Lumber Wood Siding Decking Fences Heat Treated

Thermal Modification Science Fair Project Wins First Place

Felicia Brooks tests 3 criteria in science fair project that addresses issues in thermal modification technology to understand if British Columbia pine beetle wood can be used as a more sensible and environmental choice for wood products requiring durability. Felicia won best overall in her category of earth and environmental sciences. She was also awarded best overall project of the entire exhibition for grades 4 - 6 and won the Integris Credit Union award for community enhancement of $250. Brooks' science fair project tackles issues with wood, mainly durability and stain performance. Her project describes how mountain pine beetle wood, through thermal ...

What happens to all that blue-stained pine?

Sustainability question: What happens to all that blue-stained pine? It is no mystery that the recent outbreak of mountain pine beetle has affected British Columbia forests and will continue for the following years as it continues to consume many more millions of hectares of forest lands. Mountain pine beetles successfully kill trees by laying eggs into pine bark and transmitting blue-stain fungi. This blue-stain fungus in the tree’s sapwood prevents the tree from fighting back the beetle using pitch flow. Ultimately the fungus blocks nutrient and water flow within the tree until the tree turns red and eventually dies. The beetles then ...

Adding Value to Poplar

Poplar is a soft hardwood often undervalued because of its lighter white color which is not often desirable for furniture construction. From a technical standpoint however, it is still a great wood species for wood products because of its even texture and ease of machinability. Because of this and its ability to take glue and finish well, Poplar is an ideal candidate to heat treat. By modifying Poplar inside a ThermoWood TM kiln to produce a darker wood, Poplar, a locally-harvested species can be used as an alternative for tropical imports. This allows us to use perfectly good wood harvested from ...