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Question

Could you please advise what species may be used in a submerged marine environment? Looking at building a natural swimming pool in Orange, NSW. Obviously a commercially available species.
Woodsolutions Answer +

Timber that is fully submerged is not at great risk. Common fungi don't attack saturated wood since they need an adequate supply of oxygen. Timber that is partly under water and partly out of the water is in a more hazardous situation and you would need to choose a durable hardwood in this case, for example tallowwood, ironbark, etc. So your selection of suitable species will depend on the design of the pool and the life span required for the structure.

Timber under water

Answered on 19-09-2020
Please note that our answer is based on the best advice available at the time. If the National Construction Code, Australian Standards or local requirements have been subsequently amended, our answer may no longer be correct in all details. For more information, please read our disclaimer.

Question

Please could you advise me on an appropriate timber which would work for a working butchers block as well as for the cabinetry. The ideal colour would be an oak with a antique walnut wash. Have been looking into the Osmo oils if I need to stain the timber to achieve the look. Be great to get some guidance on the best types of timber to consider. 
Woodsolutions Answer +

A CSIRO reference in our library recommends a hardwood in the density range 720 to 960 kg/m3. Depending where in Australia you are located, grey box, tallowwood and spotted gum would be suitable choices and could also be used for joinery when kiln-dried. Regarding a stain finish, we feel it would soon wear off if the butcher's block is regularly used, so it might be better to rely on the natural colour of the wood. 

Butcher's block

Answered on 13-09-2020
Please note that our answer is based on the best advice available at the time. If the National Construction Code, Australian Standards or local requirements have been subsequently amended, our answer may no longer be correct in all details. For more information, please read our disclaimer.

Question

We are converting a commercial 1 zoned property to include a dwelling. Our building surveyor has made it conditional that the flooring that we propose to install over existing 19mm particleboard must be CRF (Critical Radiant Heat Flux) not less than 2.2 kW/M2 tested to ASISO 9239.1. I have read your regulatory information report, EWFA Report No RIR 21419-05 which demonstrates that both many hardwood timbers and Pine plywoods have greater than 2.2 kW/M2. The problem has been that after contacting several large (Bunnings, Mitre 10 Tait, Bowens) flooring suppliers in Victoria, none of them so far know what CRF is or can provide any documentation that it is over 2.2. Can you recommend any Plywood or solid timber flooring suppliers that have the suitable test results from registered testing authority?
Woodsolutions Answer +

Suppliers of timber and plywood flooring may not have the test reports you need, but our Regulatory Information Report RIR 21419-05 should be adequate. It gives Critical Radiant Flux figures for a range of timber flooring species on various substrates including particleboard (Tables 5.3 and 5.4).

Critical Radiant Flux

Answered on 11-09-2020
Please note that our answer is based on the best advice available at the time. If the National Construction Code, Australian Standards or local requirements have been subsequently amended, our answer may no longer be correct in all details. For more information, please read our disclaimer.

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