Thermowood – an alternative to tropical wood

Thermowood – an alternative to tropical wood
The basis of Thermowood is hardwood from home woods. It is the raw material for FICOHTERM solid wood flooring. By the high-tech heat treatment the wood becomes durable without using chemical substances and polluting soak methods. That`s why it is an ecological alternative to teak and other tropical wood.

But not only ecological aspects argue in favour of thermically treated wood. There are many other excellent features making it a favourite for various applications. Especially beech wood is a good choice for FICOTHERM outdoor flooring because it is:

• very durable
• insensitive to rottenness
• shows less shavings and cracks and
• it has a high dimension stability.

But there are also some disadvantages of thermically treated wood: e.g. the method reduces the stability of the wood that means that the treated wood should not be used in structural functions. And up to now we have not managed to thermically modify wood that is thicker than 50 mm.

The thermical treatment

With this scientifically developed and proofed method the wood is heated up to 170° - 220°C excluding oxygen. The hemicellulose (short-chained sugar modules) is broken down and so the wood`s capacity to absorb water is reduced enormously.
Fungi and bacteria loose their basic food and their growth conditions get worse. This is the reason why the wood is so durable. The process is absolutely thermical without any chemical substances.

Exotic colours

As pure natural raw material wood is one of our most important and most beautiful building material. Colours we only know from seldom wood and from tropical wood are a “side effect” of the new thermo treatment depending from intensity and duration of the treatment. The dark and warm colours from ochre to brownish black provide a pleasant atmosphere, warmth and inviting cosiness. By the thermical treatment the FICOTHERM wooden floorings are completely coloured. To ensure that the dark surfaces which are only treated with natural oils are resistant to scratches a first treatment with a special care paste is necessary.

One more important ecological feature argue for FICOTHERM

About 550,000,000 m2 of rain forest are cleared or simply burned. Per year this amounts to 200,000 km2 – about 35 football pitches per minute! And usually there is no reforestation. With the overexploitation of the primeval forests in Canada, in the Amazonian area, in Indonesia, in Malaysia and in Tasmania the climate is being changed and our children will feel the consequences. With thermically treated wood you can renounce tropical wood!

FICOTHERM for outdoors


FICOTHERM for indoors


maple


beech


oak, dark


oak, medium


ash, dark


ash, medium