WHat is timber?
Timber is another name for wood, whether still standing in the form of trees or felled and turned into boards for construction. Some people may also refer to it as lumber, or differentiate between unprocessed wood and lumber as cut wood packaged for commercial sale. The timber industry around the world is huge, providing wood for a variety of products from paper to particleboard.
Types of timber
There are many different types of timbers used in construction. All have their own individual properties and strengths. So careful selection for the correct timber for the job should be taken into consideration. Here is a list of the most popular timbers used for your information:
Oak
Larch
Sitka Spruce
Norway Spruce
Douglas Fir
European Fir
Scots Pine
Pitch Pine
Western Red Cedar
Cedar
Ash
Beech
Tropical TImbers
Oak
Larch
Sitka Spruce
Norway Spruce
Douglas Fir
European Fir
Scots Pine
Pitch Pine
Western Red Cedar
Cedar
Ash
Beech
Tropical TImbers
Timber in construction
Timber is used for many things in construction. It can be used for timber framework for the building, roof trusses, window frames (typically in older buildings), doors, door frames, flooring, joists, cupboards, kitchen cabinets and so much more.
The reason why timber is used in construction are:
Easy to work with
Its versatile and can be used in a wide variety of ways. Being light, it is easy to install and can be worked with simple equipment. This reduces the energy needed for construction.
Natural
Timber is one of the few natural building material. This has a lot of advantages. Generally, timber is not toxic, does not leak chemical vapour into the building and is safe to handle and touch. It also means that as timber ages, it does so naturally and doesn’t break down into environmentally damaging materials.
Renewable
People have been building with timber for thousands of years. Timber is continually being grown in our forests and plantations. As long as new trees are planted to replace those harvested, timber will continue to be available.
Low in production energy
It takes very little energy to convert the wood in trees to the timber used in building. This means that the embodied energy in timber is very low, the lowest of almost all common building materials.
A store for carbon
Timber is made from carbon drawn from the atmosphere. This carbon would otherwise be adding to the greenhouse effect. Using timber in buildings stores the carbon for as long as the building stands or the timber is used.
A very good insulator
In reducing the amount of energy used to heat and operate a building, insulation is very important. Timber is a natural insulator and can reduce energy needs especially when it is used in windows, doors and floors.
Access
Timber is milled all over the uk and around the world and isn't hard to get it as normally it is already milled and waiting to be moved. Normally locally sourced timber is used as it promotes local economies and reduces the energy needed to transport materials long distances.
The reason why timber is used in construction are:
Easy to work with
Its versatile and can be used in a wide variety of ways. Being light, it is easy to install and can be worked with simple equipment. This reduces the energy needed for construction.
Natural
Timber is one of the few natural building material. This has a lot of advantages. Generally, timber is not toxic, does not leak chemical vapour into the building and is safe to handle and touch. It also means that as timber ages, it does so naturally and doesn’t break down into environmentally damaging materials.
Renewable
People have been building with timber for thousands of years. Timber is continually being grown in our forests and plantations. As long as new trees are planted to replace those harvested, timber will continue to be available.
Low in production energy
It takes very little energy to convert the wood in trees to the timber used in building. This means that the embodied energy in timber is very low, the lowest of almost all common building materials.
A store for carbon
Timber is made from carbon drawn from the atmosphere. This carbon would otherwise be adding to the greenhouse effect. Using timber in buildings stores the carbon for as long as the building stands or the timber is used.
A very good insulator
In reducing the amount of energy used to heat and operate a building, insulation is very important. Timber is a natural insulator and can reduce energy needs especially when it is used in windows, doors and floors.
Access
Timber is milled all over the uk and around the world and isn't hard to get it as normally it is already milled and waiting to be moved. Normally locally sourced timber is used as it promotes local economies and reduces the energy needed to transport materials long distances.
How timber is joined
Timber can be joined to each other in a variety of ways, either glued via special glue, it can be weaved, plated together with steel plates and bolts or fitted together by joints. There are many different types of joints in construction all with different purposes.
Weaved
The wood is weaved so that it can create flexile shapes such as above. This is a possibility to my design and how I can achieve one of my favourited designs from day 1.
Steel frame and bolts
Bolts are used with plates, washers, or more efficiently, in conjunction with split rings or shear plates to connect wood members. They are often used in purlin to beam, beam to column, or column to base connections of wood structures. When bolts are used alone with washers or side plates, the load transfer area of the wood is the surface area of the bolt.
It basically reinforces the joints of the wood to give it more structural capabilities.
It basically reinforces the joints of the wood to give it more structural capabilities.
Wood joints
Butt joints - This is the easiest joint to make, wood is butted face to edge or end to to edge. They are then nailed, screwed or dowelled together. End to edge joints can be joined with corrugated fasteners.
Halved joints -Mostly used to assemble light frames which are going to be covered with hardboard or plywood. It can be glued, screwed or nailed.
Rebate joints - Suitable for joining top and bottom ends of furniture. It can be glued and screwed together.
Tongue and Groove joints -These are used to join planks edge to another edge to form a larger board like a table which the joints would be glued.
Mortise and Tenon - Very strong and mostly used in furniture making and for heavy doors and gates. They are not easy to make.
Dovetail joints - These are very strong and typically used to make drawers and boxes.
Running Dovetail joints - mostly used for drawer fronts as they give a neat strong joint with only one side showing end wood.
TImber flooring
The base of my structure will use the of slats within the external base dimensions. The base will sit on the floor meaning the wood will have to be treated so its waterproof and will not rot.
It will be a simple tongue and groove system so the structure can fit tightly together. On top of the slats the floor base will lay a sheet of plywood to form the platform to walk on.
It will be a simple tongue and groove system so the structure can fit tightly together. On top of the slats the floor base will lay a sheet of plywood to form the platform to walk on.
Timber frames
For my frame, I will construct it out of gluelam wood. Gluelam wood is made of Nordic premium timber. It has excellent strength properties and outstanding visual appearance. The lamellas are cut along the grain, which are then finger-jointed and glued together to the desired size. Glulam is an ideal material for the load-bearing structures of wooden buildings where long spans are desired.
Above is a list of standard gluelam sized columns that are made from a particular company. The frame of my structure will roughly be around 150mm width and diameter. This is because I want a strong heavy frame so that it does not move in the wind and can not be moved from a particular space easily.
Timber panels
For covering my frame of the structure I am looking to use a lightweight material like plywood. The reason behind this is that it has no load bearing so it will just be there for graffiti purposes.
How my frame attaches to the base
To connect my frame to my base I want to use this shown above. I will construct it out of wood and bolt it too my base to give the structure strength to stop the wind from moving the structure.
Types of joints used for my frame
The joints that I am using for my frame is a corner bridle joint because it does not need glue or nails to keep it in place the only movement that can occur is pushing up, so if thats the case a dowell can be placed through the column and beam.
How to connect my panels to my frame
The panels on the sides of the structure will have a slot in the all the corners necessary in which a dowel can be slipped into. This would keep the panel tight against the frame and stop it from falling off.
The roof panels will be halve joints which fit tightly into the other half missing below it then bolted in.
The roof panels will be halve joints which fit tightly into the other half missing below it then bolted in.