Preliminary Structural Reuse Assessment of Reclaimed Juniperus excelsa Timber after Approximately 42 Years of Service: Mechanical Response, Visible Defects, and SEM Observations

Abstract

This preliminary, limited case study compared reclaimed Juniperus excelsa (Greek juniper) wood—removed after approximately 42 years of service in a rural structure—with freshly cut samples from the same geographic region. Compressive strength parallel and perpendicular to the grain, full-section four-point bending, a study-specific visual defect index, and qualitative scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations were used. Test results showed that parallel compression and bending strengths were of similar magnitude in the two groups, whereas perpendicular compression showed a larger difference. These differences were not interpreted as a loss or preservation of properties, as the initial properties and detailed service history of the reclaimed specimens are unknown. In the new group, a distinct trend of decreasing bending strength with increasing visible defect scores was evident, whereas the narrow score range in the reclaimed group did not support a similar relationship. Some reclaimed specimens fractured abruptly near the peak load. Local microcrack-like discontinuities observed in selected SEM fields were qualitatively consistent with this behavior but did not establish causality. Due to the small sample sizes, the results provide preliminary engineering trends rather than design values.