BM TRADA's FREE timber technical helpline puts you directly in touch with the experts behind BM TRADA’s timber publications, webinars, training courses and commercial services. Call 01494 840 349 anytime during normal UK working hours (9–5, Monday to Friday), and we’ll assist with straightforward advice or point you in the right direction, whether that’s a specific publication or a commercial service.

TECHNICAL TIMBER WEBINARS 2023

Our popular timber webinars are back – with refreshed content and additional deep dives into strength grading, modified woods, plywood and other panel products.

Timber Frame series – two webinars
Technical Timber series – three webinars
Fundamentals of Timber series – four webinars

THE TIMBER FRAME SERIES

THURSDAY, 23 FEBRUARY 2023 · 11:00AM – 12:00PM GMT

Right on site: Key timber frame details with Robin Lancashire, Senior Timber Frame Consultant, BM TRADA

• Sole plates
• External wall cavities
• Differential movement.

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THURSDAY, 16 MARCH 2023 · 11:00AM – 12:00PM GMT

Moisture management in timber frame design and construction with Robin Lancashire, Senior Timber Frame Consultant, BM TRADA

• The 4 D’s of wall design
• Avoiding trapped construction moisture
• Details to reducing decay risk in use.

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This series will be repeated in the latter half of the year. Sign up for Right on site: Key timber frame details in September and Moisture management in timber frame design and construction in October.

THE TECHNICAL TIMBER SERIES

THURSDAY, 27 APRIL 2023 · 11:00AM – 1:00PM BST

Strength grading of solid timber – overcoming some common misconceptions with Phil O’Leary, Technical Manager, BM TRADA

• Purpose of strength grading
• How strength of timber is determined – the three properties of timber called the 'grade determining properties'
• What is strength grading
• Methods of strength grading and which is better
• Types of machines in machine grading
• Strength grades and strength classes
• Dry or wet graded and Service classes
• Marking (stamps)
• Sizes and processing – can one resize structurally graded timber?
• Which timbers can we strength grade and the practicalities
• Factors affecting strength of timber
• Principles of visual strength grading
• Brief look at standards and some end-use strength grading.

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THURSDAY, 11 MAY 2023 · 11:00AM – 1:00PM BST

Modified woods and panel products with Dr Andy Pitman, Principal Technical Consultant, and Phil O’Leary, Technical Manager, BM TRADA

Part One: Modified woods

• The main benefits of using modified woods
• The range of modified woods sold on the UK market
• Thermally modified woods – Brimstone, Abodo, Thermowood and Lunawood
• Resin-modifed woods – Kebony and Rhinowood
• Chemically-modified woods – Accoya and Tricoya
• Environmental credentials
• Project examples.

Part Two: Plywood and other panel products

• Plywood
• Wood particleboards – including chipboard & cement particleboard
• Oriented strand board (OSB)
• Fibreboards – the wet & dry (MDF) process
• The composition of these panels and how they are made
• Advantages of wood-based panels compared to solid wood
• Specification, types, grades and marking of panel products and how they relate to performance characteristics such as appearance, durability, moisture, strength and end-use
• Typical applications and why
• “Exterior grade” plywood – how to specify and in what environments can you use it
• Marine plywood.

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THURSDAY, 25 MAY 2023 · 11:00AM – 1:00PM BST

Understanding wood degrading insects and microorganisms with Phil O’Leary, Technical Manager, and Dr Andy Pitman, Principal Technical Consultant, BM TRADA

Part One: Fungal decay

• Wood degrading fungi
• Types of and requirements for decay
• Early detection and remediation
• Designing to reduce risk from decay.

Part Two: Insects

• Wood degrading insects
• Wood boring beetles
• Preferred timbers for egg laying
• Optimum conditions for development of the larvae
• Damage caused by degrading insects
• Reinfestations.

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THE FUNDAMENTALS OF TIMBER SERIES

THURSDAY, 2 NOVEMBER 2023 · 11:00AM – 1:00PM GMT

From trees to timber with Ben Sharples, Commercial Lead – Timber Services, and Phil O’Leary, Technical Manager, BM TRADA

• The versatility of wood and its limitations
• Considerations when using timber in a wide range of applications and environments
• Choice of species through to correctly detailing for the end use
• What a tree is and how its growth strategies affect its properties
• Basic cell structure
• Nomenclature and classification
• What is in a name?

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THURSDAY, 16 NOVEMBER 2023 · 11:00AM – 1:00PM GMT

Quality and properties of timber with Dr Andy Pitman, Principal Technical Consultant, and Phil O’Leary, Technical Manager, BM TRADA

• Variability of timber
• Appearance – grain, texture, figure
• Density, reaction wood, juvenile wood, heartwood and sapwood
• How these all affect timber properties
• Timber and wood characteristics
• Timber as a structural product
• Toxicity, chemical reaction and corrosive properties in conjunction with other materials
• What is meant by 'Quality of timber'
• Difference between appearance, visual and strength grading
• Features assessed for grading purposes and how to measure them
• General principle of grading rules
• Explanation of commercial grading rules
• Strength grading and strength classes.

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THURSDAY, 30 NOVEMBER 2023 · 11:00AM – 1:00PM GMT

Moisture in timber with Adam Moring, Timber Technical Consultant, and Phil O’Leary, Technical Manager, BM TRADA

• The most important timber issue to understand
• Green timber and seasoned timber
• Understanding the amount of water in timber
• Equilibrium Moisture Content (EMC) and Fibre Saturation Point (FSP)
• The meaning of 12% moisture content 
• Why and how the moisture content of timber changes
• Drying of timber and good methods of storing timber
• Shrinkage and movement: are they the same?
• How much timber shrinks and how this occurs
• Shrinkage and swelling in the different planes of timber
• Movement classifications and determining the amount of shrinkage
• How we can accommodate shrinkage and swelling
• Introduction to Use Classes and in-service moisture contents.

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THURSDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2023 · 11:00AM – 1:00PM GMT

Protecting timber with Dr Andy Pitman, Principal Technical Consultant, and Phil O’Leary, Technical Manager, BM TRADA

• Natural durability to fungi, insects and marine borers
• Types of insect and marine borers
• Natural durability classes and service life
• Wood preservation – when to specify and how
• How the length of desired service life is achieved
• The need for coatings
• Weathering of timber
• Types of coatings, including paints, varnishes, stains, floor and deck finishes
• Common faults and how to avoid them.

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