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Building material
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=== Wood and timber === [[File:Wood-framed house.jpg|thumb|A wood-framed house under construction in Texas, United States]] [[File:Maszt 01.JPG|thumb|left|upright|The [[Gliwice Radio Tower]] (the second tallest wooden structure in the world) in [[Poland]] (2012).]] [[Wood]] has been used as a building material for thousands of years in its natural state. Today, [[engineered wood]] is becoming very common in industrialized countries. Wood is a product of [[tree]]s, and sometimes other [[natural fiber|fibrous]] plants, used for construction purposes when cut or pressed into lumber and timber, such as boards, planks and similar materials. It is a generic building material and is used in building just about any type of structure in most climates. Wood can be very flexible under loads, keeping strength while bending, and is incredibly strong when compressed vertically. There are many differing qualities to the different types of wood, even among same tree species. This means specific species are better suited for various uses than others. And [[forest management|growing conditions]] are important for deciding quality. "Timber" is the term used for construction purposes except the term "lumber" is used in the United States. Raw wood (a log, trunk, bole) becomes timber when the wood has been "converted" (sawn, hewn, split) in the forms of [[Log cabin|minimally-processed logs stacked on top of each other]], [[timber frame]] construction, and [[Framing (construction)|light-frame construction]]. The main problems with timber structures are [[fire risk]] and moisture-related problems.{{citation needed|date=December 2012}} In modern times [[softwood]] is used as a lower-value bulk material, whereas [[hardwood]] is usually used for finishings and furniture. Historically timber frame structures were built with oak in western Europe, recently [[douglas fir]] has become the most popular wood for most types of structural building. Many families or communities, in rural areas, have a personal [[woodlot]] from which the family or community will grow and harvest trees to build with or sell. These lots are tended to like a garden. This was much more prevalent in pre-industrial times, when laws existed as to the amount of wood one could cut at any one time to ensure there would be a supply of timber for the future, but is still a viable form of agriculture.
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