Written Report

Structures of Woods

Before people / engineers adapt to the modern materials used in building structures like steel, Timber
or woods are primarily used as foundation and main materials to build shelter, houses and structures.
Today, there are still many people who used woods for structure but only limits to: for less cost
structures, for aesthetic appeal and other purposes that take advantage of structures and components
of woods. Timber is less costly than steel that’s why it is commonly used for bunk house or shelter for
poor people. It is also renewable that’s why it is sometimes used for temporary shelter or structures.
Timber is also good for stylish aesthetically looking furniture.

Tree Growth

When we cut a wood and look into its cross sectional area, the inner part of the wood mostly darkish is
called heartwood. This part is the most durable and hard, that’s why this is the most commonly used
part of the wood for building structures. This outer area part of the wood mostly in light color is called
sapwood. Sapwood is not as hard as heartwood, that’s why it is not mostly used for structures but it can
be used in other purposes depends of the user. The waves or rings are called annual growth rings. It is
used to determine the age of the tree by counting the number of rings and also used to determine the
climates and events that happened in the area where the tree stood. Lighter or wide rings indicates that
the weather in that year was good and have a few rain that give nutrients to the tree. While darker rings
indicates that the climate is cold and there are little to no nutrients the tree supplements.