• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.81-90
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• 2012

Improvements in the quality of life have resulted in a heightened awareness of safety and the environment. As a result, timber as an environmentally friendly material, is used for landscape facilities and a wide range of purposes. But there are a large number of defects since there are twists and cracks that can be found in wooden landscape facilities. This has led to the use of imported hardwood instead of the Western Hemlock which has been in widespread use. Hardwood is expensive. However, it is being used without any information or research on how much it reduces the actual defects. Construction contractors are in great need of information on the characteristics and defect rates of different types of timber. This study investigated and analyzed the cracks in four types of timber - namely the Western Hemlock, Burckella, Nyatoh and Malas - in order to provide basic information to construction contractor for them to be able to select and use the appropriate type of timber. The main results of this study are as follows. First, the Western Hemlock had 1.90 $cracks/m^2$, Malas had 0.83 $cracks/m^2$, Burckella had 0.14 $cracks/m^2$, and the Nyatoh had the least number of surface defects at 0.04 $cracks/m^2$. Second, while Malas has the highest degree of strength timber, Nyatoh had the smallest defect rate. This showed that having high timber strength does not necessarily mean it has less defects. Third, the Western Hemlock was the least expensive and Burckella was the most expensive. However, considering the cost of repairing defects, it would be economically advantageous to use Burckella and Nyatoh which have low defect rates. This study aimed to provide basic information to landscape construction contractors for them to be able to select and use the appropriate type of timber when constructing wooden outdoor rest furniture. The results are expected to contribute to quality enhancements and defect reduction in landscape facilities.