Taxonomy of Wood Products
Solid Wood Products
Wood Products Taxonomy
WOOD
Composites
Engineered
Lumber
Composites
Panels
Wood/Nonwood
Solid Wood
Wood Based
Softwood
Lumber
Glued
Pulp and Paper
Treated
Hardwood
Pulp
Paper
LVL
Boards
Finger joined
Mechanical
Edge glued
Chemical
Wood/Cement
Particleboard
OSL
Dimension
Wood/Plastic
MDF
Glulam
Timber
Engineered Wood
Products
Plywood
MSR
Secondary
Wood Products
OSB
I-Beams
Furniture
Trusses
Cabinets
CLT
Windows & Doors
Millwork & Factory-built
Housing
Wood Products Taxonomy
WOOD
Composites
Engineered
Lumber
Composites
Panels
Wood/Nonwood
Solid Wood
Wood Based
Softwood
Lumber
Glued
Pulp and Paper
Treated
Hardwood
Pulp
Paper
LVL
Boards
Finger joined
Mechanical
Edge glued
Chemical
Wood/Cement
Particleboard
OSL
Dimension
Wood/Plastic
MDF
Glulam
Timber
Engineered Wood
Products
Plywood
MSR
Secondary
Wood Products
OSB
I-Beams
Furniture
Trusses
Cabinets
CLT
Windows & Doors
Millwork & Factory-built
Housing
Dimension Lumber
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“2 by 4”, “2 by 6”, “2 by 8” construction lumber
Majority of lumber produced in North America
Production grew approx. 1.4% p.a. from 1985-2005
Bulk commodity product with little specialization
Used mainly in residential construction
2.0”
Rough sawn
(“nominal” size)
“Two by four”
3.5”
3.7”
4.0”
Dimension lumber - sizes
1.7”
After drying
1.5”
After planing
(actual size)
Dimension Lumber - sizes
• Thickness – increments of 2 inches
• Width
– increments of 2 inches
• Length
– increments of 2 feet
Softwood lumber pricing (US$/MBF)
Product
Length (ft)
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
2x4
215
245
245
240
270
260
270
2x6
215
245
240
235
265
260
270
2x8
220
240
255
240
275
270
290
2 x 10
195
200
290
300
300
315
300
Premiums for larger cross-section dimensions and lengths.
Dimension Lumber
Dimension Lumber
• Majority of production sold in US
• SPF species group (Spruce - Pine – Fir)
Softwood Boards
BC Wood Specialties
 Non-structural, finished product
 1” thick material, 2” width increments, 2’ length increments
 Markets are: export, industrial, home centres
Softwood boards
Canadian softwood
board species
Wall panelling
Softwood boards
Decorative panelling
Furniture
Timber
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Minimum dimensions 5.5”
High value product
Majority goes to export markets
Production is decreasing
Timber
• Post and beam construction
• Architectural value as well as structural role
• Higher value product than smaller dimensions ($/m3)
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Danzaland, Flickr 100_9859, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
http://www.flickr.com/photos/monahan/3083747492/
Timber
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Solid softwood lumber – species
Boards
Spruce
Douglas-fir
Pines
Hemlock
Cedars
Dimension lumber
SPF
Douglas-fir
Hemlock
Timber
Douglas-fir
Hemlock
Machine Stress Rated Lumber
Top chord
B ottom chord
 Lumber is graded by machine rather than manually
 Uses non-destructive measurement of stiffness to
predict strength of lumber pieces
 Structural end-uses
 Value-added lumber product
 Trusses are large market
Web
Truss plate
Bending test
Maximum load
Modulus of Rupture
MOR
“strength”
Load
Linear portion of curve
Modulus of Elasticity
MOE
“stiffness”
Deflection
MOE – MOR relationship
MOR predicted
x
x
x x x
x
x x
x
x
xx x x x
x x
xx x x
x
x
xx xx x
x
xx x
MOR
“strength”
x
x
x
x x xx x
xx x
x x xx
x xx x xx
x
x
x
xxx x
x
x xxx xxxx xx x x
x
x xx x
x x
x xx x
x xx x
MOE
“stiffness”
MOE measured
Machine Stress Rated Lumber
Rollers
Sensor
Load cell
Lumber
MSR lumber in roof trusses
Wood Products Taxonomy
WOOD
Composites
Engineered
Lumber
Composites
Panels
Wood/Nonwood
Solid Wood
Wood Based
Softwood
Lumber
Glued
Pulp and Paper
Treated
Hardwood
Pulp
Paper
LVL
Boards
Finger joined
Mechanical
Edge glued
Chemical
Wood/Cement
Particleboard
OSL
Dimension
Wood/Plastic
MDF
Glulam
Timber
Engineered Wood
Products
Plywood
MSR
Secondary
Wood Products
OSB
I-Beams
Furniture
Trusses
Cabinets
Windows & Doors
Millwork & Factory-built
Housing
CLT
Short lengths
Longer lengths
e.g. dimension lumber trim ends
Removal of defects
defect, e.g. knots
Butt joint (end grain)
Finger Joined Lumber
 Longer lengths produced from shorter stock
 Allow defects to be reduced
 End-to-end joints via side-grain gluing
Finger Jointed Lumber
BC Wood Specialties
www.ufpi.com
 Structural or non-structural joints can be made
 Longer fingers → greater strengths
 Increased dimensional stability in resulting piece
 Utilized in lumber, glulam, I-beams
Finger joints
Narrower edge
Wider face
Dimensional stability of finger joined lumber
Warping tendency of any one piece is randomized in its
location in finger-joined lumber and resulting piece is
more dimensionally stable.
Edge-glued Panels
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Edge-lamination of wood
Greater widths from narrow material
Dimensionally stable-panel produced
Industrial and finished retail products
Wood dryng defects
T
R
T
R
• Tangential shrinkage > Radial shrinkage
• Natural tendency to “cup”
• Cupping is greater in wider pieces of wood
Dimensional stability of edge-glued panels
Randomization of end grain patterns
Less likely to cup
Edge-glued panels
Wood Products Taxonomy
WOOD
Composites
Engineered
Lumber
Composites
Panels
Wood/Nonwood
Solid Wood
Wood Based
Softwood
Lumber
Glued
Pulp and Paper
Treated
Hardwood
Pulp
Paper
LVL
Boards
Finger joined
Mechanical
Edge glued
Chemical
Wood/Cement
Particleboard
OSL
Dimension
Wood/Plastic
MDF
Glulam
Timber
Engineered Wood
Products
Plywood
MSR
Secondary
Wood Products
OSB
I-Beams
Furniture
Trusses
Cabinets
CLT
Windows & Doors
Millwork & Factory-built
Housing
Treated Wood
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Preserves the wood against fungal degradation
For wood used in external conditions
Effectively poisons the wood
Chemical agent is either water-borne or oil-borne
Usually introduced into wood using pressure treatment
Treated Wood
Examples of preservatives
 Creosote
 Pentachlorophenol (PCP)
 Chromated copper arsenate (CCA)
 Ammoniacal copper quaternary (ACQ)
Treated Wood
Pressure treatment vessels
Treated Wood
Examples of preservative use
Creosote
Pentachlorophenol (PCP)
Treated Wood
Examples of preservative use
CCA
ACQ
Pressure-treated Wood
Non-incised lumber
Incised lumber
The retention of wood preservatives in wood
species which do not readily abosrb the
preservative chemical can be enhanced by incising
the wood.
Wood Products Taxonomy
WOOD
Composites
Engineered
Lumber
Composites
Panels
Wood/Nonwood
Solid Wood
Wood Based
Softwood
Lumber
Glued
Pulp and Paper
Treated
Hardwood
Pulp
Paper
LVL
Boards
Finger joined
Mechanical
Edge glued
Chemical
Wood/Cement
Particleboard
OSL
Dimension
Wood/Plastic
MDF
Glulam
Timber
Engineered Wood
Products
Plywood
MSR
Secondary
Wood Products
OSB
I-Beams
Furniture
Trusses
Cabinets
CLT
Windows & Doors
Millwork & Factory-built
Housing
Hardwood Lumber
 Visual appearance of lumber is key
 Used for decorative and architectural
purposes rather than structural products
 Flooring, trim & molding, joinery,
cabinets, furniture
Hardwood Lumber
Hardwood Lumber
Grading system based on
cutting high quality boards
from rough lumber.
• Thickness – usually 1 inch (but also other thicknesses)
• Width
– random widths
• Length
– increments of 1 foot
Lumber Grading
Softwood vs. Harwoods
Lumber Grading - softwoods
• Softwood grading considers that the piece of
lumber will be used as it stands and will not
undergo subsequent reprocessing.
• Therefore the greatest defect in the piece
decides the grade of that piece of lumber.
Lumber Grading - harwoods
• Hardwood boards are graded on the amount of
clear (defect-free) wood that can be obtained
after the removal of defects.
• The boards are either “ripped” along the grain,
or “chopped” across the grain to produce
smaller, clear pieces are called “cuttings”.
• Cuttings are then used in the production of other
items such as edge-glued panels or furniture.
Solid softwood lumber
Dimension Lumber
Timber
Boards
Machine Stress
Rated Lumber
Other solid lumber products
Finger Jointed lumber
Treated Wood
Edge-glued Panels
Hardwood