Durability of wooden facades Part 1: Physical and structural protection

Wood in exterior conditions undergoes a series of chemical and physical changes that impair its aesthetic appeal and durability. The cladding of the houses is a particularly challenging application means because of the high aesthetic, thermal, other physical and technical demands over a long period of decades, sometimes centuries in use. In order to keep the functional properties of wood unchanged in a long service life,  a valriety of protective measures may be employed. Physical protection is marked as the most important way to keep the harmful effects of ultraviolet light and precipitation away. Design detail of wood products in facades, as well as their assembly means are considered from the viewpoint of  their durability. Chemical protection should generally be avoided, i. e. restricted to a small number of cases when it simply can not be avoided, but surface finishing plays a mayor aesthetic and technical role in designing and maintaining the wooden facades.