Six facts about Accoya
Six Facts About Accoya® Wood
The Building Research Establishment (BRE) has found that Accoya® wood has an impressive life expectancy of 60 years when used in external applications.
When tested against other naturally durable and preservative treated timbers over an extended time period, Accoya® wood came out top of the table, proving it has the highest possible durability classification – a key performance indicator when selecting a wood.
Accoya® is good for applications where the wood will come into contact with water. When modifying Accoya®, the process changes the free hydroxyl groups into acetyl groups, reducing the ability of the material to absorb water by 80%. This significantly improves the stability of the wood.
The change in cell structure also means fungi and insects do not recognise Accoya® as wood, therefore fungi will not attack it and insects will not be able to digest it. This further cements Accoya®’s reputation as a suitable specialist wood.
Accoya® is perfect for outdoor applications such as doors and window frames which will be exposed to weathering. It is also a good choice for garden decking, garden buildings, facades, boat decks and cladding.
Accoya® is produced sustainably meaning its carbon footprint is lower than that of popular alternatives. In fact, it is carbon negative over the full lifecycle of the material.
With this in mind, Accoya® is a popular choice to replace high performance materials such as tropical hardwoods and aluminium which may not live up to its competitive green credentials.