What is superb wood surface? Defining user preferences and service life expectations

The superior properties and the natural beauty of wood make it a desired material for various applications including construction, interior/exterior design or other uses. Unfortunately, wood as any other material is a subject of deterioration due to several factors, including among others; weathering, oxidation, biodegradation, wear or decay. It is important therefore to assure the performance of wood products during their functional service life. On the other hand, not just the functional performance is an issue, but it is extremely important to consider also aesthetical service life. The goal of this work was to study how the progress of surface changes affects customer perception of the wood. The effect of gender, age, education and nationality has been included in the research. A dedicated software tool has been developed within the frame of SWORFISH project and in collaboration with COST Action FP1006 "Bringing new functions to wood through surface modification". The set of 256 respondents representing different social groups has been requested to choose between images of wooden surfaces exposed to natural weathering and displayed on the computer desktop. The choice was related to the personal "end of aesthetical service life" and based only on aesthetical impression of the respondent. The same test has been repeated providing additional information defining the time of samples exposition to weathering. It was possible, after analysis of responses, to define the time when the wood surface is not anymore acceptable and requires maintenance. The statistical evaluation highlighted difference between respondent groups but also change of tolerance for surface imperfection after realizing the efforts related to frequent repairs.