to fuel, the possibilities are almost endless! Since time began and humans started to create things, wood has taken a major role in developments.

Houses, shelters and even boats were all created from wood hundreds of years ago, and whilst technology has developed and new manmade products have come into effect, wood is still largely used for all of these. When constructing a house the frame used to build upon is usually made from timber and the roof construction is the most likely part to be timber. Wood is mainly used within the actual building for things such as internal doors and frames. The natural design of wood cannot be properly replicated by the manmade products and plastics of today, and quality timber can last up to 60 years within window frames and doors.

There are two types of wood, hardwood and softwood. For construction hardwood is obviously the choice of material. This type of wood is much stronger and more durable then softwood. There are more types of trees that are classed as hardwood than there are softwood, some of the most well known types are oak, ash, beech and there are many more too. You can tell that they are hardwood because they have broad leaves and the majority are deciduous, meaning they lose these leaves during the winter time. Another beneficial factor making them desirable to use for building is that they are more resistant to decay.

In comparison, trees such as coniferous tress, evergreen and pine are classed as softwood. These trees keep their leaves all year round and some types are usually just found in colder parts of the world such as the pine tree, which you can picture in snowy surroundings. The benefit to softwood is that it is easier to work with then hardwood. It can easily be shaped and styled into different shapes whereas hardwood is usually made into block shapes. Softwood is also used for furnishings and paper.

There are also two different ways to dry the timber. Wood is saturated in water when it is stood as a tree so it needs to be dried either in a kiln or slowly in the air so it will evaporate. The second is a very slow process and the first way is a much quicker process but needs to be done carefully as the wood could warp if overheated.