My Abstract Outline - Ready for editing!

This is my most recent abstract outline, I am welcoming all kinds of feedback!


Throughout British Columbia, about 15 different insect species cause the death and growth loss of about 5,886,999 cubic meters of timber per year, and the British Columbia Ministry of Forests assumes that 50% of mature pine will be killed. As a direct result, bug kill products are becoming increasingly more popular. The “shelf life” of bug killed pine is roughly 15 years; this does not leave a lot of time to utilize the wood to its full potential. This applied research report looks at bug kill lumber in the construction industry, in terms of design and construction, specifically in Kamloops, in hopes of bringing some of this potential into the light. Before all bug kill was used for was firewood, but now it is seen in furniture, flooring, roofing, cabinetry and all sorts of construction. The goal of the report is to see if it is feasible to use bug killed lumber in conventional stick frame construction, in terms of structure and health risk to the occupants. To do this, I will compare bug killed lumber with leading lumber in the Kamloops region. To start several local construction supply businesses will be contacted for the prices of various lumbers, and these prices will then be compared to the harvesting and transporting prices of the bug kill. After this is done the bug kill lumber and healthy lumber will be compared structurally. The main concern people have is if the bug killed lumber is defective structurally, due to the blue stain because blue stain is commonly misidentified as a form of mold or rot. The truth of the matter is; there is no difference structurally between healthy pine and blue stained pine. The fungi that are associated with the mountain pine beetle are classified as blue stain fungi, which are micro fungi that have the darkly colored pigmented hyphae responsible for the blue or grey stain in most of the pine. These fungi live off the easily obtained nutrients in the tree, mostly the simple sugars, starches, and the triglicerides found in the medullary ray and parenchyma cells. The blue stain fungi do not possess the extra cellular enzymes capable of degrading the cell wall structure of the tree. What the blue stain does do to the wood, besides aesthetics, is make the wood more permeable. This can be bad if the wood is subjected to a moist climate, rot will appear faster in blue stained wood than in healthy lumber. But, in Kamloops the climate is very dry, so this will not be an issue. In terms of health concerns for the occupants the blue staining fungi do not generally survive long in dried wood in comparison with some of the wood-decaying species of fungi. Once the fungi have consumed all the nutrients available, which is generally far before harvesting, the fungi die. The fungi do not readily become airborne and therefore cannot affect indoor air quality; as a result, blue stain fungi have not been associated with any human health problems to date. There are a number of “treatments” for the bug killed lumber to ensure the beetle larvae and blue stain fungi hyphae are killed. One of these “treatments” is kiln drying. The kiln drying procedure involves basically a huge fire heated furnace that the log is immersed into. The heat dries out the log killing all the blue stain hyphae and beetle larvae completely. In conclusion, using bug killed lumber in construction is an excellent way of dealing with the mountain pine beetle epidemic. There is no structural difference between healthy pine and bug killed pine and there are no health concerns attached to using the bug killed wood. Be cautious of the location and use the appropriate precautions to ensure the bug killed lumber is not exposed to high amounts of moisture, but this is a rule that should be applied to all types of wood, not just bug kill. The Kamloops region is bursting with new residential construction, and is in a prime location to use as much bug kill as possible. If Kamloops embraces bug kill in construction, it will act as inspiration for surrounding communities, and we will be well on our way to bringing the bug killed lumber’s full potential into the light for the whole province to view.

My abstract outline - rough copy

This is the start of my abstract outline, more is still to come.

Bug kill products are becoming increasingly more popular. Before all bug kill was used for was firewood, but now it is seen in furniture, flooring, roofing, cabinetry and all sorts of construction. This applied research report looks at bug kill lumber in the construction industry, and how the bug killed lumber compares with leading lumber in the Kamloops region. The goal of the report is to see if it is feasible to use bug killed lumber in construction, structurally and aesthetically. To do this several local construction supply businesses were contacted for the prices of various lumbers, and these prices were compared to the harvesting and transporting prices of the bug kill. After this was done the bug kill lumber and healthy lumber were compared structurally. Several academic journals were consulted for this. Comparing the two products aesthetically proved difficult because it is based on user preference, but how this was addressed was by a survey. A survey was released asking how people felt about a “bug killed home", and what their views were on how the blue stained wood looked. The survey also asked if people would be proud of living in a bug killed home or if they would view the home as being second hand in nature. It is important to find how people would view a bug killed home because if there is no demand, then using bug kill in construction would not be feasible. Aesthetically, bug kill can be used for shakes, shingles, railings, flooring finishes, ceiling finishes, and trims. Anything traditional lumber can be used for, bug killed lumber can be used for. Through comparing these three aspects; price, structural soundness, and aesthetics, an accurate depiction of how feasible bug kill lumber is in construction.

Planning Outline

Project: To compare bug kill lumber and leading lumber in terms of structural integrity, cost and availability in the Kamloops region.

Method: I will compare leading lumber and bug killed lumber in the following ways:

1) Cost - I will search various academic journals, books and local suppliers to find up to date values of lumber in today's market and compare it with today's value of bug kill lumber.

2) Availability - I will look in various academic journals and books to find where the majority of bug kill happened geographically. I will look at local shipping rates and determine if it willbe economically feasible to transprot the wood if needed.

3) Structural Integrity - I will look in various academic journals and books to find shearing, tearing and compressive strengths of leading lumber and bug kill lumber, then I will compare the leading lumber's values with the values of bug kill lumber.

Special Problems:
- Is there going to be sufficient structural data on bug kill? Or will I have to test it myself?
- If I have to test the wood myself, is there a place in Kamloops where this can be done?
- Will there be sufficient demand for bug kill to warrant logging it?
- Will steps have to be taken to ensure the wood is not infected anymore?
- Construction materials price's are constantly changing; will this affect the credibility of my report?

Also:
- Due to the bug tracks and holes in the wood is the fire rating going to be affected?
- Is the acoustic values going to be affected due to these holes?
- Is the wood more susceptible to rot?
- How would people feel about having a "bug kill" house?
- Can the ENTIRE house be built of bug kill?

EDDT 231 Assignment

This is my blog, not much to it yet but, eventually it will document the entire progress of my research report. So stay tuned to find out everything there is to know about a bug kill house.
Until next time, good night and good luck.