Wood

Wood – the building material of nature

KAPO has been working with wood since 1927. This explains why our understanding of this extraordinary material goes far beyond that of mere wood-working. Every single one of our carpenters is in tune with the soul of wood. For our customers, this means perfect manufacturing quality - an advantage that transcends the aesthetic aspect of our windows and doors and influences their durability.

What so often is called ‘simply’ wood is actually a complex composite of very diverse and specialised cells and cell structures. Wood is composed of cellulose (40 – 50%), hemicellulose (25 – 40%) and lignin (20 – 30%). In addition, and depending on the type of wood, it contains a variety of resins, waxes, fats, oils, starch, sugar, minerals, tannins, colorants and alkaloids.

Wood - the building material

Whether used in houses, bridges or roof structures, wood displays its versatility and bearing capacity in all types of construction. The pillars on which Venice stands, elegant wooden racing yachts or century-old farmhouses are all proof of how timeless wood constructions can be. Only recently, the world’s oldest living tree, estimated to be around 9,500 years old, was discovered in Sweden.

As wood is porous, it is not a good conductor of heat and we can therefore take advantage of its insulation properties.

Depending on the direction of its fibres, wood can conduct sound either exceptionally well or very badly, which means that it can be used both in noise protection and in the manufacturing of musical instruments.

It may sound astonishing, but wood also has excellent fire protection properties. This stems from the fact that the outer, carbonised layer of burning wood acts as an insulator and wood thus maintains its load bearing capacity over an extended period.

Wood and ecology

Well, it is obvious: from an ecological point of view, a natural renewable raw material is hard to beat – there is no need to calculate a complex eco-balance to understand this. However, here in Styria, some additional arguments in favour of wood come to mind: As far as possible, we obtain our wood from within the region. This reduces transport distances and we contribute to maintaining existing agricultural structures. An other aspect is that our local forests have long since ceased to be monocultures and now comprise a variety of bio-diverse habitats that are used to advantage in a sustainable way. Our approach, of course, not only applies to wood alone but to all our company processes equally.

Living with wood

Wood is not only a well-appreciated building material due to its technical properties but it also enhances a feeling of comfort and well-being; the two main reasons being that people not only like too see, smell and feel wood, but also because it has actual building-biological properties. As wood is a bad conductor of heat, it radiates no heat in summer, nor does it feel cold in winter, which means that it is always pleasing to the touch, and with its ability to regulate humidity, it contributes to the cosy atmosphere of a room.