A strip of impervious material fitted to provide a barrier to moisture movement into the interior of a building
Flashing
Flexural Strength
The resistance at failure of a beam subjected to bending
Flitch
A large piece of log, sawn on at least two surfaces, intended for further cutting.
Floor Board
Boards dressed to standard thickness and generally finished with a tongue and groove, fixed to floor joists or a substrate to provide a floor.
Flooring
The covering of internal floors in a building. Timber flooring includes tongue and groove strip flooring, parquetry, panel flooring, particleboard and plywood.
Folded Plate
The configuration of flat sheets, such as plywood, into a folded form to produce a beam of considerably higher strength and stiffness than is possible with the flat sheet alone.
Forest Estate
All forests growing on public or private lands
Forest Practices
Forest practices means the processes involved in establishing forests, or growing or harvesting timber, and includes a) the construction of roads; and b) the development and operation of quarries; and c) other works connected with establishing forests, or growing or harvesting timber
Forest Stewardship Council
FSC is a global, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of responsible forest management worldwide
Frame
1. The main timbers of a structure fitted and joined together. 2. A three dimensional self-contained structural system of interconnecting members which functions with or without the aid of horizontal diaphragms or floor bracing systems.
Framing Timber
Timber used to form the basic structure of a building, such as studs and joists.
Free Moisture
Moisture which is present in the cell cavities of wood.
FRL
Fire resistance level - grading periods in minutes of the fire resistance of building elements for structural adequacy/integrity/and insulation
Fungus (Fungi)
A plant that feeds on wood fibre. Fungi primarily consist of microscopic threads (hyphae) that traverse wood in all directions, dissolving materials out of the cell walls.
Geodesic
The shortest line between two points on a surface, such that a geodesic dome is segmented into a series of straight elements
Glue
An animal, mineral or vegetable adhesive.
Glue Laminated Timber
Laminated timber where the laminations are joined with adhesive. More on glulam
Grade
The designation of the quality of a piece of timber or other manufactured wood products in accordance with standard rules
Grain
1) The general direction of the fibres or wood elements relative to the main axis of the piece. 2) The direction, size, arrangement, appearance, or quality of the fibres in wood or timber
Green Building
This is a loosely defined collection of land-use, building design, and construction strategies that reduces undesirable environmental impacts. Benefits of building green include reduced energy consumption, protection of ecosystems, and occupant health.
Green Timber
Unseasoned timber, with free moisture present in the cell cavities.
Grillage
A system of orthogonal elements, usually beams or trusses, acting together to resist a common load.
Growth Rings
Rings of early wood and latewood on the transverse section of a trunk or branch marking cycles of growth.
Gum
A natural exudation, also called kino, produced in trees as a result of fire or mechanical damage.
Gum Vein
A ribbon of gum between growth rings, which may be bridged radially by wood tissue at intervals. Also known as kino
Gusset Plate
Plates, often steel or plywood, fixed by nails, bolts or other means to connect timber members in a truss or other frame structure. Gusset plates may be applied to one or both sides of a joint.
Hardboard
A pressed homogenous fibreboard having a mean density of not less than 800 kg/sq m.
Hardness
A property of wood that enables it to resist indentation. It is measure in kN and is often determined by the Janka hardness test.
Hardwood
A general term for timber of broad leafed trees classified botanically as Angiosperm. The term has no reference to the relative hardness of the wood.
Heartwood
The wood making up the centre part of the tree, beneath the sapwood. Cells of heartwood no longer participate in the life processes of the tree. Heartwood may contain phenolic compounds, gums, resins, and other materials that usually make it darker and more decay resistant than sapwood.
Hewn Timber
Timber with or without wane, finished to size with hand tools such as an axe or adze.
Hobnail
A pattern of pin-holes left by insect attack
Honeycombing
A drying defect which occurs when tensile stresses in the core (usually a result of collapse) result in the formation of internal cavities.
Horizontally Laminated Timber
Laminated timber designed to resist bending loads applied perpendicular to the wide face of the laminations. For vertical loads, this means that the wide face runs horizontally.
Housed Joint
A joint where one piece is notched or grooved to receive the other piece.
Humidistat
A device for automatically regulating the relative humidity of air.
Humidity
A general term for the presence of water vapour in air. There is a known limit to the amount of water vapour that air can hold at any particular temperature.
Hygrometer
An instrument for measuring the humidity of air.
Hygroscopic
Changes its moisture content to be in equilibrium with the atmosphere.
Hygrostat
A device for automatically regulating the equilibrium moisture content of the air. See also Humidistat.
Hyperbolic Paraboloid Shell
A complex curved surface which has one line which is always straight.
Hysteresis
As applied to timber's moisture content, the tendency of dried wood to reach equilibrium with any specified temperature and relative humidity at a lower moisture content when absorbing moisture from a drier state than when losing moisture from a wetter state.
Interlocked Grain
Grain where the angle of the fibres periodically changes or reverses in successive layers.
Irregular Grain
Grain where the fibres contort and twist around knots, butts, curls and so on. Also called wild grain.
ISO 14000 - Environmental Management Standards
ISO 14000 is a series of international, voluntary environmental management standards developed by the International Organisation for Standardisation to provide organisations with a common framework for managing environmental issues.
Isotropic
Exhibiting the same properties in all directions.
Jamb
The side of a window or door opening.
Jig
A device used to set a dimension, angle or shape for fabrication
Joinery
Finished timber fixtures of buildings such as doors, windows, paneling, cupboards, etc.
Joint
A prepared connection for joining pieces of wood or veneer.
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