Is wood the right building material for you?

Wood as a primary building material - Benefits and Challenges. Traditional and engineered wood options.

Posted By: Infra Bazaar



Every building material comes with its respective pro & con. It’s imperative to learn the benefits and possible shortcomings, so it allows you to make an informed decision in alignment of your project.

 

Experts at infrabazaar.com want to help you explore if wood could work as a primary material of construction for your ideal dream project.

 

Good ole Wood - Since the beginning of wood has been associated with the shelter. Today, although the market is flooded with many construction options, wood still has its place safely reserved, especially with the upper middle class sections & above.

 

The advantage of wood structures is that it’s a great insulator, protects from extreme warm & cold temperatures.  And for those environmentally conscious buyers, if purchased from rosewood or timber suppliers committed to sustainable forestry, then you can be rest assured that the carbon footprint is lower than most other construction materials, owing to the less use of energy & water used for production.

 

One of the challenges that is popularly associated with traditional wood, is its inability to support large amounts of weight, especially if your dream project involves multiple stories. And like any sustainable material, it is prone to eventual decay and may not survive “centuries to come”. However, the right kind of wood, coupled with the right kind of binding material, executed with expertise can give you a few hundred years!

 

On the other hand, the best thing about options available today is that they are also evolved versions or “engineered wood” that are designed to overcome traditional wood’s shortcomings. Composite building materials are achieved by bringing together particles, strands, veneers or fibers of the wood.

 

Many times, it is possible to customize or “engineer” woods to suit exact specifications. The results of it, often can give you woods that are capable of supporting large loads, & good enough to replace steel and concrete in some structural applications. The market also offers wood with fire and moisture resistant properties. However, it is important to understand that these hardy manufactured materials may come at a higher price as opposed to traditional wood, & rightly so!

 

One of the major advantages for a passionate architect that wood brings to the table, is its ability to be fabricated into absolutely any shape & size. It is also ideal to use for its sound isolation purposes, as woodblocks out echoes and absorbs sounds to a great extent. So, even if it is not a primary material in your construction, it is a must-use for banquet halls, home theatres and the likes.



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