ABSTRACT
Residential construction accounted for 57% of all wood products consumed in the United States in 2003 [1-5]. Growing concerns over sustainable construction mean
that wood products will likely continue to dominate the proportion of non-wood products used in residential construction. Wood is the world’s most sustainable resource. It is renewable and environmentally friendly. In a study on environmental performance of renewable building materials in the context of residential construction, Perez-Garcia et al. [6] found that above-grade wood wall subassemblies had superior environmental performance indexes compared with those of steel or concrete wall subassemblies. However, wood is susceptible to degradation caused by moisture, ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun, or wood-colonizing microorganisms, including wood-decay fungi and mold, which can severely limit the service life of wood products in residential construction. To prolong the service life of wood products in residential construction, the durability of wood to the degradative effects of moisture, UV radiation, or wood-colonizing microorganisms needs to be improved.
