Wood Shuttering Boards

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WOOD SHUTTERING BOARDS

Wood has been the basic architectural material used by mankind since the earliest civilization. Prior to houses made up of stone and clay, man had stayed depended on wood for his shelter. Even today, in most of the equatorial regions, where plenty of wood material is produced from the forests, wood is used to build houses, bridges and other infrastructure. Similarly use of wood as tools for building houses is inevitable in all over the world. Wood as shuttering is very common engineering tool for many reasons. For example, wood is light in weight as compared to metallic shuttering and easy to handle. Wood is less costly if compared with other shuttering material like steel and plastic etc. Wood can be cut and modified as per required sizes and shapes. For these reason, the drawbacks of wood are neglected. Moreover, in areas where labour is not cheap, the depreciation cost of wood is preferred to that of labour. Wood is used in shuttering in many forms, like wooden logs (bally), wooden panels, wooden boards and wooden girders etc. Here we are going to discuss only wood boards. Boards are categorized on the basis of types of wood used in. Following are the most common types of wooden boards used in civil engineering/ and architectures.

Shuttering Panels:

Shuttering panels are of rectangular shape panels made up of timber and plywood. Shuttering panels are available in different sizes and lengths. The size of length can also be ordered according to the architectural requirement. Panels made up of plywood may be 3 ply, 4 ply, 5 ply and 6 ply and so on. Thickness of the plywood panel depends on number of plies. Thickness of the plies used in panels depends on the will of manufacturer.

Sawn Timber Boards:

Timber boards are similar to the Shuttering panels in shape. The only difference is of the lengths. Boards are generally longer than the panels. Wooden board may be 20 ft long or even more. Sawn Timber Boards are made by cutting tree trunks with a saw.

Timber Girders:

The wooden shuttering girder is a glued, solid well double T-girder. The girder consists of an upper and lower beam made of northern whitewood. The frame is made of veneered laminated wood. The wooden shuttering girder can only be used for loads which result from the immediate support it gives to ceiling or wall shuttering and concrete construction; it cannot be used for any larger loads.

Shuttering Planks:

A plank is a long, broad and thick piece of timber, as opposed to a board which is less thick while board is a relatively long, wide and thin piece of sawn wood or similar material, usually intended for use in construction or board can be a rebound. Apart from shattering planks are used in scaffolding. Thick and strong planks are used in following ways during masonry work.

(1). Single Scaffold Planks:

Bricks mason use this type of plank. It is made of structures such as the ledgers, standards and the putlogs. While at work, the plank is placed about 1.2 metres from the wall. The standards are placed 2 to 2.5 metres apart and the ledgers 1.2 to 1.5 metres apart. One end of each putlog is fixed to the wall and another to the ledger. All this is done to give maximum support to the weight of the workers.

(2). Double Scaffold Planks:

Double scaffolding is mainly meant for stone masonry. This is because the putlogs cannot be inserted through the stone walls.the double-row scaffolding is meant for maximum support. In this case, the putlogs are inserted between the two rows which are 1m apart and the temporary structure is placed 20-30cm from the wall. Cross braces and rakers are as well used to give it kinda additional support.

(3). Suspended Scaffolding:

In this type of scaffolding planks are suspended with ropes or chains tied with

upper part of the building. Workers work while standing on the suspended planks.

(4). Trestle Scaffolding:

In this type of scaffolding the planks are placed on the moveable leaders or tripods. It is generally used in rooms, where repairing, painting and plastering is done. The scaffolding structures are moved from one place to another with the movement of workers.

Types of wood used in making shuttering boards:

Generally timber and plywood is used in making shuttering material. Point of notice is that the wood must be strong and low weighted. Timber is a type of wood which has been processed into beams and planks. In Canada and USA, timber is known as Lumber and Umber. Basically, Timber or Lumber/Umber is a wood or firewood of growing trees. Any wood capable of yielding a minimum dimensional size can be termed as a timber or lumber. It is a stage in the process of wood production. Timbers are used for the structural purpose. Those woods which are adapted for building purposes are timbers. Finished timber is supplied in standard sizes for the industry. Timber is used for building houses and making furniture. Cheap timber is used shuttering. Following types of wood are used in Shuttering:

Bamboo
Glulam Wood
Plywood
Structural Composite Lumber
Laminated Veneer Lumber

There are some advantages and disadvantages of these woods, but still these are fit for shuttering and scaffolding purposes. Here we will discuss the advantages of these, which makes them fit for the purpose of shuttering.

Advantages of Bamboo:

Bamboos are fast growing and high yielding.
They are easily renewable.
Bamboos quickly reach full maturity after only one or two years.
Bamboo timber has a unique earthy odor while being worked.
Bamboo timber is energy extensive, processed and glued up imported products.
Strong bamboo fibers have tensile strength.
It is highly resistant to warping and cupping in ambient humidity.
Bamboo timber requires little fertilizer.
Grows initially at full width.
Bamboo timbers are used in-veneer, paper, flute, window blinds, fishing rods, ladders, scaffolding, carving etc.

Advantages of Ply-Wood:

Like timber, plywood boards can also be cut according to the required sizes.
Unlike timber, plywood is more durable and can be used tens of times more than timber.
Like timber plywood is also very light and can easily be handled.
Unlike timber, it does not absorb the water of concrete.
Plywood gives a smooth fish to the concrete, which, later on, reduces the cost of finish.
Plywood can also be used in curved formworks.
Extra-ordinary large sizes of plywood are available which makes the construction work easy and speedy.
It can be reused frequently as compared to the timber.

Advantages of Glulam Wood:

· Locally available and environmentally sustainable material

· Flexibility of shape and size

· Attractive appearance.

Glulam is often chosen over steel or concrete for its appearance, and is often credited with creating a warm and comfortable feel to a building. There are many different timber species and treatments available all with their own character that can be tailored to suit your requirements.

· Excellent strength to weight ratio

· Light in weight

· Extraordinary durable

· Consistency of Performance

· Good for fire

· High strength and dimensional stability

· Environmental friendly

Advantages of Laminated Veneer Lumber:

Available in all sizes
It give smooth finishing to the concrete structure
Strong and durable
It does not absorb water of RCC structure
Does not allow heat. Heat reduces the compaction of concrete structures.
Easily available everywhere.
Not too much costly.
Good looking
Easy to handle
Frequent reuse

Advantages of Structural Composite Lumber:

Very hard and strong
Can be used in complicated curved molds.
It does not absorb water of RCC structure.
Not too much costly
It can be frequently reused

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