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Interesting, but what about biodegradability? Will it not be eroded by microorganisms in the outdoors over time? It is still wood, after all.
by lr4444lr 9y ago
Interesting, but what about biodegradability? Will it not be eroded by microorganisms in the outdoors over time? It is still wood, after all.
- Filligree 9y agoIt's still wood, and wood is only barely biodegradable. If you take decent care of it it'll last for centuries.
- pbhjpbhj 9y agoA fallen tree in damp conditions rots down in a year or so. Seems pretty biodegradable. Your second sentence I have no problem with.
- thecatspaw 9y agoa fallen tree will also easily get overrun by bugs and animals and does not have a closed surface, making it prone to rot
- pbhjpbhj 9y agoIsn't that biodegrading? Surely almost anything can be cared for to prevent biodegrading.
- mr_overalls 9y agoYeah, "decent care" means "kept away from moisture, fire, and bugs." Such care can be difficult in the long term, but yields results like the beautiful 700 year-old woodwork in this English cathedral. (And of course the comments mention the Buddhist temple Hōryū-ji.) http://blog.longnow.org/02009/01/12/how-long-can-wood-last/ http://blog.longnow.org/02009/01/12/how-long-can-wood-last/
- pbhjpbhj 9y agoI agree completely. The only part I disagree with its the claim wood is "barely biodegradable". Almost anything can be preserved.
- freehunter 9y agoIf we're disregarding proper maintenance, almost anything can be biodegradable too. Steel will easily rust into dust in an alarmingly short period of time, but we have 100-story buildings made of un-rusted steel lasting for a century and maybe centuries more. Compared to cars from 5 years ago rusted into oblivion even while they're still being driven.
- pbhjpbhj 9y agoRusting isn't biodegrading, it's chemical. Of course the lines aren't distinct, but they seem much clearer than you're suggesting.
- freehunter 9y agoIn this case I don't think it really matters. No one says "my car is fine, it's just rusting not biodegrading". What matters is that the car is disappearing right before your eyes through natural processes that could have been prevented with normal maintenance. Wood, when properly taken care of, lasts forever. Steel, when properly taken care of, lasts forever. Each of them will degrade without proper maintenance, and oddly enough they both have basically the same maintenance needs. Keep them dry, otherwise oil them occasionally.
- jabl 9y agoWell, that can be seen as a feature as well. When it's no longer useful and left to its own devices, it will disappear all by itself rather than leaving a pile of toxic waste that someone else has to worry about.
- rpvnwnkl 9y agoIf you mean ‘rot away’, then your statement is not true at all. Trees take a long time to rot away. If you meant ‘start to rot’, then yes, you’re right. https://www.google.com/search?q=how+long+does+it+take+a+tree+to+rot&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari https://www.google.com/search?q=how+long+does+it+take+a+tree... Google says minimum 50 years.
- masklinn 9y ago> Will it not be eroded by microorganisms in the outdoors over time? It is still wood, after all. Well-prepared and maintained wood lasts for centuries: Kirkjubøargarður, Hōryū-ji, Nanchan Temple, Greensted Church, various houses in Schwyz, … date back to before the 13th century (Hōryū-ji was finished early in the 7th century). Over human historical scale — and assuming proper maintenance — the biggest issue is fire rather than decay (that's how most of Hōryū-ji's 7th-century materials were lost and had to be replaced).
- pwks 9y agoIt depends on the amount of water in the wood. If it is lower than 18% or so (we usually dry wood to this percentage when we use it as a building material) then neither insects or fungus will attack it and it won't rot.