Comparison of Accelerated Decay and Graveyard Test on Selected Malaysian Timber Species

Abstract

The natural durability of timber may be defined as ‘inherent resist ance of timber to attackby wood deteriorat ion agents such as wood decay ing fungi and wood destroying insects’. In Malay sia, natural durabilit y of t imber is det ermined using a ‘gravey ard’ test . The average time taken for this test is more than 10 years. The results of this test method donot provide information on longevity (service life) either out of ground contact, or inother geographical locations. Comparison of natural durability requires the use ofstandard test method where for example in Europe, the accepted laboratory method is EN350-1. This paper briefly describes the rating of natural durability based on comparisonresults of the two test methods stated i.e the exterior graveyard test and the interior laboratory test.