Wood is an important building material used for construction purposes for thousands of years. One of the main advantages of wood is that it is a naturally renewable raw material. Wood has more life cycles; used wood can be reused or recycled into new products. If we want a disused timber to raise the added value we have to be familiar with its relevant properties (resistance, damages, mechanical properties, etc.) To shed light on these properties, old beech samples were prepared and subjected to 5 species of wood decay fungi (Hypoxylon fragiforme, Pleurotus ostreatus, Trametes versicolor, Gloeophyllum trabeum, Antrodia vaillantii). The weight loss was defined gravimetricly; mechanical properties by a method of flexural and compressive strength. The proportion of washed extractives was determined. The results show that the natural resistance of the old beech wood is worse compared to the resistance of freshly harvested beech wood. Unfortunately, the mechanical properties of the investigated old beech wood are much worse. The main causes of deterioration are the exit openings made by insects, and the fact that the timber is already partially decomposed. Use of old obsolete beech wood is further aggravated by the fact that the old wood absorbs significantly more water than fresh wood.
|
