What is thermally modified wood?

Looking for a sustainable alternative to tropical hardwood? In that case, thermally modified wood is the right choice for you. Every species of wood can be modified in such a way as to produce a product that can easily withstand the most adverse weather conditions. And almost maintenance free. Find out more.

Outdoor thermally modified wood

Outdoor wood shall resist many weather phenomena: moisture, rain, cold and hot temperatures. Most types of timber are susceptible to insects and fungi as a result of water infiltration. Thermally modified wood is an excellent alternative for outside use. In order to increase the sustainability of some types of wood, thermally modified wood is heated to over 190 degrees Celsius (the temperature needed for the preservation of wood differs for each wood species). The result: much higher sustainability. It is therefore not surprising that thermally modified wood is often used for outdoor uses such as facade cladding or decking.

Thermally modified wood used in a backyard.

Thermally modified wood = sustainable wood

Are you going for thermally modified wood? In doing so, you are also choosing sustainability. For the production of thermally modified wood, producers mainly use fast growing wood species such as pine and spruce wood, as it makes it easier and cheaper to modify thermally. This comes from sustainably managed forests, which gives thermally modified wood a very high sustainability score. Even more hardy wood such as our Ash can be thermally treated and you get a very high quality thermally modified wood that can easily stand the comparison with the better tropical timbers (Afrormosia, Padauk, Ipe, etc.).

A close-up of a thermally modified wall.

Advantages and disadvantages of thermally modified wood

Thermally modified wood offers many benefits. Environmental friendliness and sustainability are two of these. Are you opting for thermally modified wood? Then you will get sustainable European wood, which often offers a good alternative to tropical hardwood. It also guarantees good dimension stability and minimal moisture absorption.

Thermally modified wood has also been treated in its entirety and right through to its core. This means that you can saw it and mill it without these actions adversely affecting the protective characteristics of the wood. And that is, of course, one of the main reasons why thermally modified wood is increasingly used for outdoor applications. However, thermally modified wood does have a number of downsides as well. One of them is decreased flexibility. The dryness of the thermally modified wood will also make it more difficult to obtain a beautiful saw cut. A sharp blade is therefore a must.

Thermally modified wood requires minimal maintenance

With thermally modified wood, you don't need to worry about maintenance. Staining or oiling is not necessary, but it is allowed of course. After some time, the thermally modified wood will automatically get a greyish colour. If you want to decide on the colour yourself, then staining or oiling is a good option.

Would you like to know more about thermally modified wood or are you interested in one of the many outdoor uses? At Jadimex, our experts are available to answer your questions and give you any advice you may need. Don’t hesitate to contact us.

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