Wood in Construction - How to Avoid Costly Mistakes focuses on the basic principles and appropriate use of wood in construction and illustrates how to avoid or minimise problems, to ensure that wood performs as expected when used in a construction application. Based on the author's extensive experience of manufacturing processes and practical applications in the timber, construction, joinery, shop-fitting and furniture industries, Wood in Construction provides a guide to using wood in building in the real world. It describes the main causes of difficulty when using wood, and shows how to avoid or minimise problems, reducing the difficulties for the architect, engineer or specifier, builder and building owner.Technical enough to explain why things should be done in specific ways, but also practical enough to demonstrate how to use wood correctly and avoid doing the wrong things, this is an invaluable resource for construction specifiers (architects, engineers), carpenters, structural engineers, building surveyors, small/medium sized builders.

CHAPTER 1 Wood as a MaterialCHAPTER 2 More on Timber: and Some Stuff about the UK Timber TradeCHAPTER 3 Water in Wood: Moisture Content and the Drying of TimberCHAPTER 4 Specifying Timber - for Indoor or Outdoor UsesCHAPTER 5 The Quality of Timber: and Grading for AppearanceCHAPTER 6 Strength Grading and Strength Classes of TimberCHAPTER 7 Wood Preservatives and Wood FinishesCHAPTER 8 Principal Softwoods Used in the UKCHAPTER 9 A Selection of Hardwoods Used in the UKCHAPTER 10 Wood-based Sheet MaterialsAPPENDICES:A Glossary of Wood and Timber Terms Used in the Timber and Construction IndustriesSome Helpful Technical, Advisory and Trade Bodies Concerned with TimberA Select Bibliography of useful Technical References about Wood