Koppers Timber Piling

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1 Koppers Timber Piling Natural, durable and cost effective. Koppers treated timber piles provide a wide range of piling solutions.

2 Koppers treated timber piling range offers a wide range of sizes, load bearing capacities and founding depths. Preservative treatment provides durability performance to suit various soil and environmental hazards for foundation and marine applications. Treated timber piling The preferred choice is natural and safe, sustainable, reliable, durable, proven, environmentally sensible and cost effective. Treated timber piles have stood the test of time and have a proven track record for being the most durable, cost effective, reliable and robust pile available. Now more than ever it is also important to acknowledge that timber piles are the most environmentally sensible choice. From a risk management perspective timber piles provide the best reliability and service life performance in a wide range of conditions. Timber is a natural high strength composite fibre material, and its high strength, fatigue resistance and performance in all conditions has been well proven over time. Timber piles are easy to handle and drive. Where does the timber come from? Timber piles are harvested from managed native hardwood re-growth forests and softwood and hardwood forest plantations. In Australia there is 147 million hectares of native forests. Just 6% of these native forests are public forests potentially available for timber harvesting, and timber is harvested from about 1% of the available public native forests each year. Koppers sources timber piles from native timber re-growth forests, hardwood plantations and softwood plantations. The forests are harvested on a year rotation and are conducted in accordance with codes of practice to ensure sustainability and the genetic health and diversity of the forest. Strict provisions are made for protecting the habitat for flora and fauna, safeguarding the water courses and many other ecological attributes of the forest on both public and private land. High value pile products are harvested in integrated operations with other forest products such as saw logs and pulpwood. Typically piles may make up only 2-3% of the total harvest volume. Koppers Double Treat marine piles being loaded here for the Busselton jetty restoration project, Western Australia. Front page: Recent refurbishment works on the Coffs Harbour, NSW jetty utilised Koppers Double Treat marine piles for their durability and strength.

3 Softwood (mini-piles) are supplied from softwood plantations around Australia. The fresh water lake in this Brisbane park combines Koppers treated softwood piles with steel railing for a stylish and functional jetty. It s not just a timber pile. It s a helping hand in climate change. Using treated timber piles is naturally better for our environment because it helps tackle climate change in two very important ways. First, growing trees absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and store the carbon so efficiently that about half the dry weight of wood is carbon. The carbon remains locked up for the whole of the life of the wood even when we use it for building products, furniture or piles, and recent studies have shown that around 95% of the carbon remains locked in the timber after 30 years in landfill. By choosing timber piles wherever possible greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to up to 1.8 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of pile can be stored. Second, forestry is one of the most greenhousefriendly sectors of the Australian economy. In fact, the timber industry is the only industry sector to be a net absorber of carbon dioxide. So, increased use of timber piles in building foundations, wharves, jetties and marinas will help Australia to offset our overall greenhouse gas emissions. What s more, wood is a truly renewable resource because wood grows on trees, unlike any other building material. So when you choose carbon positive wood for foundation and marine piles, you are also lending a helping hand in climate change. Forest Facts: Greenhouse Gases Australia s native forests, plantations and wood products are net absorbers of greenhouse gases, sequestering 56.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2005, offsetting Australia s total greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 10%. Did you know? Forests classified as old growth forests reach a state of equilibrium where they emit as much (and sometimes more) carbon dioxide than they absorb, whereas managed re-growth and plantation forests (used to supply Koppers with timber products) are harvested around the same time that their net absorption rate of carbon dioxide begins to deteriorate. Koppers - Committed to quality, safety, people, the environment and our customers. For over 50 years Koppers process and treatment plants have serviced the building industry with treated timber piles, most of which are still in service today. Koppers have a demonstrated long term commitment to quality and customer service, with all of our plants certified to ISO 9001 quality and ISO14001 environmental management systems. Koppers keeps detailed information about our timber treatment performance and maintains a tight quality control and testing regime at our plants.

4 The boardwalks and jetties at North Sydney s Lavender Bay piles, treated to Hazard Level 6 (H6). We re proud of our plant facilities which are structured towards servicing our customers efficiently, with safety and care for our people, our community and the environment. We welcome visits from our customers to view all this first hand, so please have no hesitation contacting us to arrange a visit to our forest and plant operations in the near future. Sustainability Sustainability of forest resources is assured in part through Regional Forest Agreements (RFA s), which were established to provide for 1 : 1. Conservation of major forest types that existed before European settlement. 2. Certainty about forest resource availability for the forest products industry. 3. Expansion of the plantation resource base to sustain all segments of the timber industry, such as pulp and paper, export chip, saw logs and of course timber piles. 1 Matching Fairness with Efficiency, Ian Ferguson, Forests For Tomorrow; Australian Government, Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Corporation. March 2005 Did you know? All the public native forests from which Koppers timber piles are harvested are replanted or regenerated into new forests. Did you know? The use of timber piles extends back more than 5,000 years ago when Swiss lake dwellers built their homes on pile supported towers as protection from their enemies. Examples of these have been uncovered and found to be intact. A timber bridge spanning the Tiber River built in 1620 BC and lasting over 1,000 years was founded on timber piles. Timber Types The more common hardwood timbers supplied by Koppers for treated foundation and marine piling are Australian Eucalyptus (E.) species such as Corymbia Maculata (Spotted gum), E. Pilularis (Blackbutt), and range of ironbark species, such as E. Paniculata among others. These timber types are all minimum Strength Group S2, and durability class 1 and 2 species timbers. Piles supplied in Tasmania - and in some cases where Koppers custom treats piles in Western Australia - are from minimum Strength Group S4 species (E. Regnans (Mountain Ash) and E. Obliqua (Messmate) in Tasmania and E. Marginata (Jarrah) and E. Diversicolor (Karri) (S3) in Western Australia. For more information about timber characteristics such as strength groups refer to AS : Timber Classification into strength groups. Further information about the botanical names, the in-ground decay class and marine borer resistance class of timber species can be obtained from the Timber service life design guide produced in December 2007 by Forest & Wood

5 Need help? Technical Support is available are supported by Koppers Double Treat marine Koppers provide technical support to assist designers in using and specifying timber piles correctly at the design stage. This ensures our customers are able to best match up their project requirements with our product range efficiently and cost effectively. your questions to or phone us on Products Australia and available for free on the website: The softwood pile species - also known as minipiles - supplied by Koppers for treated foundation and marine piling are one of three pine species Pinus Radiata, Pinus Caribea, Pinus Elliotii and a hybrid P. Elliotti/Caribea. These timber types are nominally Strength Group S6 and S7, however please consult the Koppers Timber Piling Guide for special notes on the strength of these piles. Although softwood piles are sourced from species with a lower durability class than the hardwood piles, they have a much thicker band of treatable sapwood and in some cases a properly treated softwood pile will outlast its hardwood cousin as a result. This is reflected in the service life estimates in the Timber service life design guide mentioned above. Preservative Treatment Treating timber piles with preservative increases the durability of the piles by providing protection against fungal decay and insect attack. The treatment process involves placing the piles into a treatment autoclave (or cylinder) and applying a 3 hour high pressure and vacuum treatment charge. This treatment process allows us to treat the sapwood with either Copper Chrome Arsenic (CCA) preservative, or Pigment Emulsified Creosote (PEC), in accordance with the required hazard class treatment levels given in AS The sapwood is the outer annulus of the pile and when properly treated provides a protective outer barrier to the (inner) heartwood of the pile. This is true for hardwood and softwood. Generally, timber piling should be treated to a minimum of H5 hazard level in accordance with AS This is adequate for general ground contact, above and below the water table, and even extending above ground if required. In the case of tidal salt water where there exists the hazard of marine borers (above the mud line and below the high tide mark) the highest treatment level is called for; H6 in accordance with AS Depending on where the structure is located around Australia, AS and AS 2159 state that this is either straight H6 CCA or H6 PEC for the waters south of Batemans Bay, NSW and Perth, WA (Tasmania included). North of these areas the piles should be double treated with both CCA and PEC to AS requirements. This is to guard against certain marine borers that are not completely controlled by the one preservative type alone and reside in the warmer waters. Refer to AS , Appendix B for more information. For regular foundation piling not in contact with open water the preservative type employed is mostly unimportant (i.e. CCA or PEC). However, there are some situations where one preservative may be favoured over another. For instance: Acidic soil conditions (low ph) PEC is generally chosen as it is more resistant to breakdown in acidic environments. Alkaline soil conditions (high ph) CCA is generally chosen as it is more resistant to breakdown in alkaline environments. However, in some chemically aggressive environments it may not matter as the

6 Lavender Bay, Sydney, NSW. Double Treat marine piles fade to a light brown appearance over time and have proved to be a cost effective, functional, people friendly product ideal for public use spaces. environment itself may protect the timber from the agents causing degradation. In highly acidic or alkaline environments it should be noted that the timber will generally not be attacked by the chemicals, it is mostly the preservatives that may be affected. One common misconception is that treatment will stop barnacles from forming on the timber in marine environments. This is not the case, but there are a number of floating devices on the market that can be placed around the piles that stop barnacles growing on the piles in the tidal zone if desired. Delivery and handling Safe and easy site unloading. Delivery just got a whole lot better. With our logistics supply partner Koppers are now able to deliver and unload our piles at your project site. This new service will provide our customers with a streamlined approach to unloading while vastly improving the safety performance of this function. Our operators will follow an approved and certified works procedure and no handson involvement by our customer s personnel is required. Timber Piling options and typical end-use Timber Pile type Preservative type Hazard level Typical end-use Hardwood CCA H5 Foundation normal conditions / Alkaline soils Hardwood CCA H6 Marine Southern waters Hardwood PEC H5 Foundation Acidic soil conditions Hardwood Double Treat (CCA/PEC) H6 Marine Sub-tropic/Tropical waters Softwood CCA H5 Foundation normal conditions Softwood CCA H6 Foundation & Marine fresh or southern waters Softwood PEC* H5 Foundation Acidic soil conditions (*Not a standard product line check availability at time of design/order).

7 Ask us about unloading at your project job site when next you order your piles. Warning: Timber piles, particularly hardwood piles can be very heavy. Please do not compromise on safety and do not attempt lifting and handling without recognized and appropriate lifting machinery and responsible operators. Please conduct your risk hazard assessments on site before handling and using Koppers timber piles. Off-cuts and waste timber Treated timber is not a hazardous waste. Small trade and domestic users should dispose of offcuts and redundant pieces through normal waste collection services. Industrial or manufacturing users generating larger volumes of CCA treated timber waste (>0.5 tonnes per month) may require additional approval from their local waste services or environment authority. Do not dispose of timber pile off-cuts through direct burying or discard into water at project site. Do not burn as a means of disposal. For more details about disposal of off-cuts and waste treated timber please contact Koppers or the Timber Development Association for a copy of Protocols for Recycling Redundant Utility Poles and Bridge Timbers in New South Wales. Links to other sources: environmentla-design-waste-recycling.html More information is available For more information about Koppers timber piles please contact Koppers or refer to the Koppers Timber Piling Guide. Other topics of interest in the guide include and are not limited to: Life expectancy Environmental performance Installation Finishing Pile capacity design factors and capacity tables Design example List of supporting references html Koppers timber piling is often used to stabilise earth works for project sites such as new sporting stadiums, office and industrial buildings, warehouses and factories. Koppers unique Double Treat marine piling is used in jetties, marinas and wharves from Cairns, QLD to Busselton, WA and in Auckland s Westhaven Marina in New Zealand. And in many cases such as Lavender Bay, NSW and pictured here in Coffs Harbour, Koppers timber piling can be used to reclaim and extend the foreshore to create unique and popular public spaces.

8 Koppers product range For further information on Koppers product range of utility distribution and transmission poles, telecommunication poles, foundation and marine piles please contact: Koppers Wood Products Pty Ltd North Sydney, NSW P.O. Box 2122 North Sydney NSW 2059 Level 10, 15 Blue Street North Sydney NSW 2060 Telephone: Fax: Grafton Plant, NSW PO Box 335, Grafton NSW 2460 Telephone: Takura Plant, Queensland PO Box 162, Hervey Bay QLD 4655 Telephone: Longford Plant, Tasmania PO Box 29 Longford Tas 7301 Telephone: Bunbury Plant, WA PO Box 100 Picton WA 6229 Telephone: Technical Support Telephone: enquiries: piles@koppers.com.au Quality ISO 9001 Environment ISO 14001