27 Jul
How to harden a softwood
This interesting article in The Economist talks about two companies (one in Norway, the other in the Netherlands) who have created processes that harden softwoods so that they don’t rot and aren’t susceptible to bugs.
I know bamboo is a sustainable wood product that has been used for hardwood floors. It’s even been used to make fabric and cloth. But treating softwoods to take on the properties of hardwoods is a new and potentially valuable technique. Softwood trees account for the vast majority (80%) of the world’s timber. Making that timber into durable building products goes a long way towards sustainable development.