The report deals with the durability against weather exposure of gluelines in wooden window blanks. Five different kinds of glue have been tested in window blanks with four different surface treatments. The gluelines have been oriented parallel to the exposed surface and placed at two different depths from the surface, protected against and directly exposed to weather. The exposure test has been designed as a complement to earlier tests made at Teknologisk Institut in Denmark and Träteknikcentrum in Sweden. The test has led to the following conclusions: Polyvinylacetate resin and ureaformaldehyde resin show significantly higher delaminations than resorcinol-phenol resin and EPI resin. The temperature- and moisture-conditions in window frames can lead to hydrolytic deterioration of ureaformaldehyde resins. A 15 mm wood coverage is not sufficient to fully protect gluelines from delaminations when the resin used is of quality B4 according to DIN 68 602. Dark glazing paint does not protect wood sufficiently against weather conditions. If a window frame is to be glazed then the wood has to be protected against weather in some other way, such as vacuum impregnation. The influence of the gluelines on the moisture distribution in the wooden blanks is negligible in comparison to other factors.
SP-RAPP 1987:40