JIM COULSON is a Past President of the Institute of Wood Science, a Fellow of the Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining (IOM3), a Fellow of the Faculty of Building and a Chartered Environmentalist. He is a member of the Board of the Wood Technology Society (part of IOM3), a member of the UK Timber Grading Committee and a member of two BSI Committees concerned with Structural Uses for Wood-Based Materials and the Sustainability of Construction Works. He is also a member of the International Research Group on Wood Protection and a member of the ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) International Wood Committee. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of the uses of timber and wood-based products in both historic and present-day construction. He has been a Visiting Lecturer to Schools of Architecture and Engineering at Newcastle and Durham Universities, as well as Leeds College of Building. He is founder of TFT Woodexperts Limited - a consultancy practice dealing with all technical aspects of timber and wood-based materials, their processing and uses. He also sets cryptic crossword puzzles for The Times, The Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Telegraph and Materials World (the House Magazine of IOM3). IAIN THEW is a structural engineer, with a particular interest in the use of wood in construction. He studied Structural Engineering with Architecture at The University of Edinburgh, gaining a Masters degree in Engineering. He is secretary of the Wood Technology Society, a Materials Division of the IOM3 and sits on the B/518 BSI Committee on Structural Timber. He is also a Chartered Member of the Institution of Structural Engineers and a qualified timber grader. He works for Structural & Civil Consulting Ltd, a consultancy which specialises in wood in construction and historic buildings, and has worked on projects as varied as the Rievaulx Abbey Visitor Centre and the Castle Howard Palladian Dome.

Preface xiii

PART ONE How Timber Works: Wood as a Material -- Its Main Processes and Uses 1

1 Wood as a Material 3

2 More on Wood -- With Some Comments about Timber Trading 29

3 Two Fundamental Factors in Using Wood: Fire and Water 49

4 Specifying Timber: For Indoor or Outdoor Uses -- With Some Information on the Biological Attack of Wood 83

5 Wood Preservatives and Wood Finishes 115

6 Timber Quality: Defects in Wood and Grading for Appearance 133

7 Strength Grading and Strength Classes 163

8 Wood-Based Sheet Materials 185

9 Principles of Timber Engineering (by Iain Thew) 215

PART TWO Using Timber and Wood-Based Products in Legal and Sustainable Way 231

10 Some Things You Should Know About Wood, Trees, and Forests 233

11 The Concept of 'Sustainability' 255

12 Voluntary Timber Certification Schemes 269

13 UK Government, EU, and Other Countries' Regulations: Legally Trading in World Timbers 289

14 Softwoods Used in Construction -- With Their Main Properties and Sustainability Credentials 307

15 Some Hardwoods Used in Construction -- With Their Main Properties and Sustainability Credentials 321

16 The Use and Reuse of Timber and Wood-Based Products: The Carbon Cycle, End-of-Life Disposal, and Using Wood as Biomass 351

17 Energy Considerations: Other Construction Materials Compared with Wood 361

Appendix A A Glossary of Wood and Timber Terms Used in the Timber and Construction Industries 371

Appendix B A Select Bibliography of Some Useful Technical Reference Works, Plus Some Other Information on Timber and Wood-Based Products 385

Appendix C Some Helpful Technical, Advisory, and Trade Bodies Concerned with Timber 387

Index 389