There are many materials used for building construction but wood is one of the oldest materials used and still very much useful in modern buildings. Likely the trend will continue in the future. Hereunder are some advantages
- Lightweight and supports self- Wood is structurally strong, it has great ability to support its own weight. The weight to resistance ratio is high.
- Electrical Resistance-Wood that is dried is a good resistor to electrical transmission. Hence is a safety material for electrical cables because it doesn’t conduct electricity though this goes contrary as the wood becomes wet.
- Sound insulation-Wood has hole/pores inside which helps to absorb sound and reduces echo in building. It does not transmit sound easily which makes it good for sound insulation.
- Aesthetic-There are variations of wood and they can be made to an assembly of aesthetically pleasing products
- Ease of use-In comparison to other structural materials, it is easy to manipulate and use for construction.
- Reusable-Wood can be uninstalled and used severally on other tasks onsite.
- Renewable-Wood is gotten cheaply from the forest, as long as trees are planted to replace the fell ones the wood will always be available for generations to come.
- Environmental impact-Wood has less devastating impact on the environment when discarded compare to steel, plastics and other building materials
- Heat insulation-Though fire attack can be devastating, wood has the ability to retain room temperature in a room.
- Wood is cheap compared to other building materials
- It decomposes easily when discarded and fertilise the soil unlike steel and plastics.
- Wood react less to chemical or oxidation attacks . It doesn’t rust unlike metals
- Wood can easily be installed on a building site and easily dismantled
- There are thousands of wood variations, they are organic products and are abound in the forest. It gives interesting variations in use and aesthetics
- Durable-with good treatment and application, wood can stay for centuries. There are examples of buildings built with wood that have spanned centuries.
- Wood is not toxic
- Wood is readily available all over the forest
- Less risk of collapse- Due to very light selfweight and high tensile strength collapse is uncommon with buildings built with wood
- Design flexibility-It is easy to make interesting designs with wood
- It serves as a formwork for concrete
- Wood also removes carbon from the atmosphere contributing to the environment
- Wood helps to save time. Constructing with wood saves time.
- Because of high stability, constructing with wood is good for seismic prone zones- movement of earth by tremors, earthquakes e.t.c
