Since the Stone Age, wood has been a primary and preferred building material. Even as other materials were introduced, wood remains an essential and viable building material. Wood is also one of the most sustainable materials. Although it is susceptible to degradation if not treated to endure long-term exposure risks — like harsh climate conditions and attacks by insects and fungus — modern times have brought new and advanced technologies for wood preservation.

These advanced wood technologies are considered new to an age-old industry, many of which have been on the commercial market for the last 15 years, like Accoya high performance wood. Now, 15 years may seem like a short time, but their technology, in some cases, has been researched for more than 100 years yet only recently commercialized.

Accoya Acetylated Wood contains the same constituents as natural wood with enhanced levels. So, it is not uncommon for our team of experts to field questions regarding Accoya wood. Here, we’ve listed the top five questions and answers:

Accoya wood is real wood. It is sourced from fast-growing, abundantly available, sustainably FSC certified forests that match or exceed other man-made, intensely resource-depleting, and heavy carbon-polluting alternatives. Not only that, but it is one of the few building materials awarded Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold, meaning our supply chain, production processes, and procedures have been examined and scored highly on categories including Material Health (Platinum), Water Stewardship (Platinum), Material Reutilization (Gold), and Renewable Energy & Carbon Management (Gold), and Social Fairness (Gold). Find out more about Accoya’s sustainability credentials.

Because of its unique properties to withstand even the harshest climates, it is widely used for exterior applications like windows (bays, casement, sash, and shutters) and doors (entry, French, bi-fold, and garage), decking (pool, rooftop, stairs), and siding. Accoya is increasing in popularity among landscape architects for use as landscape timbers, sculptures, playground structures, and furniture because it is rot and water-resistant, durable, and carries a 50-year above ground and 25-year below ground or freshwater applications. It is easy to machine, saw, plane, and sand like normal wood.

Because it is a small movement wood product (less shrink and swell), it is stable offering smaller gaps and an even surface that will stay smoother for longer than most wood products. It also remains cool in hot weather and is less prone to splinters making it an ideal wood product for decking.