In home renovations, the production of wooden planks constitutes a significant portion, making the selection of wooden planks particularly crucial. Choosing high-quality wooden planks greatly impacts the quality of home renovations. Therefore, when purchasing wooden planks, one should carefully select and prioritize quality.

The moisture content of wooden blocks should be between 8% to 12% for normal usage to avoid cracking and warping. Typically, the moisture content of wooden blocks is related to their drying method. Steam drying is effective, and specialized instruments can also be used for detection. In addition, there are some simple and practical methods:

1. Hand Feel Weight Method: You can feel the weight of the wooden planks with your hands. Those with higher moisture content will definitely feel heavier.

2. Palpation Method: Place your hand on the wooden plank and feel its humidity level.

3. The Nail Test: Attempt to hammer a long nail into a wooden plank. If it's easy to drive in, the plank is relatively dry; otherwise, it indicates a higher moisture content.

4. Shake Test: Gently shake a finished wooden block from one end. If it's of poor quality, it typically tends to split in half from the middle.

5. Eye Test: Count the total number of knots along a single wooden plank. If any knots appear black, they are unacceptable as they are prone to breakage during installation.

Quality Factor

Pest Control

Wood planks are often affected by pests during storage, transportation, and use. Their archenemies include termites, longhorn beetles, and weevils. Improper protection of wood planks can lead to damage by these pests, thereby affecting the quality of the engineering wood planks.

For outdoor use, it is recommended to soak wooden planks in a preservative solution to allow the preservative to penetrate the wood fibers, turning the wood green from the inside out, thus preventing corrosion and insect attacks.

Crack

Wood cracks, commonly referred to as splitting, occur when fibers within the wood develop fractures, which can lower the grading of the lumber.

If the wooden planks crack after purchase, you can mix some wood shavings with 520 glue and stir them together, then apply the mixture to the cracked area.

Decay

Under certain conditions, lumber can be attacked by wood-rotting fungi and bacteria, which can cause changes in the color and structure of the wood, making it soft and brittle. This often results in a porous, powdery, or spongy appearance. This is indicative of lumber decay.

Color Change

The discoloration of wood planks is primarily caused by two factors: chemical discoloration and fungal discoloration. Chemical discoloration occurs due to the interaction between the wood planks and chemical products, resulting in the change of color. Fungal discoloration, on the other hand, is caused by the invasion of fungal organisms into the wood planks.

Deformation

The warping of wooden planks is primarily caused by bowing and twisting deformations during the processing, drying, and storage stages, which can have an impact on quality.