To find the most suitable wood species for different outdoor applications, different wood species should be compared on the same basis. This means, among other things, the same dimensions and under uniform weather conditions. In 1999, Danish Technological Institute initiated an extensive field trial (>1,700 test items) which primary purpose has been to investigate natural durability of variety of wood species in various above ground use scenarios (Lindegaard & Morsing 2003, Lindegaard 2005). Most of the examined wood species originate from Danish forestry, but several reference species including Western Red Cedar, Siberian larch and pressure-impregnated wood were also included. To accelerate wood decay, test items with built-in moisture traps, so-called lap-joints, were included, too. Wood moisture variation, decay, colour changes as a result of sunlight, mold and algae have been evaluated (Lindegaard 2005). More than two decades have passed since the project start and now extensive and valuable data about different wood performance in close to practice above ground applications is available. Different wood aged differently under various exposure scenarios, but in general, wood under a roof overhang did not show signs of decay, which potentially allows reuse of wood. Nowadays, the outdoor exposed wooden specimens constitute a demonstration area, the purpose of which is to showcase performance and appearance of different wood species over an extended period.
Keywords: natural wood durability, above ground, Lap-joints, decay
Authors
Ramunas Digaitis
Danish Technological Institute (DTI), Denmark
Jonas Stenbæk
Danish Technological Institute (DTI), Denmark
Andreas W. Christof
Danish Technological Institute (DTI), Denmark
Peder Fynholm
Danish Technological Institute (DTI), Denmark
Berit Lindegaard
Danish Technological Institute (DTI), Denmark
Niels Morsing
Danish Technological Institute (DTI), Denmark
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