Entreprise Moulin - Maison bois Ardèche, Ossature bois, Charpentes, Lamellé collé, Couvertures - Aubenas, France

The wood as material

Using wood in construction

The use of healthy materials and improving energy performance of buildings allow us to develop new concepts that you can find in our pages « descriptions of wood concepts ».

Beyond their thermal performance, insulation recovery based on wood fiber or cellulose engage our industry in a greater respect for the environment and human health.

Less gray energy producer (energy used for production, transport and the implementation of a product),less pollution for the residents but also to the comrades who implement them, it meets all health and sanitary respect quality requirements.

The durability of these products (used for years in Germany, Switzerland and Austria) guarantees the thermal performance announced.

A material of the 21^st century

Source OF PERMANENT innovations, wood marries elegance to many contemporary materials. Aesthetics, it can take all shapes and all colors, in order to the satisfy creators.

The wood is favored by 75% of French wich say they appreciate it, and 93% of them regard it as material practice par excellence (source: Sofres survey 2004). But more significantly, 87% view it as the material of the future.

Contrary to received ideas, wood provides a very good resistance to fire. Its low thermal conductivity, water content and the carbon layer formed in contact with fire, slow down combustion. A wooden structure retains its capacity 10 times longer than the structures of reinforced concrete and steel that transmit heat faster.

Ecological advantages of the wood

A natural durability

Cladding of wooden houses must meet the class 3 of treatment. In this category, we find some wood naturally sustainable Class 3:

• larch, Douglas, chestnut, black locust (or false acacia). In order to preserve their natural appearance and to maintain a homogeneous aging, hard oils are applied in 3 or 4 layers and act as saturator wich stabilize siding while maintaining the natural colors.
• Other species such as red cedar, some exotic woods or teak have a natural class 3.

Sustainable management of forests from which these species can be certified by two major brands :

• PEFC for species from Europe and North America
• FSC for exotic species

An ecological material

The wood as material is a renewable natural resource security through a sustainable management of forests, it becomes an inexhaustible resource.

Its carbon cycle is balanced. When wood is burned, emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are equivalent to those that would occur during the natural decomposition of wood. And during its growth, trees absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. So wood-energy doesn't contribute to the production of greenhouse gases. It is therefore a renewable energy, provided if deforestation is lower than the forest growth. This is the case in Europe, where forests surface are growing every year.

The wood industry is very clean and profitable. Indeed, timber requires no heavy industry to be transformed. In addition, many wood productors value the raw material. The best pieces are transformed into thick sections for construction, smaller into strips or planks. For hardwoods, depending on the quality of wood, it is charged in specific sections for cabinetry, carpentry, manufacturing floors, paneling, pallets or crates of it can also be used for slicing (decorative veneers) or peeling (multiplex panels). Finally, all products of lower quality (small wood, sawdust, platelets) are either increased in reconstituted materials (glued-laminated, particle board, etc..) Or used to feed the heating of premises, dryers or ovens. White platelets are used for paper industry.

Wood ressource in France

Wood in France	Hardwood / Softwood distribution Source IFN
French forest is now an area of 15 million hectares, either over a quarter of the national territory. Its surface has increased by a third since 1950 and has doubled over the last two centuries. The forest grows from nearly 30 000 hectares annually, the equivalent of 50 000 soccer playgrounds. In France, we produce more wood that we harvest: 90 million cubic meters of wood grown each year while only 55 million cubic meters harvested. The reserve timber is therefore not exhausted.
For centuries, wood was used for heating and food, build farms and castles, cathedrals and churches, trade ships and warships. Deforestation made for the extension of agricultural land was added to the decline of forests. The appartition of new energy sources and new materials, accompanied by a modernization of agriculture, has permited our forests to retrive the level they had in the Middle Ages.

A great biodiversity

French forest has the highest biodiversity of European forests. It has 126 species of trees and contains 27 of the 50 types of forest ecosystems at European level identified by scientists. Deciduous trees make up about two thirds of the forest, the oak is the most prevalent, followed by beech. The main coniferous species are pine, Scots pine, Douglas fir, spruce and fir.

Hardwood species distribution

Softwood species distribution

Forest management

It takes a century for a beech becoming adult, it takes two years for an oak. So it is essential to take into account of the time when managing forests. In France, the interests of future generations are safeguarded by a renewal of the forest. Regeneration is systematic after harvest and is accomplished either by planting or by natural seeding from the stand. The cuts are progressive throughout the life of a stand. They enable for each step harmonious growth of the forest and woods of different qualities for a wide range of uses. In a sustainable forest management, trees timber are quite normal and necessary. At the same time permitting the harvesting of timber, they promote the growth of the forest and ensure its regular renewal.

French forest policy is characterized by a sustainable management, implementated and practice by local foresters and also by those who allow the renewal of the forest by using wood. Management and forest protection, taking into account all of the forest ecosystem, are part of the laws and regulations of the forest code. Most parts of French forests (74%) are private and 26% are forests called subject (or community domaniales). The organization of forest management is different but the principles and obligations remain the same. Private forests can be managed by forestry experts, by CRPF (Centers of Forests Property), the National Forest Inventory, by the Institute for Forest Development or by the owners themselves. Subjected forests are managed by ONF, the National Forests Office, a state dependent on the Ministries of Agriculture and the Environment. It is important to participate and conduct a controlled management of the forest to enjoy it in the future. Harvesting mature tree favors renewal of forests, the thinning of young trees encourage the best to develop.