摘要：The effect of adver se env ironmen tal cond itions on buil ding materials and the extent of damagecaused depends on both the materials used and the environment al cond itions. Although timber isa dimi nish ing resource, it is s till widely used in toda y' s construc tion. In Malaysia, timber is oneof the ma in components of man y histori c buildings. Appropriate maintenance of such bui ld ingsrequ ires an understand ing of timber defects and its related pr oblems.Timber defec ts a re cla ssi fied into two major groups: non-bi ol og ical and biologi caldeteriorat ions. Non-biolog ical deteri ora tion consists of ph ysical decay, excessive moisture con tent,dimensiona l inst ability and chemical det eri oration. These defects are mainly caused by the timberin se rv ice bein g subjected to env ironmental exposure. The most common and des tru ctive timberbiological deteriora tions are those d ue to dry rot , we t rot as well as insect attacks .A study based on seve n selected houses was cond ucted to ide nt ify the most common buil dingdefects, specifica lly on timb er componen ts amongs t traditional Malay houses in Malacca, Malaysia,A bu ildi ng condition su rvey was carr ied out to determine the effect of the environmen t towa rdstimber buildings and their main components. Data collected were bas ed on the investigation andvisual observation of the selected case stud ies. Find ing s of this research will serve as an indic atortoward s maintaining the bu ild ings' timb er components in good cond itio n in o rder that thebuildings' life span could be extended and primarily to conse rve the valu able traditional timberhouses in II historical ci ty.
关键词：Building Defect; Timber Deteri oration; Environmen tal Effect; Building Component;and Building Cond ition Sur vey
