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Modelling mould growth on coated modified and unmodified wood substrates exposed outdoors

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Abstract

Mould growth on coated wood is today a genuine challenge for house owners. Environmentally sound wooden facades with long service lives and acceptable appearance are desired. The objective in this study was to investigate the accumulated mould growth on 13 different wood substrates with 3 surface coating systems by identifying the factors that contribute to the variation and to predict future performance. A generalized linear mixed model was fit to the data with the analysis showing that coating and exposure time both had highly significant influences on mould growth. Further, wood substrate was significant, but comparatively less than coating and exposure time. A smaller coefficient for mould coverage in the beginning of the exposure period gave the panels with one of the coating systems, BAP, a delay in mould growth, and the extrapolated values for years 6–12 indicate a longer aesthetic service life than panels with the two other coating systems. Coated heartwood as wood type was less susceptible to mould growth than coated mixed wood and coated sapwood. Acetylated pine as wood substrate and aspen as wood species had lower resistance to mould growth than the other wood substrates and wood species, respectively.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Mats Westin, SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, for setting up the experiment. Comments from Olav Høibø, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Carol Clausen, USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory and R. Sam Williams, USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory are highly acknowledged. The study was funded by Norwegian Research Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Høgskoleveien 12, 1432, Ås, Norway

    Lone Ross Gobakken

  2. Forest Products Laboratory, USDA Forest Service, One Gifford Pinchot Drive, Madison, WI, 53726-2398, USA

    Patricia K. Lebow

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  1. Lone Ross Gobakken
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Correspondence to Lone Ross Gobakken.

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Gobakken, L.R., Lebow, P.K. Modelling mould growth on coated modified and unmodified wood substrates exposed outdoors. Wood Sci Technol 44, 315–333 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00226-009-0283-0

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