Why renew wooden works of art, when they can be repaired?

The Netherlands and water; two elements that are inseparable. We protect ourselves from the water by building dikes, bridges and locks. We benefit from the water with our ports, rivers and canals. To keep doing this into the future, many hydraulic engineering structures need a thorough overhaul. Even though the structures are often partially deteriorated, many municipalities, provinces and water boards still choose to renew wooden structures instead of repairing them. This not only costs a lot of money, but also creates high CO2 emissions and wastes tropical hardwood. 

Wood in hydraulic engineering

When wooden artworks are renewed, materials such as concrete, composite and steel are often chosen. In addition to high costs, these materials also involve high environmental impact as seen in the comparative Life Cycle-
Analysis (LCA) for mooring posts in Fig. 1. Replacement with composite causes by far the highest environmental damage followed by replacement with steel, concrete and wood. Repair of wood, on the other hand, causes by far the least environmental damage.   

Lifetime wood

When replacing with steel, concrete or composite, the argument is often made that wood would not have a long lifespan and therefore steel, concrete or composite would be more sustainable. According to research commissioned by the Government Service for Entrepreneurs (RvO), it appears that with interim replacement or renovation, wood still causes the lowest environmental impact and is therefore the most sustainable option (see fig. 2). In addition, replacement with composite, steel or concrete causes a lot of environmental nuisance due to the pulling and driving of piles.

Repair rather than replace

In collaboration with TU Eindhoven, Protekta developed a restoration method for wooden works of art in 2009, after extensive testing, in which the artwork regains its original strength: the patented Protek Aqua© method. This uses a self-developed epoxy that has been tested for tensile and flexural strength, adhesion durability, environmental influence and the influence of temperature differences (coefficient of expansion). After implementing the repair method, Protekta provides a 20-year warranty on the work delivered.

Specialist in wood restoration in hydraulic engineering

With restoration rather than replacement, historic wooden works of art are preserved. In this way we preserve our protected village and cityscapes in the Netherlands. In addition, with restoration instead of replacement, we also reduce damage to the environment due to, among other things, much lower CO2 emissions with this method. Besides being the most sustainable option, restoration is also the most economical option because the problem is dealt with locally and no healthy tropical hardwood is wasted. 

For these reasons, over the last decade more and more municipalities, provinces, contractors and water boards have opted for our Protek Aqua® repair method when repairing locks, bridges, brakes, mooring posts, dolphins. This is how Protekta works together with its clients towards a sustainable future.