A survey form for the structural health assessment of timber constructions

Despite timber is one of the oldest building materials, it is vulnerable to environmental degradation actions. Thus, the design of timber structures should integrate the aspects related to the structural performances together with those related to durability. The vulnerability against decay actions can be mitigated through several design choices, having different impact on durability performances. Nevertheless monitoring and maintenance play a fundamental role. Therefore, given the importance of durability issues in the design and maintenance of timber structures, a new survey form for the structural health assessment is proposed. The outline is articulated for addressing structural typology, decay identification and possible interventions. The survey form is validated on a sample of simple existing structures, demonstrating the reliability and effectiveness of the evaluation.