Review of Codes and Standards

The chapter deals with a review of the international codes and standard related to the in situ evaluation of timber structures. Th ISO 13822:2001 standard is the only one at international level on this field, but it's only partially applicable to the topic, because it deals with all the building materials, not only with wood, and because the principal aim is not the conservation criteria, but the structural safety obtained with cost saving. At national level there are two Italian standards (UNI 11119:2004 and UNI 11138:2001), both the standards are strictly related to the cultural heritage, then having as a first goal the protection and conservation of the artifacts. REfforts in Switzerland aim at developing a new series of standards for the maintenance and reassessment of existing structures. A set of codes is written, including basic rules (SIA 269) and specific adaptive rules for actions on existing structures, and for building materials including timber. The main part of the chapter decries the UNI 1119:2004, defining the mechanical performances of each structural member at the moment of the diagnostic inspection. Te steps of the diagnostic path start from the identification of the species, pass through the description of the existing conditions with an accurate constructive survey and the inspection procedures, going finally to the inspection report that describes the results.