The rate of decay in buildings, particularly of wood components and wood-based materials, is an issue that has become an area of focus in the construction and engineering industries, where estimating building performance and service life is becoming standard practice during construction litigation. While this may be a worthy goal, the technical data to allow for determining a specific time when wood decay began and to make statements about the rate of decay to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty generally do not yet exist. There are two primary means by which the rate of wood decay has been investigated: one is through experimental research such as in-ground stake tests, soil block tests, and wood exposure tests on various wood components and wood-based products. The second approach is through the development of service life prediction models. These models are based on data from experimental research, climate indicies, and other factors deemed to be significant in decay processes. The factors are used to make assumptions about the propensity of a certain wood component, configuration, species, or wood-based product to deteriorate over time. The focus of this paper is to present basic considerations when attempting to establish the rate of decay of wood and wood products used in construction.
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