Editing Chestnut (section)

===Timber===
[[Image:Edelkastanie.jpg|thumb|Chestnut wood: Note the splitting at the top of the log.]]
Chestnut is of the same family as oak, and likewise its wood contains many tannins.<ref name=peggy/> This renders the wood very durable,<ref name=peggy/> gives it excellent natural outdoor resistance,<ref name=peggy/><ref name=calu>[http://www.calu.bangor.ac.uk/Technical%20leaflets/050401Chestnuts.pdf Sweet Chestnut production] in Farm Woodlands – CALU Technical Note ref: 050401. July 2006.</ref> and saves the need for other protection treatment. It also corrodes iron slowly, although copper, brass, or stainless metals are not affected.<ref name=calu/>

Chestnut timber is decorative. Light brown in color, it is sometimes confused with oak wood.<ref name=calu/> The two woods' textures are similar.<ref name=peggy/> When in a growing stage, with very little sap wood, a chestnut tree contains more timber of a durable quality than an oak of the same dimensions. Young chestnut wood has proved more durable than oak for woodwork that has to be partly in the ground, such as stakes and fences.<ref name=botanical/>

After most growth is achieved, older chestnut timber tends to split and warp when harvested. The timber becomes neither so hard nor so strong as oak.<ref name=botanical/><ref name=peggy/><ref name=calu/> The American chestnut ''C. dentata'' served as an important source of lumber, because it has long, unbranched trunks.<ref name=answers/> In Britain, chestnut was formerly used indiscriminately with oak for the construction of houses, [[Millwork (building material)|millwork]], and household furniture.<ref name=botanical/> It grows so freely in Britain that it was long considered a truly native species, partly because the roof of [[Westminster Hall#Westminster Hall|Westminster Hall]] and the [[Parliament House, Edinburgh|Parliament House of Edinburgh]] were mistakenly thought to be constructed of chestnut wood. Chestnut wood, however, loses much of its durability when the tree is more than 50 years old, and despite the local chestnut's quick growth rate, the [[timber]] used for these two buildings is considerably larger than a 50-year-old chestnut's [[:wikt:girth|girth]]. It has been proven that the roofs of these buildings are made of [[Sessile Oak|Durmast oak]], which closely resembles chestnut in [[Wood grain|grain]] and color.<ref name=botanical/>

It is therefore uncommon to find large pieces of chestnut in building structures, but it has always been highly valued for small outdoor furniture pieces, fencing, [[Cladding (construction)|cladding]] ([[Roof shingle|shingles]]) for covering buildings,<ref name=calu/> and pit-props,<ref name=botanical/> for which durability is an important factor. In Italy, chestnut is also used to make [[barrel]]s used for aging [[balsamic vinegar]] and some alcoholic beverages, such as [[whisky]] or [[lambic beer]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Lambic and the spontaneous fermentation|url=http://www.cantillon.be/br/3_11|website=Cantillon.be|publisher=Cantillon|access-date=2 June 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141106200618/http://www.cantillon.be/br/3_11|archive-date=6 November 2014}}</ref> Of note, the famous 18th-century "berles" in the French [[Cévennes]] are cupboards cut directly from the hollowed [[trunk (botany)|trunk]].<ref name=joyeuse>[https://archive.today/20130131072809/http://www.pays-beaumedrobie.com/fr/musee-chataign/uk-accueil-chataigne.php Chestnut museum in the Beaumedrobie country – France]</ref>