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Abstract

The latest revision of Australian Standard 5604 on natural durability includes marine borer resistance ratings for many of its listed timbers. This paper describes the trials and reasoning behind the development of the marine borer resistance classes. Fundamental to this work was a small specimen test of 25 untreated hardwood timbers exposed at three marine sites:

Port Stephens in NSW

The Victorian sites of Williamstown and Geelong Williamstown had greater marine borer hazard than Geelong, perhaps due to its calmer waters. The most durable species in the trial were turpentine (Syncarpia glomulifera), iroko (Chlorophora excelsa), grey gum (Eucalyptus propinqua), brush box (Lophostemon confertus), red ironbark (E. sideroxylon), New England blackbutt (E. andrewsii), white mahogany (E. acmenoides) and river red gum (E. camaldulensis). Pinus radiata treated to 2.4% m/m CCA was the best performing timber. Information for additional timbers was obtained from an earlier aquaria trial, and trials conducted in Sydney Harbour some 40 years to 70 years ago. Comparison with known service lives for untreated marine piles in Victoria allowed the natural durability classes also to predict possible service lives for timbers previously not used as marine piles in the southern waters of Australia.

Keywords

MARINE BORERS NATURAL DURABILITY LIMNORIA TEREDINIDS SPHAEROMA AQUARIA HARDWOODS STANDARDS

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Development of Marine Borer Natural Durability Classes for Timber in Australia

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