Costa Rica Construction – Wood

It’s wrong to treat wood in a superficial manner. It has an unappreciated
even unique quality of being one of our few renewable resources. Petroleum will
run out one day, as will other minerals, but a well-cared for forest will continue
to produce wood indefinitely.

Nowadays wood is conspicuous on the world market as much for its the exceptional annual production (2,500 million cubic meters) as for the appreciation of its qualities and physical, chemical and mechanical properties, for which there is currently no substitute.

Readily available and beautiful, wood requires little energy to process and
transport, has good properties in terms of resistance to tension, compression
and flexibility.

It’s lightweight, of relatively low cast, easy to manipulate and to put
together with simple joints. It’s is an excellent thermal, electrical and
acoustic insulator. There are few limits to its use.

Four fantasies feed the fear of using wood.

No one understands wood. Our engineers, architects and builders generally
know little about the care, properties, behavior, and structural and decorative
advantages of wood. Add to this inadequate forestry practices of processing,
drying, preservation and storage that affect quality.

Wood has enemies. Due to the organic origin of wood, rot and insect attack
occur when four conditions exist: temperature (between 15 and 30 degrees C),
presence of oxygen, humidity content higher than 20 percent, and edible wood fibers.

Mold and spores appear only in defective buildings such as roofs with leaks,
deficient insulators, cracked gutters, ascendant humidity. For all circumstances
modern preservation techniques exist.

Unstable under bad conditions. Since it is a hygroscopic material, which
swells when it absorbs water and contracts when it dries out, if the humidity
content of the wood does not correspond to the hygroscopic balance of the location
in which it is used, the wood can deform (changes in form and color, cracks,
scratches and distortions, mold and insect attacks). This can be resolved with
adequate air-drying or with special methods.

Resistant to fire. Wood is combustible but not flammable. Due to its
cellular structure and low heat conductivity it endures the build up of fire.
The possibility of actual burning depends on the distance of the wood from the
center of the fire and if flames actually reach it.

When it burns, wood loses about a one millimeter of girth and height approximately
(according to the kind of wood) through carbonization. The heat begins to evaporate
intercellular humidity and as that occurs the wood’s resistance increases.
Carbonization also produces ash, which retards fire. When the temperature reaches
400 to 500 degrees C, the wood burns without carbonizing.

Often, after a fire, the wood structure remains standing and must be pulled
down by firefighters.

Well-treated wood

Considerable savings. European studies show that preserving wood increases
its cost by about 25 percent. This process adds three to five years to the useful
life of wood, which amounts to annual savings of 44 to 80 percent.

Advantages of drying. Stability in form and dimensions; better mechanical
resistance, better thermal, acoustic and electrical qualities; less weight aiding
transport and manipulation, increased biological resistance against rot and
stains.

Fire barrier. Wood treated with flame retardant can withstand fire longer
allowing occupants time to leave the building and adding more time to combat
the fire.

Our thanks to Rolando Fournier Zepeda and our friends at La Nacion Costa
Rica’s largest Spanish circulation newspaper for their permission to
use this article…

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.