Kebony, wood guaranteed 30 years outdoor, maintenance-free

No, it is not a miraculous exotic species, but a wood treated in such a way that it takes on special properties. This is not the first time we have discussed treating wood to obtain materials with special characteristics. You recently read about transparent woodand wood treatment by autoclave impregnation has become commonplace in Romania. More and more, people are turning their attention to wood and trying to transform it so that it is as resistant as possible and can cover as wide an area as possible. If harvested sustainably, wood can be our salvation, helping to reduce carbon emissions and pollution. And treating it to make it last as long as possible means reducing logging or extending its use to other areas. Kebony is one such treated wood, made from sustainably harvested timber that can withstand outdoor use without surface treatment for over 30 years.

What is Kebony wood

Kebony is sourced and patented in Norway. It is a durable alternative to exotic hardwoods prized for their beauty and outstanding performance. In short, the treatment uses pressure, vacuum and high temperature to impregnate pine wood with a liquid made from plant waste. This is then polymerized, turning the soft wood into a very hard wood. Unlike acetylated wood (Accoya) or heat-treatedKebony uses a plant-based product to improve the qualities of the wood.

During the process, in addition to increased hardness, stability and rot resistance, the wood acquires a very pleasant reddish brown color. Over time, under the action of the sun and weathering, the color takes on a natural silver-grey patina, typical of unprotected exterior wood. To preserve the original color, the wood can be treated with oils with UV protection.

There are two types of Kebony wood, depending on the raw material used. Kebony Clear is made from Pinus Radiata. The appearance is smooth and knot-free, it can be mechanically processed without the need for additional protective interventions and has a very high resistance to rotting (40 years for wood used for cladding). Kebony Character is obtained from Pinus Silvestris, the surface has knots and a more rustic appearance and it is recommended to use it without mechanical processing. If work is done on the wood, the area of the fiber ends should be protected with a protective material against fungi and moisture. Such wood can last for up to 30 years without any maintenance other than the usual cleaning procedures specific to any surface.

How to get

Kebony wood is produced in three stages:

• immersion in impregnating solution
• impregnation
• impregnant polymerisation

The impregnating solution is furfuric acid obtained from vegetable waste. The solution is organic, naturally produced (similar to obtaining fuel from such waste) and contains no synthetic chemical compounds. Using vacuum and pressure, the solution penetrates deep into the wood, impregnating the wood cell wall. The furfurilic acid is then polymerized with the help of temperature, hardening the cell wall and increasing it by 50%. The wood thus becomes very stable, no longer varies dimensionally depending on outside humidity and is much harder. Being polymerized internally and integral with the cell wall, there is no danger of the impregnating material leaking out or spilling when the temperature is very high or the humidity very low.

Properties of the new material

The resulting wood is natural, hard, resistant to rotting and has a very pleasant color. Tests have shown that rot resistance is comparable to the hardiest outdoor species. It is equivalent to the rot resistance of tec or ipe wood and higher than the frasin and heat-treated pine, oak or larch wood. It is also resistant to insects, mold, mildew, fungi and other wood-destroying micro-organisms.

Wood becomes much tougher and more stable. Kebony moves from hardness a softwood (pine) to that of a hardwood such as oak, cedar or heat-treated ash.

Kebony non-toxic and environmentally friendly. It can be used for decking and does not get very hot in the summer in the sun. When burned, it behaves just like normal wood, giving off the same substances, without toxic emissions. If left over from demolition, it can be reused, burned or disposed of like any other waste wood.

Where to use

Kebony is an alternative to hard and resistant hardwoods, especially exotic hardwoods, for both interior and exterior use. Outdoors it can be used for cladding houses or facades, for decks or terraces, in difficult constructions such as jetties or walkways. It can be used without problems in roof construction, not just the structure but even the roof itself.

Being totally natural, it can also be used indoors for flooring, furniture or interior cladding. Being very hard and resistant, it can be used as structural wood. There are no barriers to its use in any interior design. Its resistance to rotting, however, recommends it for exterior projects where it doesn't need repainting or other operations to prolong its life.