Sustainable Use of Wood in Construction

There is a great deal of innovation in the use of wood in construction, from impressive modern buildings to new construction products that reduce build times and improve building performance. As a renewable resource with proven low embodied energy, wood is both an environmentally responsible and a highly practical choice as a construction material.  However, forest management practices vary throughout the world: some are highly effective in delivering a sustainable, long term supply of timber; whereas others are less so, and could result in forest depletion and significant environmental degradation.  Against this background, a number of certification schemes have been developed that seek to ensure that all timber is harvested from sources that are at least legally–sourced, and at best, sustainably managed.       Sustainable Use of Wood in Construction explains how and why wood may be grown sustainably, and how this versatile material can be specified and – most importantly –  sourced, for use in the construction industry. It explains the modern regulatory framework within Europe that seeks to eliminate the use of illegally–harvested wood, and it shows how to ensure that everyone who sells or uses wood for construction is following the rules. Finally, the book explains how, at the end of its first use in construction, wood can be recycled, by reprocessing into another wood–based construction material, or by using it as biomass. Also available Wood in Construction: How to avoid costly mistakes Jim Coulson Paperback, 978 0 4706 5777   Structural Timber Design to Eurocode 5 Second Edition Jack Porteous & Abdy Kermani Paperback, 978 0 4706 7500 7  

CONTENTS             Foreword             Chapter 1:      Some things you should know about Wood, Trees and Forests             Chapter 2:      The Concept of Being “Sustainable”             Chapter 3:      Voluntary Timber Certification Schemes             Chapter 4:      The UK Government and European Regulations:                                     Legally Trading in World Timbers             Chapter 5:      Specifying Sustainable Timber for any Project:                                     Some important Do′s and Don′ts; with a bit more about Wood             Chapter 6:      Some Principal Softwoods Used in Construction in the UK:                                     with their Main Properties and Sustainability Credentials             Chapter 7:      A Selection of Hardwoods Used in the UK:                                     with their Main Properties and Sustainability Credentials             Chapter 8:      Re–use of Timber and Wood Products:                                     The Carbon Cycle, End of Life Disposal and Biomass             Chapter 9:      Energy Considerations and Construction Materials APPENDICES                                              1. Terms, Abbreviations and Acronyms Used in this Book                         2. Timber & wood products: some helpful organisations    

Jim Coulson FIMMM FFB is a Wood Scientist, Timber Technologist and a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, who has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the use of wood in construction, extending back over more than 35 years. He served as President of the Institute of Wood Science from 2002 to 2004 and he is currently a member of the Board of the Wood Technology Society (WTS), a Division of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3).  He is a member of the WTS′s Education Advisory Group and also tutors the IOM3 courses on Wood Science and Timber Technology. He has been a Visiting Lecturer to the Universities of Newcastle and Durham Schools of Architecture and Engineering, as well as to Leeds College of Building. He is also a member of the UK Executive Committee of ICOMOS and a specialist in condition surveys of historic timber buildings (he was technical timber advisor for Shakespeare′s Globe Theatre, working on that project for over 4 years).  He founded TFT Woodexperts Limited – a consultancy practice dealing with all aspects of timber and wood–based products – in 1991.