Product category:
Timber Buildings and Timber Products
News Release from: Finnforest UK | Subject: Kerto S engineered timber product
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 10 April 2008
Kerto help build dummy sails for
windmill
Finnforest has provided its strong and flexible Kerto S engineered timber product to enable the restoration of Reigate's Wray Common Windmill to be completed.
Kerto S has been employed to build the dummy sails for the windmill, which span sixty feet across and remain locked in the St Andrews cross
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 21 Aug 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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Kerto S laminated veneer timber was specified for its strength, lightness and durability.
These qualities will drastically reduce the amount of maintenance required on the sails compared to any other possible material, as well as ensuring the sails are resistant to the high wind forces exerted on them.
The windmill, originally built in 1824, remained fully operational for around 70 years.
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After an accident in 1895, the mill ceased to function, and passed through various functions until it eventually was vacated and became almost derelict in 1996.
In 2004, local restaurateur Paul Baker purchased the property, and began the pain-staking process of restoring the building.
The installation of the new sails marks the completion of this challenging three-year project.
"I chose Kerto for a couple of reasons," comments Designer and Project Manager David Bentley-Tate.
"Firstly, the initial team that I dealt with were so helpful and enthusiastic that I didn't feel the need to look at any of the competition; as a restoration project, the discounted price offered made the project realistic".
"Secondly, the product itself meant that long term maintenance would be far less of an issue to future owners of the Mill".
"Half the weight and twice or more in strength was a major selling point against a traditionally constructed, solid timber replica set of sweeps".
"The risk of imperfections found in softwood beams of the size we required would invariably mean an ongoing programme of regular rotation, thus rendering the sails useless".
"High gusting winds have also caused failure and fractures of solid construction".
"The recent high winds have had no effect on ours because of the large degree of flexibility afforded by Kerto".
"In addition, far more noise and vibration would travel down the wind-shaft had the sweeps been heavier and more rigid".
"Kerto has limited this factor to a minor occasional squeak".
Kerto S is produced from 3mm thick, rotary peeled softwood veneers, glued together using a WBP-type glue to form a continuous 2.4 metre wide billet, with thickness ranging from 27 to 90mm and maximum length of 26 metres.
The billet is then hot pressed and cut to size to make beams, planks, posts or panels, which are then used as such or processed into a variety of products.
This process greatly reduces problems that naturally occur as solid sawn lumber dries, such as twisting, splitting, checking and warping.
Kerto also possesses excellent bending resistance, tension and compression properties, and has more load-carrying capacity than most traditional wooden materials".
"Kerto's selection for use in the Wray Common Windmill project is a testament to the product's adaptability and practicality," comments Head of Building Systems for Finnforest, Kevin Riley.
"The restoration needed a material that could offer excellent performance in terms of weight, durability and strength, and Kerto proved to be ideal".
"The restoration was an extremely challenging architectural project, and Kerto has played an extremely important role in it.".
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