Thermally Modified Wood

Thermally modified wood

Thermally modified wood is the next generation of taking wood products and making them last longer in high humidity climates, wet areas and any other places where wood notoriously has trouble performing over long periods of time.

Companies have been trying to solve this problem of wood rot with mixed results usually by adding different chemicals to the wood. Thermally modified wood doesn’t use any kind of chemicals to achieve this in their process to allow wood to survive longer and stand up to the elements without failing.

They achieve this by using specially designed kilns that are used to heat the wood to high temperatures, they basically cook the wood. The heating changes the dimensional stability and the high heat also chemically transforms the sugars in the wood so that they cannot be digested by insects or decay organisms.

Heating the wood to such high temperatures produces a uniform darker colorization throughout the thickness of the lumber.

Basically thermally modified wood takes normal lumber and makes it harder, impervious to rot or swelling and increased resistance to fungal decay, making it ideal for indoor or outdoor applications without any chemicals at all.

Thermal modification can be done to all sorts of species of wood.

The application of the product is wide ranging, here is a list of the things that are currently being make out of thermally modified wood;

• Outdoor decking for home or cottage.
• Docks.
• Siding.
• Fencing, fence posts, fence boards.
• Outdoor benches.
• Outdoor furniture.
• Indoor flooring.
• Guitar necks.
• Indoor furniture.
• Gun stocks.
• Rain barrels.
• Interior doors.
• Saunas.

In furniture making thermally modified wood is replacing the need to use exotic wood species from the rain forest. Maple, Oak, Ash and Pine can be modified and used without the destruction of sensitive species and area's of the planet.

With this process the product when left outside to the natural elements will turn a silver colour over time. If a UV coating is applied to the product then the colour of the wood will stay without going silver.

This product will lower building maintenance and raise the life expectancy of products to almost outlive the owner.

When thinking about your new custom home, think about getting thermally modified products you won’t be disappointed.

Rob Abbott
Operations Manager
Village Builders Inc.