Durability of Structures Made of Solid Wood Based on the Technical Condition of Selected Historical Timber Churches

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Abstract

In modern construction, natural materials with a low carbon footprint and full recyclability are becoming increasingly important. A typical group here is products made from solid wood, including glued wood, plywood, and wood-based composites. With their many advantages, however, they all burden the environment with the costs of production processes, as well as the need to use harmful chemicals (adhesives and impregnants). Solid wood is devoid of these disadvantages; however, it is often treated as a rather archaic material. One of the arguments here is its low durability compared to, e.g., glued wood. The article discusses the durability of solid wood using the example of a group of wooden churches preserved in Poland, in Upper Silesia. Some of these buildings are over five hundred years old, making them a reliable source of information about the durability of the material from which they were built. A total of 85 churches, at least 200 years old, were analyzed, evaluating the technical state of the main load-bearing elements of their structures. In view of the number of facilities and the inability to conduct tests in most of them, the assessment was limited to a visual inspection of the technical condition, carried out by an experienced building expert. The assessment estimated the area of corrosion damage, probed its depth, and measured the depth of cracks. The relationship between their technical condition and the environmental conditions in which they were used was described and discussed. In this way, both the threats to the durability of solid wood and the ways to keep it in good condition for hundreds of years were identified, refuting the thesis that solid wood is a material with low durability. Its use in structural elements therefore supports efficient resource management and contributes to sustainable construction, especially in small and medium-sized buildings.

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