Leylandii Wood

Leylandii wood is plentiful for some DIYers, and Leylandii are widely grown for construction timber in some countries, so lets look at its properties.

Leylandii wood is durable, wih good rot resistance.

It has 2 strong biocidal chemicals, carvacrol and nootkatone. These are both fungicidal, giving it good rot resistance. These are found in the heartwood. Carvacrol is antiseptic & fungicidal.

Leylandii also has good termite resistance due to the carvacrol and nootkatone in the wood, though this is not an important issue in Britain.

Leylandii has mosquito repellant properties

High resin content can make a mess on saw blades. Resin can be cleaned off with solvent.

DIY Uses: general building work where high resin content is acceptable, such as framing, trusses, joists, etc.

It is also good for timber that will be oiled rather than painted, so can be used for cladding and other exterior uses if it is not to be painted.

The question of its use for chopping boards has been raised, since Carvacrol is fungicidal and microbicidal. Carvacrol is the principle constituent of oil of origanum.

References:

• The sesquiterpenoid nootkatone and the absolute configuration of a dibromo derivative. Anne M. Sauer, Frank R. Fronczek, Betty C. R. Zhu, William E. Crowe, Gregg Henderson and Roger A. Laine.

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