Durability and Preservation of Bamboo

Consideration of durability is an essential part of the design process. This chapter provides a review of the state-of-the-art in durability of whole culm bamboo for construction. The review focuses on mechanisms of degradation, preservation techniques to mitigate these and means of characterising degradation, or conversely, assessing the effectiveness of preservation. A significant suite of durability test methods available to quantify degradation and assess the effectiveness of treatment methods is identified. The importance of tailoring these methods to local conditions and environments is emphasized. Reviews of natural, chemical, and surface applied treatments are presented. The effectiveness of boron-based immersion treatments is reinforced while some misconceptions regarding the effectiveness of natural methods of treatment and the use of coatings are dispelled.