Wood as a building material in the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic

In order to start a debate on the future of wood as a building material and the revision of Czech building fire safety regulations, an expert seminar with the Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Sikela, representatives of academia, the banking sector, developers, the Czech Agency for Standardization and the Finnish Embassy was organized on 10 January 2023 in the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic.

The seminar was held under the auspices of the Chair of the Committee on the Environment Jana Krutáková and MPs Tomáš Dubský, Josef Fleek and Lukáš Vlček.

Most of the building materials currently used are made from non-renewable resources and their production is highly energy intensive, wood grows and consumes carbon dioxide, contributing to slowing down the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Wood from well-managed forests is a renewable raw material and its use is environmentally friendly. The problem is, among other things, fire safety regulations, which are much stricter in this country than in the countries mentioned.

Representatives of the Timber Research Institute were also invited to the event. Director Beránková actively commented on some points in the discussion.

More about the event, presentations and audio recording can be found here on the website of the Chamber of Deputies.

For Wood Fair – How to (not) drown a wooden building?

On 9-11 February, the FOR WOOD 2023 trade fair will be held at the PVA EXPO Praha in Letňany. The 15th Wooden Buildings, Structures and Materials Fair will take place simultaneously with the FOR PASIV, FOR THERM and ROOFINGS PRAHA fairs.

The Timber Research Institute will be represented by our experts in the accompanying programme. On Thursday and Friday, they will share their experience from the supervision, inspection and diagnostic measurements of wooden buildings. Come not only to listen to the lectures, but you can also consult with them about your individual needs.

Terms:

Thursday 9.2.2023, 2:30-3pm.

Ing. Václav Motejzík, Head of the Department of Timber Buildings of the Timber Research Institute “How (not) to drown a modern wooden building” What and when should be kept in mind when designing and realizing the installation of a wooden building in the ground? Let’s take a look at the dangers of drowning and flooding of timber buildings based on the expert opinions of the Institute of Timber Construction. And above all, let’s learn from the mistakes of others!

Friday 10.2.2023, 10:30-11:30am.

Ing. Jiří Brich, technician of the Timber Research Institute “What should be observed when inspecting the construction of a wooden building?” Construction is a process that can be set up as a system with operational deviations, as a set of rules for key areas or as a set of steps with a high degree of improvisation. How can the construction process be controlled and what to look for?

More on the organizer’s website: https://for-wood.cz

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

The tree grows stronger with each annual ring.

We wish you the same – health, peace, well-being and stability in 2023.

Thank you for your cooperation and partnership this year.

Timber Research Institute team

Veleton.cz, Building Fair Online 2023 advises builders in challenging times

For the fourth time, the largest online construction trade fair at www.veleton.cz will take place on 28-29 January 2023. On the digital platform, experts from building material manufacturers, technology, installation and construction companies will connect with those interested in building, housing, renovation and heating.

The Timber Institute has become an expert partner of the event and will provide independent advice to visitors of the fair.

Participation in the event is free for interested parties and builders. After registering at www.veleton.cz/register , they will receive an access code to enter the platform during the fair. They can then connect from the comfort and safety of their home from a computer or mobile phone.

At the online event, interested parties can watch dozens of live lectures, consult with specialists, directly discuss their needs and problems in this challenging time, and also compete for interesting prizes from the exhibitors.

Facts and figures from the previous event are supplemented by Ing. Ivana Duchoňová, director of the fair: “A year ago, over 12,000 visitors showed interest in the online fair, more than 10,000 of them signed up for the live lectures, during which the exhibitors gave them competitive prizes worth over CZK 300,000.”
Ing. Petr Novák, co-founder of the fair, comments: “Based on hard data from the three completed rounds, we concluded that our online fair created a valuable space for the needs of investors and suppliers, manufacturers in the construction industry. The fact that one visitor spent an average of 2 hours and 38 minutes in his free time at the event can also be evidence.”

Visitors will get a lot of useful information at the fair.

Expert advice is also provided by the fair’s partners – the Association of Prefab House Suppliers, the Passive House Center, the Timber Research and Development Institute, the Guild of Stove Makers, the Guild of Heaters and Plumbers, the Czech Peleta Cluster, the Association of Entrepreneurs in Shading Technology, the Czech Chamber of Light Exterior Walls, the Guild of Mechanical Locking Systems , Guild of tinsmiths, roofers and carpenters.

More on the organizer’s website: www.veleton.cz

Invitation to the WOOD CAMP LIVE lectures

On 3-4 November 2022, a two-day professional seminar WOOD CAMP LIVE held by ADMD will take place at the OREA Congress Hotel Brno. Discover the opportunities of digitalization, the potential of robotic production and learn how to create buildings that even nature loves. Lectures and workshops led by sought-after experts on the topics of design and implementation of wooden buildings will be held in parallel in the individual halls of Vision, Design and Implementation.

On Friday, 4 November at 10:20 a.m. there will be a lecture of the Timber Institute on the topic “Testing of floor compositions against leakage” with the possibilities of the new testing equipment RotaFloor, which will be presented by the director Jitka Beránková and the head of the department of wooden buildings Václav Motejzík.

More about the event and registration on the organizer’s website: www.woodcamp.cz.

RotaFloor – new options for testing floors and tiles with certification

The Timber Institute has developed and put into operation new testing equipment that brings the possibility of testing not only traditional wood-based materials, but especially tiles, whether ceramic, concrete, terrazzo or large-format parts.

However, this area is not as remote from the scope of the Timber Institute as it might seem at first glance. One of the main sources of problems in modern wooden buildings is the waterproofing of bathrooms and other spaces, which are traditionally equipped with ceramic or similar tiles. Knowing the properties and resistance of these surfaces should also lead to new research tasks in this field in the future.

The device is unique primarily because it was developed in the Czech Republic on the basis of available and standardized information, in close cooperation with the Silicate Association and its leading expert, Dr. Eduard Justa, the companies WOODEXPERT s.r.o. and GIS Engineering. There are only units of similar devices in Europe.

RotaFloor, as the Timber Institute’s test facility was named, allows for accredited tests of pavements and other floor constructions according to several foreign standards.

The principle of testing is the movement of specific wheels loaded with standardized forces on the floor surface. As part of the development, it was necessary to solve the issues of exact load, speed regulation or converting the requirements of the American standard into the metric system.

Today, the facility is in full operation, has successfully passed the accreditation process and is used, among other things, for the preparation of planned research on the long-term waterproofing of bathroom floors in wooden buildings.

Contact: M. Polášek, polasek (@) vvud.cz

Authorisation for prefabricated wood-concrete structures

The Office for Technical Standardization, Metrology and State Testing has issued a decision on the extension of the authorization of the Timber Institute to the product group 3/8 Elements for jointed wood-concrete structures. The auditors of the Timber Institute will carry out conformity assessment of the products specified under Article 12(1) of the Act by Government Regulation No. 163/2002 Coll., defining technical requirements for selected construction products.

Invitation to the conference Wooden Buildings in Practice

We invite you to the traditional conference Wooden Buildings in Practice, which is intended for the professional public and those interested in the construction of wooden buildings. Two dates have been prepared for this year: September 8, 2022 at the Primavera Hotel in Pilsen and September 15 at the Santon Hotel in Brno. The professional program will take place from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., then the social part will follow.
The program includes workshops, examples from practice, professional lectures and technical support from experts.

Patronage is also held by the Timber Research Institute.

Details and registration can be found on the organizer’s website: www.drevostavbyvpraxi.cz

The path to the perfect timber building at For Arch Fair 2022

Technicians of the Timber Institute will once again lecture on the possibilities, certification and method of construction of wooden buildings at the 33rd International Building Fair For Arch, which will be held from 20 to 24 September 2022.

On Tuesday, 20 September at 1 p.m. Ing. Jiří Brich will give a lecture on How to control the quality of construction of wooden buildings? Construction is a process that can be set up as a system with operational deviations, as a set of rules for key areas or as a set of steps with a high degree of improvisation. How can the construction process be controlled and what to look for?

A Look at the Path to the Perfect Wooden Building will be presented on Wednesday, 21 September at 14.00 by Ing. Václav Motejzík. The technicians of the Timber Research Institute visit around 300 wooden buildings a year. They have already encountered many mistakes when diagnosing buildings and searching for “mysterious” causes of defects and failures. In their work, they have long tried to promote the quality of wooden buildings and to increase the knowledge of builders, installers, designers and investors.

Both lectures will take place in Entrance Hall II, Conference Centre, Hall 2.

For more information, visit https://forarch.cz/

Partner of the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Science´s Woodworking Day

The Woodworking Day organised by the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague will take place on 21 September 2022 from 10 a.m. The Timber Research Institute has become a partner of this event, which connects the academic and business spheres.

The demands on industry, research and education are changing and accelerating rapidly. Companies from different areas of the woodworking industry can present at the meeting and also speak and shape the requirements for future graduates.

The detailed programme is still to be specified.

Are you interested in presenting your company, shaping requirements for engineers, reaching out to students? Contact hajkovakaterina@fld.czu.cz no later than 9/9/2022.