Timber ID & Testing
Learn more about Floor Choices and The Australasian Timber Flooring Association (ATFA) today.
What is a Timber Identification service?
This involves an under the microscope analysis of wood cells to determine the likely botanical identification of a submitted species.
Timber Identification
What’s Required
At least 75mm long piece (or pieces) of the timber flooring in question – one piece for the standard fee test. The minimum thickness able to be examined is 3mm and width can be anything from 25mm wide upwards. It is also important to provide as much information about the sample as possible. This may include aspects such as when the timber was purchased, the approximate age of the building the sample was taken from, what the species was thought to be or had been sold as and whether the sample is typical in colour to the other wood present.
If there is a concern over colour, samples should include the range of colour present. However note that samples sent must also contain heartwood (not the sapwood, which is the timber present beneath the bark and often distinctly lighter coloured wood).
Despatch Details
Samples should be sent to
ATFA Timber ID
c/- Planet Timbers
42 O’Malley St
OSBORNE PARK WA 6017.
Upon receipt of the samples you will be invoiced accordingly. Please supply your contact details including name, company (if applicable), phone, email, fax and postal details via the provided form.
Oven Dry MC Testing
What is Oven Dry MC Testing?
Oven dry testing provides the most accurate method of determining the moisture contents of timber flooring or timber subfloors. However, it is important that samples are correctly obtained and sent to AFTA so as to minimise moisture loss.
Testing is carried out in accordance with AS 1080.1 Timber – Methods of test – Method 1: Moisture Content, and as such the procedures of the standard which includes transport of samples must be followed. Failure to do so can cause less meaningful results. Also note that oven dry testing is the only recognised method for testing particleboard and plywood subfloors.
Oven dry testing is also necessary where either the timber species is not known or meter corrections are not available.
To obtain best results just follow the 5 steps below:
- Samples need to be representative of either a specific floor area of concern or in the case of a pack of flooring, the samples need to capture the variation present.
- From flooring packs or the jobsite, view the end of boards and choose some wider boards as well as some narrower boards. If some boards are cupped include these. If from packs select some outside boards as well as some from within the pack. Boards that are cupped or where cover widths vary by more than 1 mm (80mm wide boards) can be indicative of higher moisture content flooring at the time of installation.
- Provided the variation present can be captured, three or more samples each from different boards will provide a reasonable representation. If the flooring is all close to its nominal cover width (e.g. 80mm ± 0.5mm), then three samples from different boards including outside and inside boards from packs will suffice. Outside boards should be labelled as such. Do not use packing boards.
- Test samples are not to be from within 400mm of the end of a board and where possible should be 300mm in length.
- Samples are to be individually ‘plastic wrapped’ or put in separate sealed plastic bags. Samples should also be stored in cool conditions prior to dispatch to ATFA, 7 Coachwood Court, Mackenzie, QLD 4156 or in Western Australia please send (along with a copy of your request form) to
42 O’Malley St
Osborne Park, WA, 6017
Request a Timber ID
Get your timber tested today. Not sure what species your timber is, ATFA will get this identified and tested so you are no longer guessing.