Wood and Wood Products
The wood structure and flooring system were retained in adaptive reuse. Former McGregor Sock Factory (Stantec Offices) Toronto, ON. Source: TRACE
Sustainable Conservation Project Guidelines for Wood and Wood Products
| Recommended | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Disassembling wood clad surfaces, where possible, to access cavities that can accommodate sustainability upgrades in a fully reversible manner and with minimum impact to the wood clad surfaces and adjacent surfaces. |
| 2 | Applying protective coatings that are compatible with a material and contain no toxins. |
| 3 | Treating localized degradation rather than replacing entire assembly. |
| 4 | Using wood products that contain no toxins in their composition. |
Related Inherently Sustainable Elements
Sustainability Challenges
Sustainability challenges for wood and wood products include:
- Unsustainability of the natural resource when extraction is not managed;
- Presence of toxic substances in some protective coatings applied to wood;
- Presence of toxic substances in some manufactured wood products such as resins and adhesives;
- Potential exhaustion of local wood sources.
Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada Sustainability Considerations (Page 221)
| Recommended | |
|---|---|
| 22 | Selecting replacement materials for character-defining old-growth, exotic, or otherwise unavailable wood, based on their physical and visual characteristics. |