prehistory
Hafted tools
Wood as the first structural composite.
Milestones in order. This is history, not a weekly activity grid.
- Hafted tools
- Timber frames
- Balloon frame
- Glulam patents
- Plywood aircraft
- CLT Austria
- Tall wood codes
- Acetylated / thermally modified
- Embodied-carbon argument
- Mass-timber fire tests
Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.
Strength54
Heat resistance32
Fire performance34
Insulation56
Workability88
Circularity76
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Last reviewed Sources & creditsMedia creditsMethodology
Quick answers
Is Wood non-combustible?
Declared reaction class in this atlas: D–B depending on product / treatment. Assemblies still need resistance tests.
Does Wood insulate?
Thermal mark 56/100 versus the atlas. Conductivity note: ~0.1–0.2 W/m·K along vs across grain.
What is the density band?
0.3–0.8 g/cm³ typical
How is it made?
Origin story: Palaeolithic tools; CLT 1990s Austria (Global forests / Graz).
Can it be recycled?
Circularity mark 76/100 — editorial, route-specific.
Typical melting or failure heat?
chars ~200–300 °C; does not melt
heat 32 · fire 34
Wood did not arrive as a finished commodity. Palaeolithic tools; CLT 1990s Austria around Global forests / Graz still explains who makes it and which tests it sits in.
Ten dated points, five eras and three milestones below are the spine — not a complete industrial history.
Where it began
Palaeolithic tools; CLT 1990s AustriaGlobal forests / Graz
Timeline
prehistoryHafted tools
Wood as the first structural composite.
medievalTimber frames
Oak frames and Japanese joinery traditions.
1830sBalloon frame
Cheap nails + pine remade North American housing.
1906Glulam patents
Weimar halls — laminated timber.
1930sPlywood aircraft
Mosquito and Hughes — wood as aero.
1990sCLT Austria
Cross-laminated timber for walls and floors.
2010sTall wood codes
18-storey pilots (Vancouver, Norway, etc.).
2010sAcetylated / thermally modified
Dimensional stability without CCA-era toxics.
2020sEmbodied-carbon argument
Wood vs concrete as climate politics.
2020sMass-timber fire tests
Char rates entered mainstream engineering.
The eras
1830s
Balloon frame
Cheap nails + pine remade North American housing.
1930s
Plywood aircraft
Mosquito and Hughes — wood as aero.
2010s
Tall wood codes
18-storey pilots (Vancouver, Norway, etc.).
2020s
Embodied-carbon argument
Wood vs concrete as climate politics.
Milestones
Glulam patents
1906Weimar halls — laminated timber.
Tall wood codes
2010s18-storey pilots (Vancouver, Norway, etc.).
Mass-timber fire tests
2020sChar rates entered mainstream engineering.
Knowing this timeline is how to read a mill certificate without treating Wood as timeless.
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