BioMatNet Item: FAIR-CT95-0091 - Round Small Diameter Timber for Construction

FAIR-CT95-0091
Round Small Diameter Timber for Construction - Market Summary

To find similar Items, click on a keyword below:
FAIR Area 1.3 - Forestry-Wood Chain : Solid Wood Products : Wood (Lignocellulose)

	Type of Project	Shared Cost
	Contract No	FAIR-CT95-0091
	Total Cost	1 686 334 ECU
	EC Contribution	990 000 ECU
	Start Date	01/01/1996
	Duration	36 months

Introduction
This booklet, part (2a) of the final report of FAIR project FAIR-CT95-0091, deals with potential markets for small round diameter timber in the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Finland and Austria. A separate report for the construction market in Finland has also been produced. The aims of this activity were:

to seek potential markets for small roundwood in all areas of construction in participant countries
to generate potential targets with the rest of the project group and other participants
to ask possible clients' opinions about uses
to show the key potential building types and areas for other subprojects.

Summary
The extent of forest and the use of wood products varies from country to country.. The resource of forests per capita and the use of wooden buildings is significant in Finland and in Austria. Wooden structures are not so common in the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands. Presendy small round wood (dia. 8-15 cm) is used for firewood, paper industry pulp or on limited scale as sawn goods primarily in the countryside and yards. The purpose of this sub-project is to seek potential and interesting markets for the products in construction in participants countries in the future.

The activity included brainstorming sessions, statistical data, expert interviews, literature searches and the data banks of construction market. Each country investigated area of potential use, while the potential demand was calculated for Finland. TU Delft drafted an appendix report covering existing roundwood structures. It was estimated that use in constructions in Europe by 2000 may increase by around 2% from the level of 1995. The volume and type of structure of construction both impact on the potential demand for the products. However it is difficult to know if potentials clients will use small round wood in structures.

In general potential markets could be both in small buildings and in large engineered structures. It seems that developments will include greater use in :
small buildings with traditional structural systems, including agricultural buildings, in rural areas, larger buildings with unique architecture, attractive to the leisure industry.

Larger volume demand would come from the need for construction of small buildings and simple structures, such as log cabins, small storage buildings and agriculture buildingsas well as larger buildings with architectural features, for instance in woodlands. In civil engineering such timber could be sued for small bridges (footbridges, light vehicle access brigdes), sound barriers and landscaping. The use will reflect the material properties of small round wood, such as straightness, taper, durability and strength properties as well as jointing methods. Architects and structural designers would appreciate products, which are readily available, standardized, slightly processed and used locally. Treatment against decay is also important.

Small roundwood is most often seen as a competitor of sawn woods. However, structures could be developed to take advantage of the properties of the round wood. The product must be priced competitively and easy to use. At present, there is little experience in its application in amny areas. The use of good projects as a showcase as well as instructionsconcerning the use of round wood are required to promote and convince end-users and designers of the advantages and benefits of using such products.

Conclusions
The market situation of small diarneter roundwood is different in each of the participating countries, this is pardy due to their different traditions. Austria and Finland are more rural in character and better accustomed to rustic timber structures, whereas France and particularly the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are more urbanised countries, and consequendy have a higher resistance to the use of wood as a building material. However, it could be seen that there are several similarities in the results, collected from the different countries. These concern the potential uses of roundwood and obstacles that would need to be removed before roundwood can be utilised in construction projects to a greater extent.

For all the countries, it was clear that the potential market for round timber would be for buildings located in rural areas. The buildings would generally be related to the leisure and recreational industries (for example, cottages, holiday homes, bridges, children's farms, equestrian buildings, towers) and agriculture. In such areas round pole construction will often be regarded by architects as appropriate technology enabling it to be used in larger and more prestigious constructions. Currendy, the most common use of roundwood is in landscaping and gardening where the wood is used for sound walls, various barriers and fences, urban furniture, playground structures and pergolas.

{Wooden Tower}
A Shed made of Wood A Hall made of wood

In the countries where there is a good supply of timber, such as Finland and Austria, small diameter roundwood structures can be built at competitively low prices, particularly, when the building owner is carrying out the work himself. This includes simple small scale structures for example, multifunctional sheds etc., which can be built on site or delivered as a prefabricated package. These structures can be aesthetically pleasing.

Typical reasons why roundwood is seldom used when it would be perfectdy suitable are as follows:

The material is not generally sold or available through the normal commercial channels.
Architects, engineers and carpenters are not farniliar with the strength or jointing characteristics of roundwood, and neither do they have adequate design guidelines.
The material's structural characteristics, which include straightness, taper, surface quality and moisture content, are important areas and will need to be considered as part of the project.

One of the aims of this project is to remove the obstacles which currently limit the use of roundwood as a building material. The most important and challenging task is to get the market for roundwood to work by increasing supply and demand together. The results from this project will provide valuable information to help increase people's awareness of roundwood. The marketing of round pole structures can be expected to improve as more demonstration buildings are constructed.

The main volume of the use of small diameter roundwood will be in non-structural use and in small traditional type buildings. The project does not however include landscaping, urban furniture or other non-structural uses. Also those uses will benefit indirecdy due to the improved availability of the matenal. This project indicates that it is essential to design models for relatively small buildings including the design of total building: foundation, walls and roofs. In most cases these structures do not require new innovations for load bearing frame. The structural development work includes simple connections and safe span tables for these buildings. The types of structures to be developed include:

Agricultural and rural buildings: Cattle sheds, Machinery stores, Feeding sheds, Drying sheds, Storages, Garages, including the use with other building materials
Footbridges, small vehicular bridges and bridge elements
Noise walls and retaining walls on roads
Rural vernacular structures

Although small in volume, the use in medium size buildings for the leisure industry, in which the load bearing structure is visible and important architectural feature is important in enhancing the image of roundwood. Such buildings typically include a large room (restaurant, hotel lobby, exhibition hall). Structural systems with load bearing joints for such structures need to be developed.

Contacts

Coordinator

Alpo RANTA-MAUNUS / VTT Technical Research Centre Finland Building Technology / FINLAND

EC Scientific Officer

Alexandros ARABATZIS / European Commission DG Research Theme 1 Key Action 5.3 / BELGIUM

Participant