The potential for cascading wood from demolished buildings: The condition of recovered wood through a case study in Finland

Abstract

The aim of this study was to understand the current situation of wooden C&DW in Finland through a survey conducted on the demolition of a case study building. The results revealed that the extent of damage to the recovered wood is more dependent on the location than on the dimension. The condition of recovered wood from an integrated unit part (e.g. exterior wall panel) tended to be worse due to the attachment of other materials (e.g. insulation, plastic sheet), while recovered wood in better condition could be obtained from independent parts (e.g. roof truss, exterior cladding). These results would indicate that the cascading potential for recovered wood should be discussed in terms of both cross-section and location. In particular, the wood used as exterior cladding seems to have good potential for cascading and this could help extend the target for cascading wood from purely wooden building to other buildings.