Wood, with its natural and warm appearance, has maintained its popularity since its first use. Wood is one of the safest building materials for human health, thanks to its properties such as being easy to process, excellent performance against pressure, and high resistance to corrosion. In addition to many other advantages, wood has only two disadvantages. The first is its burning property, but this can be prevented with a few simple procedures. The second is that wooden structures require regular maintenance, like all other building materials.
Advantages of Wood as a Building Material
Wood is a lightweight, durable, and easy-to-process building material. It is natural, environmentally friendly, and sustainable. In addition, it provides better thermal and sound insulation than other building materials. Because of these combined features, wood stands out as one of the most advantageous building materials.
How Does Wood Burn?
Wood requires oxygen to combust. When heated, wood forms a protective outer layer that shields the underlying substrate. This layer prevents oxygen from reaching the wood and slows down the combustion reaction as much as possible. As a result, the material can protect itself against combustion using the natural mechanism it has developed. Thanks to this feature, wooden structures do not collapse quickly in the event of a fire, as is the case with other building materials. They can survive longer than concrete or steel structures.
How Do Fire Retardants Work?
Fire retardants are chemicals that decrease the burning rate of wood. They enhance the fire resistance of wooden structures and regulate the rate of fire spread. By delaying the combustion process on wooden surfaces where retardant chemicals are applied, they can more effectively protect human and animal life from the dangers of fire.
The Fire Resistance of Wood
While wood is naturally flammable, it can become highly fire-resistant when the correct precautions are taken. Two methods are commonly used to protect wood against fire: impregnation and surface active coating processes. Impregnation is usually applied in the form of an aqueous solution. To further increase fire resistance, additional measures should be taken in buildings, such as fire retardant coatings, fire barriers, and fire detection and extinguishing systems that control the rate of combustion.
Other measures to increase building safety include:
Fire safety should be a key consideration in the design of wooden structures. Measures such as fire escape routes, fire barrier sections, and fire installations should be integrated into the project design and fully implemented.
Non-combustible materials can be used to create a fire barrier around the wooden structure.
Fire detection and extinguishing systems play important roles in wooden structures. Detection systems provide early warnings and allow for rapid interventions, while extinguishing systems prevent the spread of fire and minimize damage.
To ensure fire safety in wooden structures, fire training can be provided to users to increase awareness.
Ensuring the resistance of wooden structures against fire can be achieved by taking the right precautions and implementing appropriate safety measures. When these precautions are taken, wooden structures become one of the safest, most durable, and healthiest building material options available. We pay meticulous attention to producing our products in accordance with the Building Materials Regulation and subject them to fire resistance tests. Our engineered wood flooring parquet and solid parquet products are designed with fire safety in mind and appropriate precautions are taken to minimize any potential risks.
Also, you can check our certifications page to view the Fire Response Report.
