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FAQs

Wood as building material

No other building material showcases the beauty of nature, radiates warmth and adds value like wood. Wood from sustainably managed forests is renewable, environment-friendly and ideal for designing and building.

  • Wood is a completely renewable resource, grown by the sun that can last for generations.
  • Improves indoor air quality and acoustic performance of a space.
  • Highly versatile, enabling users to maintain traditional looks or create modern sleek designs.
  • Wood mitigates the effects of climate change by absorbing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in its cells for life.
  • Life cycle analysis and scientific studies have shown that using a renewable resource such as wood from a sustainable source helps the environment over a long period when compared to other material, and also when compared to wood that is not sourced from sustainably managed forests.
  • For detailed information click here.

When wood is procured as logs, what follows is a cumbersome process of selecting high-quality logs, custom sawing into slices, drying, re-sawing and laminating to fashion components for an array of products. Correct treatment and handling of logs requires expertise and equipment that adds to the cost.

To reduce the long drawn process of producing suitable raw material, sawn lumber from British Columbia, Canada is the answer. Canadian Wood is available as sawn lumber in standard sizes and grades assuring consistency every single time. It is seasoned and graded to suit the needs of the manufacturer.

Click here to know more.

Due to lack of technology and trained personnel, many local sawmills are unable to provide reliable sawn lumber. Poor sizing and quality, along with inconsistent seasoning and grading of the wood, are also the reasons behind the increased percentage of sawn lumber imports.

With imported Canadian wood, users can specify their required grade, size and moisture content depending on intended end-use.

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Kiln-Dried (KD) lumber is wood that has gone through a carefully monitored drying process. During this procedure, the temperature and humidity are controlled in order to eliminate moisture from the wood.

The benefits of properly kiln-dried lumber are:

  • Improved stability.
  • Decreased shrinkage.
  • Less vulnerable to insects and rot.
  • Easier to work with.
  • Easier to finish.
  • A must for gluing or coating.

Heat treated (HT) lumber is specifically heated to a much higher temperature, not for the purpose of drying but for killing any insects or pathogens that may be present in the wood. This lumber gets a special stamp and can be exported.

Wood from British Columbia (B.C.), Canada is kiln-dried and heat treated to suit the manufacturers’ end-uses.

Explore here to see how KD-HT wood can be used in interior, outdoor and structural applications.

The distinction between hardwood and softwood is that the former is deciduous (broad-leafed) and latter are coniferous (evergreen). The word 'softwood' does not literally mean 'soft' or 'inferior'.

Softwoods are structurally less complex than hardwoods. The wood fibres are much longer ,i.e, 2 to 3 times longer and the wood in general is very easy to level, sand, shape, mortise and stain. Sometimes softwoods can be quite hard and some hardwoods are quite soft. For e.g., Western hemlock actually grows harder with age.

Hardwoods, on the other hand, are more difficult to season (dry) and treat with wood preservatives, given their greater complexity in wood structure. They are also more difficult to work with and much heavier than softwoods.

Use this tool to compare species from B.C., Canada to other commonly used wood species.

Regardless of where a tree grows, most foreign wood species can be used in India. Wood species from B.C., Canada can easily be used in India if proper consideration is given to the mechanical properties, working properties, and durability (resistance to termites and decay).

However, the primary areas that need to be looked into are:

  • The treatment of the wood in terms of handling and manufacturing.
  • Its intended end-use and the ideal species for that application.

Explore resource library to download product fact sheets and case studies of manufacturers successfully using Canadian wood in India.

‘Durability’ refers to the termite and fungal resistance of wood species. Species such as western red cedar and yellow cedar are naturally resistant to termites, decay and rot. This makes them ideal for outdoor uses and projects like pergolas, gazebos, decking, etc. Other species such as western hemlock, Douglas fir and SPF are moderately durable. It is, however, advisable to first treat them with a suitable wood preservative and seal correctly, before using them for exterior applications.

Click here to know more about these species.

Wood, when properly used and maintained, will last for decades. The USP of wood sourced from B.C., Canada is that it comes from sustainably managed forests. These trees are grown as natural forests instead of fast-growing plantations. So a tree is allowed to grow in the forest for a minimum of 80 years before it is harvested. In fact, some species like yellow cedar take 200 years to reach a marketable size. This long term growth provides a very strong and stable high-quality wood fibre.

Procurement & technical assistance

For retail purchase find a stockist closest to you here or fill in the enquiry form available in contact section to import container directly from British Columbia (B.C.), Canada.

Prices vary according to species, sizes and quality grades. Since FII India (market development agency for Canadian Wood) does not undertake any commercial activity, we are indisposed to discuss prices.

For retail purchase find a stockist closest to you here.

If you are a timber trader, importer, wholesaler or solid-wood manufacturer, fill in the enquiry form to import container directly from British Columbia (B.C.), Canada.

FII India’s team of wood experts helps manufacturers, builders, real estate developers, architects and interior designers understand the performance aspects of the species. The team also helps identify the right variety and grade for intended end-use.

Please fill in the enquiry form to provide additional details on the nature of your query.

FII India holds exhibitions, seminars, workshops and networking meets pan India to help designers and sourcing professionals understand Canadian wood’s numerous advantages. If you have missed us at the last show, view the events calendar for the upcoming one.

Alternatively, visit the exclusive audio-visual display centre in Mumbai office. Please fill in the enquiry form available in contact section for booking an appointment for the same.

Green building

British Columbia (B.C) is the world leader in sustainable forest management. Canada is the international leader in forest certification with British Columbia (B.C.) contributing more than any other province. Wood is the only material with third party certification programs in place to verify that products originate from a sustainably managed source. About 95% of B.C.’s forests are publicly owned and priorities for the use of these lands are developed through community-based strategic land and resource management planning.

B.C.’s Forest and Range Practices Act legislates on-the-ground results. It is built on a foundation of professional skills and accountability, and ensures public lands provide a mix of benefits such as timber, recreational opportunities, water quality, wildlife habitat, and countless other values. It also regulates construction, maintenance and deactivation of forest roads. In addition, the independent watchdog for sound forest and range practices in B.C., the Forest Practices Board, watches over all forestry activities on behalf of the public.

The process starts from site preparation, replanting, weeding, stand tending, wildlife conservation, riparian zones protection and protection of stakeholders. As the most biologically and ecologically diverse province in Canada, B.C. takes care to maintain this immense diversity through a coordinated comprehensive strategy to conserve a network of parks and protected areas totalling 14.1 million hectares (34.8 million acres).

For more information on sustainable forest management practices,click here.

British Columbia is a trusted source for wood products obtained from sustainably managed forests that are certified to one of the two independent non-profit global programs endorse forest certification programs developed nationally and regionally in countries around the world: Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). In Canada, there are three third-party certification systems for sustainable forest management: Canadian Standards Association’s Sustainable Forest Management Standard (CSA), FSC and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI). The CSA and SFI standards are recognized by PEFC.

B.C. has 50 million hectares certified to at least one of these two internationally recognized certification programs: 49.4 million hectares (97%) to PEFC and 1.4 million hectares (3%) to FSC.

Customers in India can now use this high-quality, environment-friendly wood from sustainably managed forests. Set up a free one-on-one discussion with our team of wood experts with your project details and fill in our enquiry form.

Using certified wood (PEFC or FSC) from sustainably managed forests of British Columbia (B.C.), Canada will certainly add value to any green building project. Any green rating program such as LEED / ICBC / Griha have their own parameters to award points depending on the project scope. Please consult a green rating expert for definitive figures.

For detailed information on sustainable forestry, certifications and wood miles, click here.

Although B.C. is located far from India and the products must be shipped around the world, they can still be sourced from B.C. without negatively impacting the environment.

An independent study into the impact of importing wood from B.C. to India confirms that the CO₂ stored in wood products far outweighs the extra CO₂ generated by manufacturing and shipping wood products to India.

For every container of lumber sent to India from B.C., 17,498 kgs. of CO₂ is taken out of the atmosphere. This is a very positive environmental impact which is even better if you consider the CO₂ also stored in the wood that will not need to be harvested within India or unsustainable tropical forests.

For detailed information on wood miles, click here.

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