Durability for the long term

Around the world, timber-based buildings have stood for centuries, demonstrating their durability. What differentiates a durable building with longevity is good practice. It starts with projects that are well planned, designed, built, and then maintained in the right way to optimize longevity.

Buildings are complex combinations of materials, impacted by conditions that can lead to premature deterioration.  Design life is an important principle to establish at the outset of a project to identify potential defects and plan solutions to treat, design and build appropriately.

As with all building materials, structural timber systems can meet service-life objectives, with systematic procedures in place to manage durability. A moisture management strategy provides focus on design and installation.

There are three separate defect types resulting from moisture: firstly, during construction, then in service and finally ingress.  In each case risks can be mitigated by forward planning through design and planning, including proper material handling and storage prior to construction. Designing out cavities in buildings where internal plumbing is located but not accessible or complex design detailing that could create external water ponding are two typical examples that can easily avoided.

These risks are easily mitigated and are common practice within the structural timber industry.  Seeking guidance from your chosen supplier will avoid any unnecessary design and logistic changes later in the process.

See our Moisture Management Strategy for more information.