Yorkshire-based wood scientist and timber technologist Jim Coulson has been acknowledged as the definitive international expert in all things wood for more than 35 years. With a string of impressive credentials and work on diverse consultancy projects from Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre to HMS Warrior, he has now published a bible for the building industry entitled ‘Wood in Construction’. Sub-titled ‘How to avoid costly mistakes’, the book goes straight to the heart of its readers interest by divulging the innermost secrets of wood and how these impact on its use.
Book cover
Appealing to everyone from giants of the construction industry through master craftsmen to the DIY handyman, ‘Wood in Construction’ reveals insights into working with wood from Jim’s lifetime in the industry. It focuses on the basic properties of wood and the appropriate use of timber and wood-based materials, showing in clear, non-technical language, how to avoid making expensive mistakes.
An invaluable resource, it describes the main reasons why things can go wrong when using wood and shows how to avoid or minimise problems, effectively resolving issues for the architect, engineer or designer, builder or building owner.
Based on the author’s extensive experience within the timber and construction industries, the book is technical enough to explain why things should be done in a specific manner, but more importantly it demonstrates, in a friendly and ultimately practical way, how best to use wood in the real world.
Jim Coulson explains “There is a growing interest in the use of wood in new building, not least because it has low embodied energy and it is an infinitely renewable resource. Despite a great deal of innovation in the use of wood in construction in recent years, the fundamentals of using this natural material have not really changed: the different types of wood have different properties and differing responses to the environment in which they are used. When used correctly, wood is an excellent building material but when inappropriately specified or used, it can cause problems.
Poor understanding of the properties of wood and the many species and grades that are commercially available can result in this versatile material performing below expectation, ‘Wood in Construction’ aims to take away the mystery and provide a definitive guide to the successful use of wood in any project; from simply making a door through to building a bridge or restoring a roof for a heritage building.”
Jim has served as a President of the Institute of Wood Science, he is a board member of the Wood Technology Society and a member of the UK Executive Committee of the International Council on Monuments & Sites. He is a visiting lecturer at several universities and is regularly called upon as an expert witness. His consultancy,TFTWoodexperts, was established in Ripon, North Yorkshire in 1991.
Published by international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishers Wiley Blackwell, ‘Wood in Construction’ is available on Amazon at £24.99 plus P&P. A limited number of signed copies are available direct from TFT Woodexperts, telephone 01765 601010.
Copies will also be available, along with a chance to meet the author, at an open day at TFTWoodexperts on Friday 27th April between1pm and7pm.