The use of wood in Kahramanmaraş buildings

In the last century, reinforced concrete multi-storey structures have become preferred with the intensive use of building materials such as concrete and steel in building production, and wooden structures have decreased and almost forgotten. The renovation and restoration works that will be carried out in wooden structures will contribute to the social life and demographic structure of the region in Kahramanmaras, which ranks eleventh in Turkey's total forest area ranking. The aim of this study is to investigate the architectural features of the traditional buildings and the resistance of wood material in a selected building by physical and mechanical experiments and establish the need for the protection and evaluation of buildings. In the literature search part of the study, the traditional domestic architecture of Kahramanmaras was searched and the effects of subjects such as topography, direction, climate, traditions, religious and socio-economic life on the typology of buildings were examined. In terms of the importance of supplying the wood material that will need to be used in the restoration and renovation of registered residential works in Kahramanmaras from its original region, forest existence and production potential of forest product of Kahramanmaras have been investigated. Documents of construction techniques and materials, status of usage, and architectural features of traditional residential buildings have been presented by using existing inventory studies. The research was conducted in a building that is selected from Gazipasa Neighborhood which contains traditional residential housing, physical and mechanical experiments were conducted in specimens that were prepared from a sample taken from the building. In addition; type, age, moisture content, unit weight, compressive and flexural strength, and the elastic modulus of the wood material that has been used in the building were determined. As a result of the data obtained, recommendations were presented on the restoration and repair activities of the buildings.