Why wood.
I have always liked building with wood myself, as a student, as an architect, and later as a hobbyist, from furniture to the small extension I am currently planning for my own home. With Struqo I want to make exactly that easier: planning small and larger wood projects without a CAD degree and without expensive licenses.
What you hear, and what actually holds.
"Wood is a fire hazard."
Wood burns, but predictably. Large timbers burn slowly, at roughly 0.6 mm per minute under standard fire test conditions, and the insulating char layer protects the unburned portion of the wood. This lets unprotected members stay in place for a considerable time when exposed to fire, which is why building codes permit exposed heavy-timber members at defined fire-resistance ratings.
Source: Canadian Wood Council
"Wood buildings don't last."
With proper detailing, wood is durable. When wood is used for building materials, a new carbon pool is created, for example by framing a home, where carbon is stored for as long as that home lasts, and sustainable forest management replants what is harvested. Historic timber structures across North America and Europe are the everyday proof.
Source: naturally:wood
"Building with wood is bad for the climate, you cut down trees."
The opposite holds. The carbon-locking capability of wood products makes them an eco-friendlier choice than non-renewable, high-emission materials such as steel or concrete; cement alone is the source of about eight per cent of the world's CO2 emissions. Trees absorb carbon as they grow, and once made into wood products they continue to store it over their lifetime.
Source: naturally:wood
"Wood doesn't make for a healthier indoor environment."
It does, and it is measurable. Wood naturally improves indoor air quality through humidity moderation, and it has biophilic benefits, the innate wellness humans feel toward nature. A peer-reviewed review confirms this: wooden interior materials exert mainly positive or neutral effects on indoor environmental quality, such as moderating humidity fluctuations and inducing positive feelings in occupants.
Source: Think Wood
Open the editor
This is exactly why Struqo is built around wood. Whether you're planning a carport, a pergola, a garden shed or another wood project yourself, you should understand the material you're building with, and end up with a materials list your local timber supplier can work from.
Open the editorWhere to read on.
Three places to go deeper.