Wood durability researchers have long emphasised the need to identify regions with increased decay risk in the built environment. Direct soil contact and moisture trapping design have received the most attention to date (Niklewski and Fredriksson, 2019; Marais et al., 2020), while timber components affected by splash water from precipitation are mostly anecdotally presumed to have an increased risk of decay. Splash water is of particular concern when timber components do not have suit-able durability requirements, resulting from the assumption that these components are sheltered from direct precipitation. Some re-search on splash water could be found in other fields such as agriculture (Fitt et al., 1989; Walklate et al., 1989; Huber et al., 1997 & 1998); however, little research has focused on timber design and construction (Brischke, 2013). In the present study, experiments were conducted to analyse the splash water behaviour with different undergrounds and investigate the effect of splash water on the wood moisture content of timber claddings.
Keywords: splash water, decay, wood
Authors
Philip Bester van Niekerk
University of Goettingen, Büsgenweg 4, Göttingen 37077, Germany
Christian Brischke
University of Goettingen, Wood Biolopgy and Wood Products, Buesgenweg 4, D-37077 Goettingen, Germany
Joshua Jannik Rabke
Christian Simmering
Jan Miguel Tausendfreund
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