Wood

Course Building Technology

Confidence Not Confident

Last Edited @November 17, 2023 6:29 PM

Wood
inexpensive, sustainable, efficient
Pressure-treated wood - common, wood treatment for termite and decay resistance

Distinction between hardwood and softwood are based on characteristics (not wood
density)

Heartwood (interior part) and sapwood (exterior part) are two different parts of the
same tree
Heartwood are used for fine-quality flooring, furniture and wall paneling

Hardwood - flowering, broad leaves Softwood - not flowering, needlelike

leaves
Narra
Benguet Pine

Cellular structure of wood - hollow, long tubular cells

Cellulose - wall of wood cells

Lumber
Lumber is a extracted product (from wood) by sawyer, approximate density = 35 pcf.
(pounds per cubic foot)

Wood 1
 Lumber is stronger (compressive) along the grain, compared to steel, stone
and concrete (isotropic-no grain) ex: 2x6 stud, wood grain is parallel to the
vertical direction (along)

Characteristic of Lumber - Grain Orientation

Across the grain - low tensile strength (split at ends), shrinks (cells become
thinner with water)

Along the grain - stronger (compressive), weaker (shear)

Growth Rings - number of rings in a cross section of a tree trunk, annual rings (old
term)

Sawing of Lumber

angle/ direction of growth rings with respect to the wider side of lumber

Wood 2
 flat-sawn lumber - plain sawing, more quantity to produce, shrinks in a cup
shape (parallel to grain)

radial sawn lumber - quarter sawing, more dimensionally stable, prone to

wastage, for quality floor finishes, shrinks uniformly

Drying of Lumber (step 1)

seasoning - controlled rate of drying, to control separation of fibers during drying

after sawing

MC (moisture content) = (weight of water in wood / weight of oven-dry wood) x

100

average moisture content of lumber at FSP-state = 30% (MC), if below wood starts
to shrink
FSP - fiber saturation point, when all water in wood has evaporated then bound
water (remaining) begun to evaporate

Dry/ seasoned lumber - <19% or Green lumber - >20% or equal

equal
prone to fungi
not prone to fungi
heavier with more MC
more stiff and stronger (with
lesser MC)

lighter with less MC (less

transpo)

(sample problem) The weight of a piece of lumber is 2 lb. The weight of the
same piece after it is fully dried is 1.8 lb. What was the original moisture
content (MC) in the wood?
MC = (weight of water in wood / weight of dried wood) x 100

2 lb - 1.8 lb = 0.2 lb (weight of water in wood)

( 0.2 lb / 1.8 lb) x 100 = 11% MC

Drying/ seasoning processes

Wood 3
 In-air drying/ seasoning - dried Kiln drying/ seasoning - dried in
naturally kilns (steam is circulated)

S-DRY - surfaced when MC was S-GRN - surfaced when MC

19% was 20%

stacked on over the other where kills fungus

air circulated freely around them
faster drying processes
Piles are kept under a roof, away
from direct sunlight

a slow drying process (months)

Distortion from shrinkage - more prone in flat-sawn lumber

Surfacing of Lumber (step 2)

Process of smoothing, rounding off the edges

Makes it more square, removing distortions (after seasoning)

Surfaces per Sides

S1S - surface on one side, S1S1E - surfaced on one side and one edge

S2S - surface on two sides, S2S1E/ S1S2E

Wood 4
 S4S - surface on three sides, used for fascia boards

Surfaced lumber for wall framing

Rough lumber for exposed lumber components (beams and columns)

Worked lumber are dressed with additional machining, for interior finished
members: door & window frames, cabinetry

Lumber Sizes

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Wood 6
 Lumber Dimension Classifications - by cross-sectional dimensions

Board Lumber - (ex: 1x8) 1-by

Dimension Lumber - (ex: 2x4, 4x8) 2-by…4-by

Timber - (ex: 6x8) ≥5-by

how to compute to board foot

always use actual size when computing for estimate values

always use nominal size when computing for board foot

how to compute volume of wood - from board foot value

VOL = bdft x (1 ft³ / 12 bdft)

WEIGHT = volume x (weight of wood per ft³) ; wood usually = 35 lb/ft³

convert to kilograms = lbs x (1 lbs / 2,2)

Lumber and Timber Dimensions

Dimension Lumbers - most common are 2 x (2-by) lumbers, available in length 8ft,
10ft, 12ft…28ft (steps in 2)

2-by lumber are typically in S4S (surfaced in all sides)

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 3” or 4” thicker dimension lumbers are available in dry (S-dry) or green (S-
GRN) conditions

Timbers - 5” and thicker, are shipped in green (S-GRN) conditions and either S4S or
rough

Lumber and Timber Appearance

Strength is affected by: species, specific gravity, growth, and manufacturing

characteristic

lumber with straight grain has maximum strength

lumber with more slope in grain has lesser strength

examining longitudinal grain slope determines the lumber’s strength

Knot - occurs where a branch emerges from the tree trunk, this reduces the
strength (more knots affects much more), location of knot affects the bending
strength of lumber

Check - separation of wood fibers along the rays (perpendicular)

Shake - separation of wood fibers along the growth rings

Wood 8
 Split - separation of wood fibers at the ends

(more diagrams in the visual dictionary)

Wane - absence of wood at the corner/edge of a piece (from the sawing process)

Lumber Grading - graded in appearance or structural property

Structural grading - rate strength and stiffness via visual or machine

Visual grading - rank the visual qualities of lumber, stamped accordingly

for non-structural uses: flooring, trim, cabinetry, and other finish

criteria: few knots, checks, splits, staining and other defects

Machine grading - automatic device assesses by: flexing in between rollers or by

scanning wood electronically (to determine density), also stamped accordingly

Durability of Wood

Mechanical deterioration - physical wear

erosion

material fatigue

Chemical deterioration - due to acids and alkalies, and also ultraviolet rays of the
sun

Biodeterioration - rotting, living organisms that use wood as food (fungi via fungal
decay)

Termite Damage Mitigation

Maintain distance between wood and ground - 6 in minimum from ground

Wood 9
 Provide soil barrier (via chemical soil treatment)

Use preservative-treated wood - Creosote (oldest and reliable preservative),

used in railroad ties, utility poles

Waterborne preservatives

Pressure preservative-treated - for decking and foundation sill plates

Light Organic Solvent Preservative (LOSP) - Permethrin, Bifenthrin, Delatmethrin

Solignum - brand wood preservative

Use termite shield - galvanized sheet steel profiled with a drip-edge bend

Wood 10
 Manufactured Wood Products
Alternative Wood to products

Sawn Lumber - can be laminated

Wood boards - can be wood veneers

Types of manufactured wood products

Engineered Wood products

Two types of Exposure-Durability Classifications

Exterior - for permanent exposure to weather

Exposure 1 - for protected situations (covered with an exterior facing

material)

Wood Composites/ Laminates

Glue-laminated wood - glulam, for large span structures

Wood 11
 dimension lumber (typically 1-1/2”) glue together to form large cross
sections

glulam is stronger and stiffer than sawn lumber

difference between glulam and CLT (odd num layers) are the orientation
of each layers

Grading of Glulam Members -by the APA (The Engineered Wood

Association)

Framing Appearance grade - lowest appearance grade, glue is

smeared and defects are acceptable (should not exposed to view)

Industrial Appearance grade - beams called headers, used where

appearance is not important (warehouse or to be covered in finish
material)

Architectural Appearance grade - in between industrial and premium

grade

Premium Appearance grade - used where appearance is important

Hybrid Glulam - stronger at the edges (top and bottom laminations)

ex: FRP(fiber reinforced plastic) reinforced glulam beams

Structural composite lumber (SCL), LVL and PSL

Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) - gluing 1/8” thk dried wood veneers

used for floor joists and rafters (typically at 1-3/4”)

used for headers (3-1/2”) and wood stud walls (2x4)

less likely to warp/split compared to sawn lumber, also stronger than

sawn lumber

Wood 12
 Parallel Strand lumber (PSL) - gluing narrow strands of veneer together

made of chopped 1/2” wide and 8’ long strips

Others: LSL and OSL

made from shredded wood strands pressed into a rectangular cross section

least strong and least expensive, used for rim boards and short-span
headers

Laminated strand lumber (LSL)

Oriented strand lumber (OSL)

SCL products make use of wood waste with same benefits with glulam
(interior application)

Wood I-joists, used in floor joist and roof rafters

more stable than sawn lumber, less squeaking than sawn lumber

Wood Plastic Composites (WPC), blends plastic with wood or

agricultural fibers

made by pressing, extrusion, or injection-molding, with renewable/waster

materials

more consistent material, better moisture resistance

used for exterior decking

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 Wood Trusses

Wood Trusses (manufactures by frames), Roof truss and Floor truss

consists of individual members (typically using 2x4 lumber) joined

together (via nail plate on both sides) to form a frame, to carry a greater
load for less materials
using of LVL, PSL or glulam in trusses for heavy commercial/ industrial
applications

Roof Trusses - top chord is pitched, bottom chord is horizontal

special case in scissor truss

Wood 14
 difference between HOWE and PRATT truss

Floor Trusses - Parallel Chord Truss, Trussed Joints, top chord is

horizontal, parallel to the bottom chord (typically use 2x4 lumber)

Wood-metal joists - web members are metal, chords are LVL

(laminated veneer lumber) or sawn lumber, used in industrial
buildings

Wood 15
 Wood Panels - used as sheathing (roof and floor) and non-structural
siding/paneling

Veneered panel

Plywood (nominal: 4ft x 8ft, actual size less than 1/8” in L and W) - made
of thin layers of wood veneer glued together (odd number of layers)

Rotary slicing of a log, method in making plywood veneers

Plywood Veneer Grades (front and back veneer in illustration) - from

softwood

Grade A - smooth, paintable, for natural finish

expensive and limited in quantity

common for cabinets

Grade B - solid surface, minor splits

for concrete formworks

Grade C plugged - improved c, some broken grain

aka CDX

Grade D - limited exposure

Exterior rated panel, siding panel intended for permanent

exposure to weather

Non-veneered panel

Oriented Strandboard (OSB) (same dimensions with plywood - 4ft x 8ft) -

made of long shreds (strands) of wood compressed and glued into 3-5

Wood 16
 layers, strongest non-veneered panel

Plywood v OSB

Plywood OSB

has lower shear strength has greater shear strength (no

core voids)
better used in areas that need
finish used in structural wood framing
(sheathing)
higher grade can be stained/
painted cannot be sanded and painted

can be treated for wet area cannot be treated with

exposure preservatives, edges swell
when wet for prolonged periods

Particle board - different density and made up of smaller wood particles

than OSB, used for flooring

Fiberboard - very fine-grained board, made of wood fibers and synthetic

resin (interior use only)

medium-density fiberboard (MDF) - replacement for solid lumber,

moldings, cabinetry

Other Wood Panel Products

Hardboard - thin, dense panel

durable for weather exposure

used as residential siding

Insulating fiberboard sheathing - low-density panel, coated with asphalt

(for water resistance)

used as non-structural wall sheathing

Cellulosic fiberboard - panel made of finely processed recycled paper

waste

used for wall sheathing, acoustical isolation, carpet underlayment,

roof decking

Wood 17
 low-cost, sustainable

Hardwood plywood - panels made of high quality hardwood

used in cabinetry and other finish carpentry, high-quality architectural

woodwork

Non-wood Fiber Panels

Agrifiber / Biocomposite panels - made from agricultural waste products

Bamboo - alternative to interior wood panel products and hardwood

flooring

Strawboard panels - made from wheat/ rice straw

used for conventional wood stud framing

Industrial Wood products

high-density fiberboard (HDF) - hardboard, floor underlayment

Wood Connections
traditional methods:

interlocking joints - mortise-and-tenon, housed mortise-and-tenon, and dovetail

joint

Wood Joineries
Modern Joints:

Wood 18
 nailing/ nailing through a sheet connector

adhesives (in addition to nails)

screw and bolts

check more wood joints in the VISUAL DICTIONARY

Types of Nails

brite nails - no corrosion treatment, for structural connections

hot-dip galvanized nails - great corrosion resistance

stainless steel nails - expensive, great corrosion resistance

vinyl-coated nails - increased holding power, vinyl melts when driven and
increases bond with wood

sinker nails - thinner shank and easier to drive, also vinyl-coated

common nails - used for framing connections

box nails - used for framing connections, thinner than common nails to avoid
splitting of wood

casing nails and finish nails - finish carpentry

(deformed) shanks nails - roughed out, used for sheathing, subflooring, and floor
underlayment

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 Common nails: 6d, 8d, 10, and 16d
2d to 10d - increment of 1/4in per d
12d = 3 1/4in,16d = 3 1/2in, and 60d = 6in

Types of Nail Connections

Nails work best in compression (load is perpendicular), nails are weak in

withdrawal (load is parallel) or trying to pull apart

Face Nailing - strongest, highest withdrawal resistance (nail is perpendicular to

grain)

End Nailing - weakest, lowest withdrawal resistance (nail is parallel to grain)

Toe Nailing - stronger than end nailing, used when end nailing is not accessible

Wood 20
 Blind Nailing - used in finished wood flooring

Types of Screws and Bolts

screws have much higher withdrawal resistance (holding power) than nails, but take
longer to install and more expensive
commonly used in cabinet work, doors and window hardware

Drywall screws - used to attach wood boards

Lag screws/ bolts - used to attach heavy structural members

Flat head screws - used without washers and driven flush to surface

Round-head screws - used with washers and oval-shaped screws with

countersunk washers

Slotted head (-) and Phillips head (+) screws - driven by a flat-blade

Wood 21
 Machine Bolt v Carriage Bolt

Machine bolt

Carriage bolt - broad button head, no washers, square shoulder driven into a
drilled hole

Machine Bolt Carriage Bolt

Sheet Metal Connectors

used in contemporary wood buildings, made of galvanized steel, stainless steel

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 Light-gauge sheet steel connectors (ga.16 to 20) - conventional wood framing:
joists, beam, rafter/trusses, top plate, studs, etc

Heavy-gauge sheet steel connectors (ga.7 to 12) - heavy wood framing: two
beams, foundation, high-wind/ high-seismic loads

Joist Hanger - common used connector

face-mounted hanger - connect joist to beam/ girder

top-mounted hanger - when face-mounted is not possible, connect joists to steel

beam

Metal Connectors Examples: Joist Connector (most common)

Joist Hanger Example

Timber Connectors

Split-ring connector - inserted in matching circular grooves to clamp wood

members

improves spreading of load across larger wood members

Wood 23
 Timber rivet connections - fastening steel plates to large wood members with
spike-like rivets

Wood Adhesives

Structural Wood Adhesives

Full exterior exposure adhesives - long-term soaking and drying

limited exterior/ interior exposure adhesives - less water resistant

Wood Adhesives on Site

Rough carpentry work - subflooring panels to wood frames, together with nails,
adhesive reduces the squeaking in floors

Finish carpentry - in combination with nails/ screws used in finish trims, wood
flooring installations, other in site woodworks

cabinetry

wood paneling

Formaldehyde (organic compound) - is used in adhesives for engineered wood

Wood 24
 Prefabricated Panels
Framed Panels - sheathed with plywood/ OSB

Structural insulated panels (SIP) - aka sandwich panel, panels adhered

(structural-grade adhesive) to a stiff plastic foam core

reduces construction time and labor

more equipment used: cranes, fork lifts, booms, compared to WLF (wood-
light frame) construction is limited

facing can be OSB or plywood (sandwich on both sides)

Stressed-skin panels (SSP) - panels attached to dimension lumber framing,

common for energy-efficient construction

Wood 25
 Panelized construction - common in simple structures, sections of walls and floors
are framed, sheathed in the factory, then installed rapidly on-site

Wood Framing
Principal structural elements — walls, floors, roof

Cross members - connect parallel members together to form a frame

walls cross members - top and bottom plates

floor cross members - rim joist and band joist

rafter-ceiling cross members - top plate (of the supporting walls)

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 Wood-light framing (WLF) construction

started (1800s) 200 yrs ago - first called Balloon Frame (studs are continuous
from foundation to roof)

originated in the US

Platform Frame - modified WLF, has a lot of cross-grain lumber

member center-to-center spacing usually at: 12”, 16”, 20”, 24”

Wall Framing
Double top plate - 2 plates to support the joists placed anywhere along, single
plate if joist is directly aligned to studs

Triple top plate - if joists/ rafters are farther apart (24”)

Bottom plate - single plate (either sole plate or sill plate) at any location of the
structure

sole plate - plate that is not connected to foundation, eg. bottom plate of
walls

sill plate - aka mud sill, bottom plate connected to foundation — concrete
SOG, reinforced concrete wall (crawl space), basement walls, must be

Wood 27
 preservative-treated wood

Jack studs - framing on both sides of wall opening (doors or windows), add 2 or
3 layers if dead load above opening is greater

King stud

Cripple stud

Header - made of 2-by or 3-by lumber members

Floor Framing
load-bearing walls (on all floors) - should rest on foundation wall/ floor joists/
piers

non-load bearing walls (on all floors) - can rest on floors/ in between floor joists

Floor joists should span between the opposite walls along the shorter side,
provided by intermediate beams

Floor over hang joists shout be hung on a built-up beam (joist header - LVL
beam)

Wood 28
 Joist header - built-up beam nailing 2 or more 2-by members of the same size as
the joist

Joist hanger - sheet metal connector, where joists are hung from a beam or joist
header

Double floor joist - doubled at the two opposite ends of cantilevered floor, or an
floor opening

Rim/ Band Joist - provides lateral resistant to floor joists, reducing buckle

Blocking/ Diagonal bridging - provided for long span floor joists (depth >12in-
nominal), rows provided at 8ft-on-center

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 Roof Framing

WLF roofs are generally sloped: gable, hip, & shed roofs

slope of roof is expressed in rise-to-run ratio, with run at constant 12 value —

eg. 2:12, 5:12, 6:12

Roof Framing Systems

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 Truss - shop-fabricated, multi-triangle frame, more economical and less labor
intensive, common for large span structures

Rafter-and-ceiling joist assembly - site-fabricated, single-triangle frame, limited

span capabilities

rafter rests on walls at one end and connected to ridge board (LVL) at the
other (together with opposite rafters)

Ridge beam is used when rafter-ceiling-joist roof slope is <3:12 (<25%) , ceiling joist are spaced at
24in on-center maximum

Wood 31
 collar ties provided are located in the upper 1/3 of attic, to resist wind uplift

Sheathing
sheathing can serve as structural or non-structural

Wall Sheathing

provides nailing base for an air-weather retarder

Structurally, provides bracing to the structure against lateral loads

Wood 32
 materials for wall sheathing: OSB (common), plywood, gypsum, other panels
(rigid foam insulation- 4”thk)

Diagonal let-on brace - alternative to panel bracing, 1x4 lumber fastened to studs
that are notched

Floor Sheathing
aka subfloor, is a structural element that transfers dead and live load to joists

Diaphragm Action resists lateral loads, this phenomenon on floor sheathing

makes it a structural element

materials for floor sheathing: OSB or plywood panels (4ft x 8ft)

Wood 33
 Roof Sheathing
Roof sheathing is a structural element

materials for roof sheathing: OSB or plywood panels (thickness based on span)

WLF (Wood Light-Frame) is what type of construction in the NBC?

Wood 34