Background to Taxonomies Setting the Stage Most of forest land in Canada owned by Provincial governments (not the global norm) exceptions include Irving (mostly NB and Maine) and Vancouver Island in BC All firms want to maximize return to log i.e. make products from the log that will generate the highest value products wide lumber, panels narrow lumber panels chips High value hog fuel (bark, sawdust, etc.) Low value David Cohen 1 Hierarchy of Values wide lumber, panels narrow lumber, panels chips hog fuel (bark, sawdust, etc.) Solid Wood Products Pulp & Paper Products Energy & composting material, some panels David Cohen 1
Canada s Wood Supply Largest (diameter & height) in BC and Alberta larger closest to coastal BC Central & Eastern Canada has shorter, skinnier, more twisted trees Faster growing in southern regions More hardwood in Ontario & Quebec Industry concentrating on lumber in Western Canada Industry concentrating on pulp & paper in Central & Atlantic Canada Larger sawmills in West; More pulp mills in Central & East Higher quality lumber in West David Cohen 3 Most solid wood is used in housing in NA US house construction and repair & remolding consume majority of Canadian lumber and panels 30 40% of lumber used in new house construction and 30 40% in repair and remodeling David Cohen 4 David Cohen 2
Solid Wood Products Based on A New Taxonomy of Wood Products by David Cohen & Simon Ellis, 1998; latest update 2011. Acknowledging the contribution of Robert Kozak and Bill Wilson in the initial 1996 edition. David Cohen 5 Wood Products Taxonomy WOOD Composites Solid Wood Pulp & Paper David Cohen 6 David Cohen 3
Wood Products Taxonomy WOOD Composites Solid Wood Panels Engineered Lumber Composites (ELC) Softwood Lumber Glued Treated Hardwood Lumber Wood/ Non-wood Wood Based LVL Boards Finger joined CCA treated Hardwood Wood/ Cement Particleboard OSL Dimension Edge glued Fire retardant MDF Timber Glulam Plywood MSR Engineered Wood Products OSB I-Beams Roof trusses Solid Wood Softwood Lumber Glued Treated Hardwood Boards Dimension Timber MSR David Cohen 8 David Cohen 4
Softwood Boards BC Wood Specialties What: 1 thick material, 2 width increments, 2 length increment usually dried and planed smooth Uses: as a non-structural, finished products to manufacture desks, shelving, furniture etc. Where produced: NA & Europe Markets are: export, industrial, and home centres Trends: lost share to panels cut to size with veneer or laminate surfaces David Cohen 9 Dimension Lumber What: 2 by 4, 2 by 6, 2 by 8 construction lumber bulk commodity product with little specialization Dominates lumber NA production Uses: residential construction & repair/remodeling in NA Where produced: majority of lumber produced in NA Trends: production grew approx. 1.4%/year from 1985-2005 David Cohen 10 David Cohen 5
Dimension lumber Why is a 2 by 4 not 2 by 4? 4.0 3.7 3.5 2.0 1.7 1.5 Rough sawn After drying After being planed ( nominal size) (actual size) Two by four David Cohen 11 Timber What: minimum dimensions 5.5 Uses: post & beam construction & reman Produced: in NA & Europe (smaller quantity) Trends: declining supply & use due to raw material supply Architectural value as well as structural role; popular in vacation homes David Cohen 12 David Cohen 6
Machine Stress Rated Lumber (MSR) What: lumber is graded by machine (bending strength) Uses: to make engineered structural products used in construction Where: made in Canada & EU (MSE) Trends: increased structural & architectural uses (examples below) Roof trusses I-beams David Cohen 13 Solid Wood Softwood Lumber Glued Treated Hardwood Boards Dimension Timber Finger joined Edge glued MSR David Cohen 14 David Cohen 7
Finger Joined Lumber What: longer lengths made from shorter stock Why: removes defects strength & dimensional stability + uses waste Production: across Canada, particularly central & eastern Canada due to small, knotty trees Uses: in glulam, I beams, windows, doors Trends: relatively stable supply & demand David Cohen 15 Edge glued Panels Random end grain patterns reduces cupping What: edge lamination of wood (like a cutting board) Uses: to produce dimensionally stable panels for table tops, desks and solid panels to be covered in veneers Produced: in regions with low labour costs e.g. China & Vietnam Trends: stable production and use David Cohen 16 David Cohen 8
Treated Wood What: treated with chemical to preserves wood from decay & rot Uses: used in external conditions such as decks, walkways, fences Production: most in southern US since species requires no incising (i.e. scoring wood), in Canada wood requires incising Trends: treatment becoming less effective to minimize human health & environmental issues David Cohen 17 Hardwood Lumber What: green hardwood lumber often of mixed widths and length Uses: decorative & architectural purposes so visual appearance of lumber is key Production: mostly where HW grows Uses: Flooring, trim & molding, joinery, cabinets, furniture, etc. David Cohen 18 David Cohen 9
Pictures by David Cohen 2001/2003 David Cohen 19 Wood Products Taxonomy WOOD Composites Solid Wood Wood/Nonwood Panels Wood/ Cement Wood/ Plastic Wood Based Particleboard MDF Plywood OSB Engineered Lumber Composites David Cohen 20 David Cohen 10
Wood Elements for Wood Panels Fibres Sawdust Planer shavings Veneer sheets Chips Strands David Cohen 21 Wood based Panels Non structural panels Particleboard Medium density fiberboard (MDF) & high density fibreboard (HDF) used for laminate flooring Structural panels Plywood Oriented strandboard (OSB) David Cohen 22 David Cohen 11
Particleboard What: non structural panel made with particles from sawmill waste Uses: smooth surface often covered with laminate used for cabinet boxes, desks, bookcases, beds, and other low cost furniture Produced: throughout NA and EU close to end use due to weight Trends: being replaced by MDF which has smooth edges, slow decline due to lower cost David Cohen 23 Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) Profiled edges What: non structural panel made from wood fibres from sawmill waste Uses: since edges can be machines all four surfaces can be wrapped with laminate and used for molding, cabinet doors, furniture, etc. Produced: over 50% is produced in China for its wood furniture industry HDF: high density fibreboard is produced for laminate flooring Trends: production follows furniture manufacturing David Cohen 24 David Cohen 12
Plywood What: a structural panel produced from softwood veneers Uses: for residential construction in NA & concrete forming Production: mostly in BC and the US Market: has been mostly lost to OSB and continues to decline David Cohen 25 Plywood used as house sheathing Plywood used for concrete forming David Cohen 26 David Cohen 13
Oriented Strand Board What: structural panel that uses strands of low quality hardwoods (e.g. aspen, poplar) Uses: replacing plywood in most applications e.g. sheathing Production: mostly in Canada & US, growing in Asia Trends: overcapacity as global recession hit, demand tied closely to US new housing starts & remodeling David Cohen 27 OSB used as roof decking OSB used as house sheathing David Cohen 28 David Cohen 14
Share of NA wood panel production Wood/Cement Composite Panels What: panels produced by combining small pieces of wood with cement under pressure Uses: cut to make acoustic ceiling tiles, roadside noise barriers, and concrete filled insulating forms largest use in NA is exterior siding Production: higher proportion of cement to wood fibre and considered a cement product (lighter and lowers GHG footprint) Trends: difficult to produce high quality with proprietary mixes Warning: in the past asbestos bound wood to cement David Cohen 30 David Cohen 15
Wood/Plastic Composite Panels What: non-structural material made from wood residues & recycled plastic that has won many environmental awards Uses: in NA for decks and walkways, in EU for car parts Products: have good moisture resistance, dimensional stability, exterior durability and high resistance to rot Trends: towards less wood and more plastic to reduce chance of rot David Cohen 31 Wood Products Taxonomy WOOD Composites Solid Wood Wood/Nonwood Panels Wood Based Engineered Lumber Composites LVL OSL Glulam David Cohen 32 David Cohen 16
Wood Elements in EWP Strands Veneer sheets Lamstock Veneer strips David Cohen 33 Laminated Veneer Lumber What: is composed of layers of veneer with the grain of each layer running parallel to adjacent layers Uses: used on edge as a beam to span long distances or headers and lying flat as flange material for I-beams Production: because LVL beams can be very long production is usually close to end use regions Trends: increasing use due to uniformity, length and strength Defects are removed from veneers before manufacture much stronger material than solid wood David Cohen 34 David Cohen 17
Oriented Strand Lumber TimberStrand Parallam What: boards or beam produced by gluing together long strands of wood to produce a less variable building material Uses: OSL lumber like TimberStrand made from flakes and used for window frames, door stock, wall studs, and rimboad while OSL lumber like Parallam made from strips of softwood veneers and is much stronger and used for high end structural purposes David Cohen 35 Oriented Strand Lumber David Cohen 36 David Cohen 18
Glue Laminated Timber (Glulam) What: fingerjoined dimension lumber glued together to make a strong stack of solid wood Uses: used for beams, columns, trusses while curved glulam produces arches & complex curved figures Production: must be produced close to where it is used; produced in NA, EU and Japan extensively Trends: use as architectural feature increasing David Cohen 37 Curved Glue Laminated Lumber (Glulam) Curved members can be created Tighter curves require thinner laminations Architectural as well as structural David Cohen 38 David Cohen 19
David Cohen 39 Wood Products Taxonomy Engineered Wood Products Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) I Beams Trusses David Cohen 40 David Cohen 20
Cross Laminated Timber More technical content and images on CLT What: large panels made from laminations of selected dimensional lumber with each adjacent layer is oriented with grain perpendicular (like plywood made from solid wood) Uses: tall wood buildings as walls, floors & stairs & oil drilling platforms Production: 1 st plant in NA in BC, more plants being proposed; more common in Europe Trends: growing interest in NA but demand not greater than supply new plants in US/Canada with imports from EU David Cohen 41 Cross-Laminated Timber Photos taken at Structurlam David Cohen 42 David Cohen 21
Cross-Laminated Timber 18 story residential building (wooden construction) at UBC David Cohen 43 I Beams What: an engineered wood product used as floor or roof support instead of solid wood with a flange & web (uses 40% less wood) Elements: Flange can be made from MSR lumber, LVL, or Parallam while web can be made from OSB or Plywood Use: used on over half of all floors in new house construction in NA Production: custom manufactured close to construction side Trends: growing concern for fire safety & off gassing David Cohen 44 David Cohen 22
Trusses Pitched chord truss Parallel chord truss What: an engineered wood product made up of shorter pieces of MSR lumber used to support roofs in single and multi family homes Uses: to support new or renovated roofs in houses & condominiums and now used in over 90% of new houses built in NA Production: due to their awkward shapes they are manufactured close to where they are used to minimize shipping Trend: Growth in multi family buildings limited by fire considerations David Cohen 45 backgroun d David Cohen 46 solid wood Composite s ELC EWP David Cohen 23
Wood Products Taxonomy WOOD Composites Solid Wood Panels Engineered Lumber Composites Softwood Lumber Glued Treated Hardwood Wood/Nonwood Wood Based LVL Boards Finger joined Wood/Ceme nt Particleboar d OSL Dimension Edge glued Wood/Plasti c MDF Glulam Timber Engineered Wood Products Plywood MSR Cross Laminated Timber OSB I-Beams Trusses David Cohen 47 David Cohen 24