Softwood lumber and planned timber – the universal and traditional construction material

Lumber and planned timber are the universal building materials in timber construction. Construction elements of solid timber are sorted according to their load-bearing capacity as a quality assurance measure.
German standards exactly regulate the technical grading based on a maximum timber moisture content of 20 percent.

It is very important that dry construction timber is used since the wood moisture has a significant influence over various properties of the timber such as dimensional tolerance, dimensional stability and endurance, and thus over the overall quality of the building. Chemical wood preservative is not needed in a professional construction if timber is used with a moisture content corresponding to the mean annual value during the building's use.

Rough sawn or planned timber construction elements for structural use include roof battens, boards, planks and beams. They are used in traditional timber constructions for roofs and walls, ceilings, facades, etc.