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Evidence Engine · WI-EV v1.0.0

A living evidence synthesis of the wood literature.

Each statement below is tracked continuously against the open scholarly registries. The Evidence Score, the consensus share and the conclusion are recomputed as new work is published, and every change is versioned in public.

Claims tracked

14

Studies indexed

431

Revisions published

106

Scenario explorer

Compare materials and climate scenarios

Modelled service life for every indexed material under a chosen climate, facade orientation and maintenance scenario. Bars show the P10–P90 uncertainty band; hover or focus a row for durability class, spread, maintenance interval and confidence. These are modelled estimates from WI-SL v1.2.0, not measured service life.

Climate
Compare with
Facade
Scenario
Median P50 · Singapore

14 yr

Median P50 · Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

18 yr

Materials compared

12

Robinia (Black Locust)737 yr
Thermally Modified Ash635 yr
Acetylated Radiata Pine536 yr
Iroko (FSC certified)637 yr
Thermally Modified Pine525 yr
Sweet Chestnut525 yr
Western Red Cedar526 yr
European Oak526 yr
Siberian Larch517 yr
Douglas Fir515 yr
Scots Pine (heartwood)514 yr
Norway Spruce58 yr
P10–P90 uncertainty band P50 · Singapore P50 · Riyadh, Saudi Arabia0–60 yr scale
Sustainabilityv1020122026

Long-lived timber construction products deliver a net biogenic carbon storage benefit over the building service life.

Under review — the register is reading the literature and will publish a conclusion once directional evidence has been indexed.

Evidence Score63
Confidence
Moderate confidence
Consensus
100%
Studies
39
Supporting
7
Contradicting
0
Modificationv1019922026

Thermal modification measurably increases the decay resistance of softwood in above-ground exterior use.

Under review — the register is reading the literature and will publish a conclusion once directional evidence has been indexed.

Evidence Score56
Confidence
Low confidence
Consensus
100%
Studies
39
Supporting
4
Contradicting
0
Sustainabilityv1120012026

Substituting timber for mineral structural materials reduces the cradle-to-gate greenhouse gas emissions of a building.

Under review — the register is reading the literature and will publish a conclusion once directional evidence has been indexed.

Evidence Score56
Confidence
Low confidence
Consensus
100%
Studies
33
Supporting
6
Contradicting
0
Modellingv819862026

The Scheffer climate index is a reliable predictor of above-ground decay hazard across climate zones.

Under review — the register is reading the literature and will publish a conclusion once directional evidence has been indexed.

Evidence Score44
Confidence
Low confidence
Consensus
73%
Studies
30
Supporting
2
Contradicting
1
Moisturev820142026

Mass timber assemblies carry a higher built-in moisture risk during construction than they do in service.

Under review — the register is reading the literature and will publish a conclusion once directional evidence has been indexed.

Evidence Score36
Confidence
Low confidence
Consensus
Not yet calculated
Studies
24
Supporting
2
Contradicting
0
Firev1020092026

Charring rates of cross-laminated timber under standard fire exposure are predictable within the Eurocode 5 design assumptions.

Under review — the register is reading the literature and will publish a conclusion once directional evidence has been indexed.

Evidence Score35
Confidence
Low confidence
Consensus
Not yet calculated
Studies
36
Supporting
0
Contradicting
1
Modificationv1020002026

Acetylation reduces the moisture-driven dimensional movement of wood by more than half relative to the untreated species.

Under review — the register is reading the literature and will publish a conclusion once directional evidence has been indexed.

Evidence Score32
Confidence
Low confidence
Consensus
Not yet calculated
Studies
40
Supporting
0
Contradicting
0
Decayv819942026

Sustained wood moisture content above 25 percent is the controlling condition for fungal decay initiation in above-ground timber.

Under review — the register is reading the literature and will publish a conclusion once directional evidence has been indexed.

Evidence Score32
Confidence
Low confidence
Consensus
Not yet calculated
Studies
21
Supporting
1
Contradicting
0
Surface protectionv819952026

Silicate-based surface treatments measurably slow the surface weathering of exterior softwood.

Under review — the register is reading the literature and will publish a conclusion once directional evidence has been indexed.

Evidence Score30
Confidence
Low confidence
Consensus
Not yet calculated
Studies
28
Supporting
0
Contradicting
0
Methodsv1219922026

Accelerated laboratory weathering tests reliably predict field performance of exterior wood coatings.

Under review — the register is reading the literature and will publish a conclusion once directional evidence has been indexed.

Evidence Score27
Confidence
Low confidence
Consensus
Not yet calculated
Studies
39
Supporting
1
Contradicting
1
Service lifev619902026

Untreated larch cladding reaches a service life comparable to surface-treated softwood in temperate Northern European climates.

Under review — the register is reading the literature and will publish a conclusion once directional evidence has been indexed.

Evidence Score26
Confidence
Low confidence
Consensus
Not yet calculated
Studies
39
Supporting
0
Contradicting
0
Service lifev820032026

Design detailing that keeps water off end grain affects the service life of exterior wood more than moving one EN 350 durability class.

Under review — the register is reading the literature and will publish a conclusion once directional evidence has been indexed.

Evidence Score25
Confidence
Low confidence
Consensus
Not yet calculated
Studies
25
Supporting
0
Contradicting
0
Maintenancev519862025

Regular maintenance of a film-forming coating extends the service life of exterior timber cladding more than the initial coating choice does.

Under review — the register is reading the literature and will publish a conclusion once directional evidence has been indexed.

Evidence Score21
Confidence
Low confidence
Consensus
Not yet calculated
Studies
21
Supporting
0
Contradicting
0
Service lifev619832021

Preservative-treated Scots pine sapwood reaches the intended service life in EN 335 use class 3 exposure.

Under review — the register is reading the literature and will publish a conclusion once directional evidence has been indexed.

Evidence Score12
Confidence
Low confidence
Consensus
Not yet calculated
Studies
17
Supporting
0
Contradicting
0

Method WI-EV v1.0.0. Scores are computed from indexed metadata — volume, evidence grade, agreement, peer-review share, recency and reproducibility — not from expert opinion. A high score means the literature is consistent and well-graded, not that the statement is proven. Records are retrieved from Crossref, OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar and related open registries.