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Wood is a material that’s been used in construction since time immemorial. You’ll find it in the kitchen, living room, bedroom, and even outdoors. Despite this, however, builders and homeowners alike have been starting to question its viability in achieving several home details.
This article aims to discuss why wood may no longer be a choice in construction. So, read on.
It Has Structural Limits
Construction projects involve large and small elements. In most cases, you’ll find wood being used for smaller components, like windows, door frames, and other accessories at home. Such usage types depict the material’s limitations.
Suppose you want to build a load-bearing wall or element. Using wood isn’t advisable as it’s not a material you can rely on for carrying and transferring weight from one component to another without crumbling to pressure. In such cases, builders lean on materials like steel and concrete, which are more robust in carrying significant loads. It’d help to visit websites such as hardieboysinc.com to learn more about some of these material solutions.
Also, some states have building codes that depict what structures you can build with wood and those you can’t. All in all, there are limited ways you can make use of wood.
It Lacks Durability
Wood is a plant-based material, which means durability. How so?
One, wood is prone to attack by termites due to the presence of cellulose in its composition. As a result, you’ll find missing sections from your wooden structure, weakening it. Therefore, you can’t rely on it to serve you for long.
In addition, wood tends to absorb moisture from the surrounding; your wooden structure will do the same. The moisture provides a conducive environment for algae growth, which reduces the wood’s strength. Besides this, the moisture will cause the wood to shrink and swell as temperature changes. The result is warping, which might affect your home’s details. Suppose you’ve adopted a wooden door. Warping will cause it to swell such that it no longer fits in the doorway, inhibiting closure.
The effects of moisture get worse if you use wood for outdoor features, like pergolas. These are exposed to rain, snow, storms, etc., which can depreciate the wood’s longevity. There are better material options for outdoor structures; find companies like Hardie Boys to get the best insight into outdoor material choices.
It Is Susceptible To Fire
Construction experts advise using materials like steel that inhibit the possibility of fire as much as possible. Otherwise, the possibility of losing your entire investment becomes significantly higher, which is undesirable.
You’re likely to lose your investment in the event of a fire if your home is made of wood. This material is highly combustible; hence, it’ll catch fire faster. In addition, wood will speed up flame spread, increasing the possibility of property damage. However, you can add fire retardant chemicals to your wood to reduce fire possibility and flame spread in the event of one.
It Is Expensive To Maintain
Maintenance is an aspect you must consider when analyzing building materials. An ideal building material is one that requires minimal maintenance. More maintenance needs come with additional costs, which you want to avoid.
Among most building materials, wood is expensive to maintain. There’s a lot you must do to maintain its integrity. To prevent attack by termites and moisture absorption, you need to treat wood with anti-termite solutions and stain it. As stated earlier, you must also apply a fire retardant. What makes wood even more expensive in the long run is that you have to do these treatments regularly.
Suppose you fail to treat or stain your wooden elements, and rotting or warping occurs. Restoring the wood to its previous, undamaged condition is expensive, not considering the possibility of it being impossible. The circumstances might force you to bring down your entire structure and use another material instead, which is another significant expense.
It Negatively Affects The Environmental
Today, it’s said that most people are leaning towards sustainability, which aims to protect the environment.
How does wood affect the environment? Once you opt for wood as the material for your home’s details, you must cut down trees, and this practice is believed to be one of the contributors to global warming and climate change.
The main issue arises when those cutting trees don’t plant new ones. However, if you can fully trust that there’s tree replanting, you don’t need to worry about negatively affecting the environment with your material choice.
However, even as you cut trees and replace them, you must cut them responsibly. You shouldn’t clear an entire field at once; it must be done at intervals to preserve the environment.
Conclusion
The discussion above has, more or less, supported the statement that wood may no longer be a viable choice for your home’s details. Therefore, it’s important to go through this read as a homeowner wanting to build a home element or an entire one. It’ll give you a clear picture of the things on the ground, improving your decision-making. Making informed decisions is the only way to prevent regrets.