All natural and man made materials in the world are susceptible to decay or deterioration. According to national science foundation, deterioration is a time dependent phenomenon and every infrastructure may deteriorate due to
• Aging of constituent or constructed materials
• Climate exposure
• Excessive use
• Lack of adequate maintenance
• Difficulties faced in appropriate inspection methods.
These factors result a structural system to become obsolescent as a whole which results a weak system that is required to be repaired, rehabilitated and retrofitted and sometimes even replaced to ensure adequate safety for occupants or users. Here our concern is deterioration of timber foundation.
Causes of decay of timber foundation:
In case of timber foundation, decay is the appropriate term instead of deterioration. The decay of timber foundation may be caused by different factors; the main factors are as follows:
• Fungal decay
• Insect decay
• Other factors including chemical and chemical causes