Chapter 6

TIMBER
INTRODUCTION
Wood has always been a prominent material in the construction industry for many reasons. It is one of the
traditional building materials. It is easily worked, has durability and beauty. It has great ability to absorb
shocks from sudden loads. In addition, wood has freedom from rust and corrosion, is comparatively light
in weight, and is adaptable to a countless variety of purposes.

Wood suitable for building and other engineering use is called timber. Tree trunks and branches that have
fallen are cut down into logs from which planks or lumbers are sown.

Trees growing in Ethiopia can broadly be classified into two main groups:
(i) endogenous or inward growing trees such as palms and bamboos which have so far
little use in engineering.
(ii) exogenous or outward growing trees which make the bulk of the commercially
available material for building purpose.

The Tree Structure

On examining the cross-section of the trunk of an exogenous tree, we perceive several parts which are
briefly described below.

Pith : It is the first formed, small in diameter (1-3mm), innermost portion of the stem of
a tree. It consists entirely of soft cellular tissues. At young age of the tree it
contains fluid and nourishes the plant. It gradually becomes inactive as the tree
grows old but remains part of its firm and strong support.

Bark : It is the outermost portion of a tree. The outer bark protects the tree from heat
and mechanical harm. The inner bark protects the bast and cambium from injury
and also supplies food to these parts where it is needed most.

Bast (Phloem): It carries food from leaves down stem to feed cambium and
manufacture wood.

Cambium : Just inside the inner bark and bast, it is a thin layer of cells capable of
division, forming new cells towards the wood (xylem), the bast (phloem)
cells towards the bark.

Annual Rings (growth rings) : So called because they are arranged in concentric
circles around the pith, each ring being added every
year. They consist of minute tubular or fibrous cells
(including vessels and fibres) tightly cemented together.

Vessels : These are conducting tissues, carrying sap from the roots to the leaves of
the tree.
Fibres : Positioned between and around vessels, they support the tree.

Rays (Medullary Rays) : These are thin parallel radial bands, generally light coloured,
which cross the tree trunk from the pith to the cambium layer. They hold together
the annual rings and also store and conduct food horizontally.

1
 As the tree grows old, the innermost rings surrounding the pith become lifeless and constitute the portion
of the trunk which is called the heartwood. Although lifeless, the heartwood is a firm and strong support
of the tree. It is generally darker in colour, stronger, more compact and durable. The sapwood on the other
hand is made of the outer annual rings and transmits the sap from the roots to the branches of the tree.

Classification and Characteristics

Timber available from exogenous trees is further divided into two main classes as follows:

(i) Softwood : It is produced from the gymnosperms, the coniferous trees such as pines
and spruces, which have characteristic needle-like leaves. These trees
are generally evergreen, but the group does include some species, for
example the larch, which lose all their needles in autumn.
(ii) Hardwood : It is produced from one group of the angiosperms, known as
dicotyledons, which are the broad leafed trees, such as oak, beech and
ash. The temperate zone hardwoods are generally deciduous, while
most tropical hardwoods retain their leaves all year round.

Softwood and hardwood are purely botanical terms and do not always relate to hardness.

There are hundreds of timber species which vary widely in their properties and appearances. Even within
any one species there is often a wide variation resulting from the effect of soil variations and climatic
conditions. This makes generalisation of the properties of timber very difficult.

Contrasting Characteristics of Hardwood and Softwood.

Hardwood Softwood
Relatively heavy Generally light in weight
Relatively dark in colour Generally light in colour
The annual rings are not distinct Annual rings are distinct
Many contain materials, for example silica, which Has straight fibres with soft and regular
make the wood hard and difficult to work upon. texture
Close grained, strong and durable
Strong also in shear Comparatively weaker and splits easily
Contains acid Strong in tension
Some contain resins and/or oils which
interfere with the hardening of paints

Seasoning and Preservation

A newly felled or green tree contains a high percentage of water both within the cell cavities and the cell
walls. Unless controlled, irregular loss of water takes place leading to irregular radial and circumferential
shrinkage which results in the setting up of internal stresses between the fibres. When these stresses
exceed the cohesion of the fibres then the timber warps and shakes are formed. It is said that the radial
shrinkage of wood is about 60 percent of the circumferential (tangential), and that the longitudinal
shrinkage is negligible.

Logs converted to lumber give pieces of smaller sections and high surface area which facilitate controlled
and uniform drying. The process of drying timber in a controlled manner to reduce its moisture content

2
without introducing unwanted defect, such as split or distortion is called seasoning. Besides the avoidance
of cracking and splitting, proper drying of timber from the green minimises shrinkage after placement in
structures, reduces weight by 50 percent or more, improves strength and other mechanical properties,
increases thermal insulation and resistance to decay, and creates suitability for impregnation (treatment
with preservative), sawing, gluing, polishing and painting.

There are two methods of seasoning timber : natural air seasoning and kiln drying. In natural air
seasoning, the timber is stacked in the open air or in open-sided sheds in such a way as to promote drying
without artificial assistance. The timber stack is supported clear of the ground to prevent rain splash, and
adjacent pieces in each layer are kept separate to provide air circulation by means of spacers or sticks
which are generally about 25mm square. If the timber is stacked in the open a top cover should be used to
keep off rain, or snow, and protect the stack from direct sunshine. Air seasoning is a cheap method with
very little loss in quality of timber if done properly but it is relatively slow process.

Kiln drying is done in chambers equipped with heating and humidifying arrangements. This process
which takes from few hours to a couple of days can be done either in stationary kilns or by stacking
timber to the kiln or in progressive kilns where the timber is moved from one end of the kiln to the other
end. Since it is done scientifically by controlling the amount of temperature and humidity of the
circulating air, kiln drying gives better seasoned timber in relatively very short time. However, the method
is more expensive as it involves longer initial investment and running cost.

Besides natural seasoning and kiln drying, there are other methods that are used in various parts of the
world. They include electric seasoning, seasoning by boiling, chemical treatment etc…

Properly seasoned or dried timber reaches what is called its equilibrium moisture content which is about
12 to 18 percent of the dry weight depending on the species and surrounding condition. Hence even if a
timber is dried past its equilibrium moisture content, because of its hygroscopicity, it will readily reabsorb
some moisture.

Wood is an organic material which can be attacked and its tissues destroyed by the action of solvent
chemicals secreted by bacteria and fungi. It is also damaged or eaten up by insects such as pole-borers
and termites or destroyed by fire which decomposes it into carbon dioxide, water vapour and ash. For this
reason, timber used for construction purposes should be preserved protected.

Proper seasoning, natural or artificial, is the most effective means of preservation. The resistance to decay
and deterioration of seasoned timber is further improved by impregnation with preservative chemicals,
brush treatment with paint or varnish, damp proofing when appropriate and providing as much as possible
free circulation of air wherever it is possible.

Strength Properties of Timber

Considering the fact that it is relatively strong in compression and tension (bending) and that it has low
density, timber can be classified as one of the materials of high strength : weight ratio. There is variation
in strength among species and even between trees in a particular species. Among the factors that seriously
affect strength, moisture content takes a prominent place. Variation in strength also occurs between
different parts of a tree; with temperature, size and shape of the specimen and amount of defects. Strength
decreases with temperature, also, the higher the number of knots within a specimen, the lower the
strength.

Strength of timber varies according to the type of loading and also because it is an anisotropic material,
according to the direction of loading. Tensile strength along the grains may be two or four times that

3
across the grains. Also compressive strength along the grains may be several times that across. Among the
two strengths, tensile strength is said to be much more sensitive to grain angle than is compressive
strength. The comparatively low strength in compression as well as in tension across the grains is
attributed to the weak bond between the cells and the fibres.

An important factor that affects the strength of timber is the time of loading. Timber can sustain greater
loads for short time than it can over a long period. This dependence of strength on the duration of loading
is termed as creep rupture or static fatigue. Since the strength of timber decreases with time of application
of force, working stresses derived from test results must take into account the rate of straining.

Conversion of Timber

Besides its usage as structural member in buildings, timber can be used to prepare architectural or
finishing materials such as veneers, plywood etc.

Veneers are thin sheets of wood, from 0.5mm to 5mm, that are peeled off, sliced, cut or sawn from a log
of wood. Since they have usually attractive appearance they are used as finishing materials or cover to
timber surfaces of inferior quality.

Veneers are used for making plywood and laminboard. In the plywood the different plies are arranged in
such a way that the grains of the veneers are at right angles to each other. This arrangement gives the
plywood considerable strength in compression, tension as well as bending.

Wood wastes obtained from saw mills, inferior timber or small logs are usually used to manufacture
chipboard(hard board). In this case, the dried material is converted into fibres. The fibres are then mixed
with binders (Synthetic resins) and pressed into 10 to 25mm thick boards in hydraulic presses. Such
boards are used as ceiling boards, partition wall etc.