Welsh 'Brettstapel' - a brief

history
In the discussions concerning the manufacture of 'Brettstapel' panels from home
grown Sitka spruce, at first WKW's Dainis Dauksta saw a challenge in sourcing this
timber dried to the specified moisture content of well below 20 percent.

Major sawmillers normally kiln dry Sitka spruce to a mean value of 20 percent MC.
Below this threshold distortion problems arise, as Forest Research found during their
strategic research program on Sitka spruce.

Dainis reports, "I was fairly dismissive of the idea that we could use kiln dried Sitka
spruce sourced from a major sawmiller to produce Brettstapel according to the very
high specifications we were originally given. Larch was being considered as an
alternative because large volumes were available due to Phtyophthora ramorum
sanitation fellings. However, reports from Napier University suggested larch could be
almost as problematical as spruce when drying below 18 percent MC.

I joined a meeting in June 2011 acting as WKW's new consultant to meet the players
involved in the project to supply Welsh Brettstapel panels for the Coed y Brenin
Visitor Centre at Dolgellau and was asked to progress the prototyping of Brettstapel
panels for the project.

I produced the first UK made Brettstapel panels by autumn 2011 and a spruce panel
was exhibited on Napier University's stand at the 'Timber Expo' exhibition in Coventry.

Although I had some success using spruce which had been dried to 18 percent MC
in my original Brettstapel panels, I was promoting Douglas or Grand fir because of
their low volumetric shrinkage and stability when drying below 18 per MC. I had
dried spruce, larch and Douglas fir down to around 14 percent and Douglas fir by far

outperformed the other species in respect to distortion. Actually some of the

Douglas fir boards were extremely wide but nevertheless dried with few defects.

Following concerns over the project in early 2012, Woodknowledge Wales was
asked to assist in a consultancy/advisory capacity. Out task was to work out the
critical path of timber procurement, Brettstapel production and erection in order to
minimise risk to a project in which WKW and Forestry Commission Wales had by now
invested so much energy.

We outlined the challenges faced in procuring timber for/and producing Brettstapel

and then described methods to get best results from home-grown timber because
at this juncture the main contractor was suggesting the easier option of using
imported panels.

Meanwhile I made the larch Brettstapel 'altar' for the 2012 RWAS show which was
really well received by FC Wales.

Williams Homes of Bala were appointed subcontractors for the Coed y Brenin project
but timber procurement had not been sorted out at this juncture and Williams were
having difficulty getting the timber they needed from their preferred supplier
Pontrilas Timber Ltd.

We worked with Pontrilas Timber to get the best specifications achievable. Using
process details worked out during our prototyping 12 months earlier, we liaised with
Williams Homes to help their own process design.

Pontrilas Timber kiln dried a special mixed batch of Sitka spruce and Douglas fir (with
a larger proportion of Sitka spruce) at a price approaching that of normal Sitka
spruce batches. The timber was carefully kilned to around 15 percent MC in a kiln
usually reserved for drying hardwoods and using a special Swedish drying schedule.
The process was even more successful than expected and the timber delivered to
Williams in October 2012 machined well - with excellent results from both timbers.

The first British Brettstapel panels arrived on site at Dolgellau on time and their quality
and fit will help to make this new extension to the visitor centre a tribute to the use of
locally grown timber in construction - a landmark for the Welsh timber sector.

As a result, WKW's experience has been recognised by BRE England and Architype
London who have requested our help in designing the Brettstapel procurement
process for the University of East Anglia/ Incrops project."

More details:

Dainis Dauksta, Woodknowledge Wales e-mail:

dainis.dauksta@woodknowledgewales.co.uk