Setting the standard Work progressing on new, updated rules

Panel Laheling lnswers

Questions and answers pertaining to the panel thickness labeling issue in California are contained in an Technical Topics publication prepared by APA last year. The four-page publication provides background on the matter, answers to several frequently asked questions, and a facsimile of an APA trademark showing the supplemental mill thickness label that many mills are now using to comply with California Weights & Measures requirements. Quesflons & Answers Regarding Panel Thickness Labeling, Form No. TT0548. is free from www.aoawood.oro.

A PA and industry stakeholders are .Cl,well along on efforts to develop and update key structural wood panel product and performance standards.

The standing committees for Volttntctrt, Product Standard PS I: Structttral Plywood and Voluntary Product Standard PS 2: Performance Standard Jbr Wood-Bosed StructuralUse Panels were recently reconvened and have met to address possible changes pertaining to product thickness Iabeling, fastener and concentrated load provisions, and other testing, label ing and certil'ication issues.

PS 1 is a prescriptive standard that sets requirements for producing, marketing and specifying softwood plywood used in a wide array of construction and industrial applications. It was last revised in 2007. PS 2. last revised in 2004, is a performance-based standard resulting from efTorts to harmonize U.S. and Canadian standards under the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement. The standing committees of both standards are comprised of members representing panel manufacturers. suppliers. regulatory agencies. government, academia and inspection agencies. APA serves as a non-voting sponsor and technical advisor.

Thickness labeling changes, if adopted, would be designed to achieve consistency between provisions in PS 1 and PS 2 and those found in hand-

$iding Gets listed

Two varieties of APA 303 plywood siding are now listed in the California Wildland Urban Interface Products handbook as products complying with new California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection regulations for fire-resistive construction assemblies in state urban-wildland intedace areas.

The products include: (1) 303 siding with shiplap edges, nominal 19/32" thick and grooves spaced 4" on center, manufactured wilh veneers of all southern pine or Douglas fir face, back and center with hemlock or Douglas fir cross plies, measuring 4x8 ft., and (2) 303 reverse board and batten, nominal 19/32" thick and shiplap edges, grooves spaced 12" on center, manufactured with face, back and center of Douglas fir veneers and cross ply veneers of hemlock or Douglas fir, measuring 4x8 ft. The new regulations went into effect January 1, 2009. The listings are based on the results of a series of fire tests that APA sponsored at the Western Fire Center, Inc., an accredited fire test laboratory in Kelso, Wa.

books published by the National Institute of Standards & Technology. The differences have resulted in the red tagging of plywood at retailers in California by that state's Division of Measurement Standards. APA and industry allies developed an interim solution last year with the California Department of Food & Agriculture that provides for a supplemental marking system-the normal PS I and PS 2 marks with reference to a thickness "category," and a separate mill stamp designating panel thickness in accordance with NIST tolerances. That partial fix does not assure adherence by local regulators, however, and the matter was therefore referred to the standing committees. The committees have considered several options, and proposed revisions are now being drafted for further review and public commenl later this year.

Completion of revisions to both standards is expected in 2010.

A new Standard Jbr PerformanceRated Engineered Wood Siding (ANSI/ APA PRP-210), meanwhile, was completed late last year under APA's recognition as an American National Standards Institute-accredited standards developer and is now available from APA.

The new siding standard, based on APA's proprietary PRP- I 08 Performance Standards & Policies for Structural-Use Panels, covers the manufacturing, qualification and quality assurance requirements for engineered wood siding products. APA served as the secretariat of the consensus committee that oversaw its development.

APA is also utilizing its ANSI accreditation to spearhead development of a national consensus standard for structural insulated panels in cooperation with the Structural Insulated Panel Association and recently began developing a new national consensus standard for rim board. Additional standards under consideration by APA include concrete form and fiber-reinforced glulam.

APA's recognition as an accredited ANSI standards developer helps elevate standards as national consensus standards, which can significantly expedite building code acceptance.