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Continuing Education In Commercial Lumber

Commercial lumber is basically any lumber traded in the free market system, bought or sold at either the retail or wholesale level.  It comes in many forms, types and species, and is generally graded into categories of quality to enable users to select the quality best suited for their purposes.

The grading of commercial lumber is based upon the characteristics and features that may lower its strength, durability or appearance.  Knots, checks and pitch pockets are some of the visual features that are a natural part of trees.  While those grades that make up the vast majority of commercial lumber can contain numerous knots and other features, some grades are virtually free of such features.

Lumber can be divided into two major categories: hardwood and softwood.  Hardwood lumber is primarily used for remanufacturing into furniture, flooring, paneling, moulding, cabinetry and other millwork.  Softwood lumber is primarily used for construction work.

Hardwood lumber can be graded into the three main categories of factory lumber, dimensioned lumber and finished products.

There are several grades of hardwood factory lumber.  The best grade is known as "FAS"; the second-best grade is "FIF"; and the third-best grade is called "Selects".  These grades are followed by "No. 1 Common", "No. 2A Common", No. 2B Common", "Sound Wormy", "No. 3A Common" and "No. 3B Common".  Hardwood lumber comes in standard lengths of one foot increments ranging from four feet to sixteen feet in length.  Standard thicknesses are in either 1/8 inch or 1/2 inch increments ranging from 3/16 inch to 3-3/4 thicknesses.  Hardwood lumber is manufactured to random widths as the grades do not specify standard widths.

Dimensioned hardwood lumber, also known as "hardwood dimension stock" or "dimension parts", is stock that has been processed into specific lengths, widths and thicknesses and can be either semi-machined or completely machined products.  These products are usually kiln-dried and graded into the three main classes of "hardwood dimension parts", "rough solid kiln-dried squares" and "surfaced solid kiln-dried squares".

Finished hardwood market products are graded in finished form and generally require no further processing.  Examples of finished products include siding, stair treads and risers, trim and moulding, construction boards and timbers, and hardwood flooring.  Of these hardwood flooring is probably the highest volume product on the market.

Softwood lumber has been used for many years as the primary raw material for use in construction and manufacturing.  It is produced in a wide variety of products and from a wide variety of species.  Softwood lumber can be classified by its species, grade and form of manufacture, and can be graded into the three main use categories of yard lumber, structural lumber, and factory and shop lumber.

Yard lumber can be further graded into "Select" and "Common" classes.  Select lumber is usually not graded according to strength but rather according to appearance, as it is generally intended to receive natural or paint finishes.  Common lumber is also not usually graded for stress, is of lower appearance than the Select grade, but is suitable for light construction and utility uses.

Structural lumber is almost always produced in standard dimensional sizes, graded for stress and strength, and assigned allowable structural properties.  As the name implies, structural lumber is used as structural members in construction.

Factory and Shop lumber comes in a wide variety of species, sizes and grades of softwood and is typically the raw material for many different secondary manufacturing uses where appearance and finishing characteristics as well as physical properties are important, such as trim moulding and cabinet stock.

Various inspection bureaus and grading agencies typically supervise the grading processes at lumber mills, provide re-inspection services and write grading rules for the products and species they represent.

Architects, engineers and construction contractors should be well versed in the types, grades, species and physical properties of commercial lumber.  The study of commercial lumber is an excellent topic for the continuing education requirements of these professionals.  More information is available from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service. Additional continuing education courses in commercial lumber can be found at CEU-HQ.com.

(ArticlesBase SC #2090687)

What is Pressure Treated Lumber?

You heard about pressure treated lumber, but what does it mean?

About 70 years back a man named dr. karl wolman created the effective process of infusing preservative deeply into wood products. This process has create a immense profit for the building industry.. From creating and using rebar and pressure treated lumber one can build solid foundations and structures.

Infusing chemicals into the base of wood is the primary objective of pressure treatment. The wood product is placed into a humongous cylindrical holding tank, and the tank is depressurized to remove all air. The storage tank is completely filled with preservartives in a high pressure environment. After that, the the pressure treated timber is removed and the preservatives are used for next application. The next step is preparing thelumber for the shipyard. This is the most common way pressure treated lumber is processed.

The process offers a not so tasty wood for vermin and insects. This creates a great use for the wholesale wall timber industry.

As of now you have four distinct levels for pressure treated lumber, regardless the chemical used. Below are the common and suggestive rating:
0.25 Placed above solid foundation
0.40 Placed ground contact
0.60 Foundation wood that permanent
2.50 Sea or salt water

These numbers above should be marked in an white ink on the board that is treated. Generally speaking, this is not something for you to be concerned with, since your local lumberyards will only carry the types suitable to your climat. In order to get the best product for your project tell you building supplier the pt number either it is below, above, or on.!

A project deadline is important as is the materials used for the project. Research companies who offer wholesale building supplies as they can give you some great prices and may even be able to buy your products from you.

(ArticlesBase SC #98216)

Pressure Treated Lumber, What Home Buyers Should Look For!

Home inspectors cite wood to earth contact as a condition that will, eventually, lead to decay of the wood. Sometimes, the wood that is in contact with the soil is pressure treated lumber that is designed for that purpose. This article gives advice on what could be considered appropriate uses for pressure treated lumber.

Wood to earth contact is one of the most frequently cited concerns in a home inspection report. Often, clients ask about wood to earth contact and how it applies to pressure treated lumber. In the world of construction, pressure treated lumber is advertised as having a long life (some say 40 plus years) even with direct earth contact. The manufacturers soak the lumber in chemicals that penetrate into the wood from the outside surface. The most vulnerable area to future rot is where the builder cuts the wood -- such as to length and then that end is dropped in a hole for use as a fence post. In theory, if an end is cut and buried, a topical wood treatment should be applied at the cut. In practice, this lumber does last a very long time. There have been instances of fence posts, that were installed 20 years before, being dug up and they looked as good as they did the day they were buried. On the other hand, depending on soil conditions, sometimes the wood will not meet the advertised expectations for longevity.

Pressure treated lumber, and what a home inspector should say about it when it touches soil, is an issue a home inspector wrestles with. Fact: The wood is manufactured for ground contact, so having it touch the earth is not necessarily a defect. However, pressure treated wood in contact with the soil will last much longer if all soil contact is eliminated. Putting pressure treated lumber on a concrete pier will make it last longer.
A logical means of evaluating the situation, that makes sense for the home inspector, follows: If pressure treated lumber is being used in a crucial role, and it is in contact with soil, then the inspector recommends removal of the soil. For example, if a structural post under the house is buried the risk for extensive damage, the result of rot, cannot be ignored. Another example: Outside columns that support high decks should be kept well away from soil. High decks can come down if the columns rot.

Now, if an inspector finds a couple pressure treated 4x4's, for support of a handrail, sunk into the earth at the steps from a low deck, that is a relatively minor concern. Usually the inspector will probe the lumber at the ground level and, if it is sound, not think or say much about it. No grading is applicable, since the posts are sunk into the ground, in part to make the rail steady. Pressure treated lumber is commonly used in simple outdoor applications and, down the road, any repair should be simple to do and the area easy to access. Should there be a problem at some point, a workman who is affordable can perform the repair and no structural damage is likely to have occurred. That makes this an appropriate use of pressure treated lumber.

(ArticlesBase SC #794783)