Wood has different kinds of strengths that are relevant when manufacturing any product made of lumber.

These differences should be considered by homeowners when purchasing wooden window or door units, especially as BC's West Coast is such a wet and highly variable environment.

Each type of wood possesses strengths that are measured based on relative conditions. Some varieties of wood may not be as tempered as a hardwood, but their tensile strength is still quite high. The general assessment of a wood's strength can be derived from its' particular gravity, or density.

To arrive at an accurate and concrete evaluation of the relative properties of wood, engineers run tests based on four factors: the stiffness of a wood, its' ability to bend, its' compressive strength, and its' hardness. These are the salient technical aspects of a wood that are taken into account by industry professionals when recommending a type of lumber for a homeowner.

WHICH GLUE IS THE STRONGEST?

The chart below shows the glues ranked by the average force it took to break their joints. To give a guide to each glue's relative performance, its average joint strength is shown as a percentage of that of the strongest glue. We rated Type I PVA as the best overall, with interior yellow glue (PVA) as the best value.