Wood Protection
Another area for NRR involves modified wood technologies. “In the past, wood protection consisted of chemical and other preservative treatments, such as creosote,” Donahue says. “There are some good processes already available for chemical modification. One thing we’re working on is hydrothermal modification, which involves modifying the wood at a lower temperature than has historically been done.”
Donahue believes that modified wood has a lot of upsides because it renders the wood hydrophobic, which removes dimensional instability. “The product won’t gain or lose dimension related to the changes in atmospheric relative humidity,” he says. The goal is not to compete with chemically treated pine wood for decks, but to find ways for domestic hardwood decks and floors to compete against tropical woods.”
“I think that, overall, modified wood has a lot of upsides for building material dealers, especially looking out five to 10 years,” Donahue concludes.
Energy Efficiency
While there is a new focus on CLT, adhesives, connection, and assembly, and wood protection, interest continues to remain strong in the area of energy efficiency. APA, The Engineered Wood Association in Tacoma, Wash., focuses on that topic.
Because many member manufacturers face growing demand for more energy-efficient products, APA is exploring it. “Currently, for example, wood panels don’t have very good energy performance,” says Borjen “BJ” Yeh, Ph.D., APA technical services director. “In the future, we may see panels with higher R-values. The panels will be structurally stronger and more energy-efficient.”
APA is also looking at the use of I-studs—I-joists used in a stud application—which allow more space for insulation, which can be used for zero-energy houses, he says.
Weyerhaeuser is paying attention to the energy implications of its building materials products too. “There is a new energy code being adopted that will drive some opportunities to figure out how to meet or exceed the requirements and still be able to use conventional framing methods,” Bradshaw says. “We can look for ways to make wood more energy-efficient in a structure. We have some product development going on in this area.”
