Fascinating Facts (and Myths) about Wood

Imagine a world without wood. You can’t. Wood is one of the oldest and most plentiful building resources in the world. We rely on it for material to build our homes and unlike other resources it is naturally replenishing (with our help, of course). Indeed, wood is so ever-present in our lives that many of us fail to appreciate this miraculous and completely natural resource and building material. Well, we do and you should as well. It is a perfectly acceptable material for deck building right alongside of composite materials. (This is, of course, if it is properly stained and treated prior to installation.) As you are considering what material to use in your new deck, we thought it’d be interesting to point out a few fascinating and wonderful facts about wood.

• Fact: Some tree varieties, including Redwood, Giant Sequoia, Sitka Spruce and Australian Mountain Ash can grow as tall as 100 meter or 320 feet. In fact, the tallest hardwood tree has grown to be 330 feet tall and is in Australia.
• Fact: Wood is carbon negative. This means that wood is a totally environmental sound material to use for building as carbon taken from the atmosphere is stored in wood.
• Fact: Wood is a natural insulator being 400 times warmer than steel.
• Fact: Quebracho is one of the hardest woods in the world. Its name is derived from quiebrahacha means “axe breaker”.
• Fact: The famous Fortingall Yew tree in Perthshire could be as old as 9,000 years.
• Fact: Pressure treated wood is poisonous to insects, fungus, and bacteria.
• Myth: All softwoods are softer than hardwoods. This is not necessarily the case. Balsa wood, for example, is one of the lightest, least dense woods there is, and yet it is considered to be a hardwood.
• Myth: All woods have low heat resistance. Indeed, some woods are highly resistant to heat. Certain kinds of woods hold up well in extreme heat. For this reasons many saunas are made of wood.
• Myth: No wood is capable of conducting electricity. Wet wood, because it is wet, can conduct electricity.
• Myth: All trees are vulnerable to insects. Insects hate the taste of tannin, the tea-colored chemical trees contain in varying amounts.

Finally, this oldest and most plentiful resource in the world is a wonderful building material. It is natural, strong and can be strengthened further when treated as our www.decksbyziec.net/Short Hills, NJ deck builders pressure treat the lumber they use to build decks. Composite decks have their advantages too but either way you should consider the strength and weaknesses of the material you choose to use for your deck. Our NJ deck refinishing can also revitalize your existing deck so that it once again has a like-new appearance.