What you need to know before assembly
CHARACTERISTICS OF WOOD.
Wood has a set of specific traits that are
natural and inherent to it. Those characteristics include color, density, and the extent
to which it is affected by humidity.
Longitudinal cut, in most cases, reveals a delicate, decorative, and often very
appreciable look, which is called texture or wood grain. In addition to that, wood has
a specific smell, given by oils, resins, and fermented substances.
A critical attribute of timber is the ease with which it absorbs humidity. When
the timber dries, it contracts. Similarly, when timber absorbs humidity, it increases in
volume. This may reveal cracks in dry conditions and close them naturally in wet.
The contraction and expansion is mostly observed vertically, thus
binding the
wall boards vertically from top to bottom is not advised
as that will obstruct the
natural cycle of wood and cause structural issues.
WHY DOES WOOD WARP.
When the timber dries, the moisture firstly
evaporates from the surface and outer layers and only then from the inside layers.
Thus, when the outer layers start shrinking, the inside layers, due to stronger moisture,
oppose to shrinking. Firstly, the surface starts chapping, then the inside layers follow.
When the timber dries, it can get a longitudinal warp or a cross warp. A longitudinal
warp is when the drying straight balk bends, flat plank twists and gets the form of the
propeller. To avoid such warping, the wood should be restricted by binding before it
is exposed to temperature and humidity variations. Sudden exposure to sun or rain
will cause the wood to warp.
TIP:
cover the wood as soon as possible after the delivery and before the
assembly to help protect it from temperature and humidity variations.
IS THIS BOARD DEFECTIVE?
As timber is of biological origin, it is so
varied that the terms “normal timber” and “abnormal timber” are not strictly defined.
Within the variety of sawn wood and sawn timber, some taints are to be expected,
such as branchy timber, cracks, natural longitudinal splits, sap, texture and grain
variations. If the board is not broken, it is most likely not defective. Please see page
5 for a list of acceptable variations.
BRIGHTON 10 ft x 10 ft, 1 3/8"
