The Wonders of Wood

A few weeks back I had the pleasure of attending an incredible workshop on, of all things, WOOD. I know, what a great way to spend a Wednesday night, learning about wood and veneers-but it was quite interesting. Here are some of the highlights of wood and its importance to our homes and office spaces.

After trees are cut down and taken to the saw mill for processing, the wood needs to beseasoned. To season means totake out the moisture of the wood, otherwise the wood isgreen. To do this, the ends are sealed and left to air dry for approximately 12-18 months or kiln dried in an insulated chamber that dry for 30 days to 3 months.

  > GREEN wood is 65% dry, 35% moisture

  > Air Dry is 14% moisture, 86% dry

  > Kiln Dry is 6 % moisture, 93 % dry

There aresoft woods have a high SAP content and can heal themselves when there are nicks of nails are hammered into them. Soft woods are perfect for theater floors, movie sets or any other surface that requires a lot of moving. Hard wood are what we normally think of in construction due to their durability.

Now, in furniture construction (and cabinetry) there is a high usage of particle board and MDF (manufactured high-density fiber board). Particle Board is made of wood chips that are waste from wood processing. MDF is wood fibers and therefore more durable than particle board. These chips and fibers are held together with adhesives and bonded to make boards. These boards are then used to make furniture and cabinets.

The rep giving the talk stated that MDF and particle board wereenvironmentally friendly and could be used in GREEN projects. They CANNOT. MDF and particle board is highly toxic-especially in the construction process. When cutting into the above products you must wear a respirator so as not to breathe in the chemicals being emitted from the adhesives. Anyone with environmental or chemical sensitivities (allergies, prone to headaches, upper respiratory issues) should be wary of using any product in their space made of these products due to the adhesives and chemicals. Look for products made of wood. MDF and particle board areeco-friendly only in the fact that they are made of wood waste.

Wood is a highly versatile product that we use in all phases of the construction and design process.

DeAnna Radaj is the owner of Bante Design LLC/3E Products-an Integrative Lifestyle Design company. She is a nationally recognized speaker, author/columnist and design consultant. Visit the Bante Design LLC website for more information at www.bantedesign.com.