A sustainable alternative

Researchers from Bath University’s BRE Centre for Innovative Construction Materials are looking into the properties of local timber to assess its suitability as a sustainable building material.

South West woodland contains substantial amounts of Larch, Douglas Fir, Spruce and Western Red Cedar. The researchers will be analysing the structure of the wood by measuring its strength, density and microstructure to determine the extent to which it can be used for structural timber for floor joists, beams and columns.

They will also assess possible future use in composites such as glue-laminated timber or Glulam, which is made using strips of timber bonded in layers to make beams and columns.

The quality of structural timber depends on the species of the trees, the local growing conditions and on how well forests are managed. Prof Richard Harris at Bath University and Prof Nigel Curry of the University of the West of England (UWE) plan to draw together these data on forests across the south west into a database that can be used to predict the quality of the wood for structural use.