Frequently asked questions

Who represent FEIM?

The Federation of Wood Industries of Spain-FEIM, represents the industries of second processing of timber. This renewable resource is use in building, windows, doors, parquet, palets and packaging…

What does FEIM to their members?

Represent, defend and promote the economic, social and labours interest of companies that make up the Associations, without lose their own identity, but removing duplication and exploiting synergies, as a consulting body and a continuous collaboration with the Public Administration.

Why I should choose Wood?

• Wood is the most suitable and sustainable material to construction, carpentry and packaging, because is a renewable resource that if is sustainable management could satisfy ours actual needs for ever. Literally woods grow from trees.
• Most of the wood use in Spain comes from forest well management or certified. To avoid non certified and unsafe wood there are some certified that inform us about the sustainable origin. The most well-know organisms are PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council).
• Wood is the best material that fights Climatic Change.  Approximately each m³ of wood take from the atmosphere 1 CO₂ ton, that keep the product. That amount of  CO₂ could be store for centuries
• Wood is an ecological material that during the manufacturer process needs less energy. Approximately to manufacturer 1 kilo of wood, consume 1 kilojoule, however to produce 1 kilo of steel, consume 42 kilojoules

Use wood products involve deforestation?

Use certificated wood products, never involver deforestation, but the contrary. Sustainable Forest Management encourages a better conservation and a growth extension.

In fact, in the 3^th National Forest Inventory, inform that Spanish forest extension has been increased more than 400.000 hectares in the last 20 years.

What is Sustainable Forest Management?

Sustainable Forest Management according to the Ministerial conference about the protection of European Forest, is the stewardship and use of forests and forest lands in a way, and at a rate, that maintains their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration capacity, vitality and their potential to fulfil, now and in the future, relevant ecological, economic and social functions, at local, national, and global levels, and that does not cause damage to other ecosystems.

What is Chain of Custody?

Chain of Custody Certificated is a mechanism to verify that the wood use in the manufactured process, from the forest to the final product, comes from sustainably managed forests.

Wood Products fulfill with the CE mark?

With the come in effect of the new Technical Code of Building, that govern the modus operandi in the installation of wood products in the public building, and the requirement, in the constructive as technical, wood products are in a privilege position against other products; due to wood is the best thermal and acoustic insulator.  

Are wood products less resistance against fire than others?

One of the main factors that have produced the reject of wood structures in Spain has been the wrong idea that wood products have a little resistance against fire.

The resistance against fire, references is made to the time that a structural part stands its own weight before collapse. In this aspect, wooden structures have   much better performance against fire than other material 

Wood has a good performance again fire due to the thermal conductivity is quite low. After the first combustion moment, in the surface, appear external burnt layer which protect the internal layers.

Finally, inside the wood structure remind the wood without any effect. That performance and also the fact that wood has more resistance when loss moisture, made that wood structure resists a lot before collapse.

Comparison with others materials

Mechanical properties of timber products come from the anisotropic structure, such as the perpendicular and parallel direction to the fibre. In this characteristic lay the main behaviour difference face up to other materials as steel and concrete.

The resistance and the elasticity unit in the parallel direction to the fibre are much higher than in the perpendicular direction.

To know better the structural possibilities of the wood products is obliged to analyze the mechanical characteristic to compare with the other materials.

In the next table, there is a comparison of the average valuesof the admissible tension properties of wood, steel and concrete

Comparison table of the admissible tension in kp/cm² of wood, steel and concrete

In conclussion

a)   Wood present a high flexion resistance (resistance /weight is 1.3 higher than steel and 10 times higher than concrete.)

b)   Good capacity to the traction and compression resistance parallel to the fibre

c)    Low sharp resistance. This limitation is also in concrete but not in the steel.

d)    Very low perpendicular compression and traction resistance to the fibre, above all in traction; this characteristic is really particular against other materials. 

e)   Low elasticity unit, half than the concrete and twenty times lower than steel.