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.\\ `\\*1 leas three shortcomings that tend to limit sauctural UNC: (1) it is subject to
detertora-"" wc3thenno. and by attack of various or-,:anisnv, (21 it is combustible,
and (3) it is sub-iect to swelling and shrinking, let, in spite of these shortcomings,
properly designed wood structures can he as long-lived as either steel-frame or
minforced-concrete structures, can resist lire better than unpro-tec ted steel
structures, and can accommodate the selling and shrinkage without distress. As is
true for each of the materials (wood, struc-tural steel, or mintOrced concrete), to
ensure successful performance and long life of the N1111:101V requims that the
designer understand the behavior of the material and plan so as to as oid problems
that its properties may raise. Vhc builder also has an important role in that success,
and so does the final user, s The first requirement in learning to design tor best
permanence and durability in any ma-terial is to identify the problems: In the case
of sssod, this means to identify the various agents of destruction.
It 1, CAUSES OF DETERIORATION
Borrowing items from the science of physical geology, wood deterioration might be
divided into two classes: decomposition, in which the chemical makeup is affected;
and disintegration, in which the wood is merely broken apart physically but not
changed chemically. Of course, both types can occur together.