The process of wood modification involves applying a substance to the wood resulting in a permanent change in the characteristics of the material.
Heat treatment is one of the most common forms of timber modification and has been used in the industry for more than 50 years. The timber is heated to temperatures over 200 degrees, and without the presence of oxygen this causes the chemical makeup of the species to alter. As the temperature of the kiln boosts, the increased heat “bakes” the sugars and tannins in the wood, making them inedible to microbes and insects, with the wood becoming darker and hardening. Thermally-modified wood is a superior product for both indoor and outdoor applications, including high moisture environments. It is also a high-performing alternative to pressure-treated wood, and offers cost advantages over more expensive species.
Our thermally modified products:
Thermowood Redwood & Thermowood Radiata Pine
The chemical process used in our product Accoya is called acetylation. The wood is made up of free hydroxyls; these hydroxyls absorb and release water depending on the climatic conditions to which the wood is exposed. Acetylation transforms the free hydroxyls in the wood into acetyl groups, reducing the wood’s ability to absorb water, thereby making it more dimensionally stable and more durable. These acetyl groups are already present in all wood species, as a result, the manufacturing process of timber that is modified using this method add nothing to the wood that is not naturally present.
Our chemically modified products:
Accoya® & Medite Tricoya.