Dictionary & Resources
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| TERM | DEFINITION | SOURCE |
|---|---|---|
| A Grade | In plywood, a smooth, paintable face with limited repairs. Suitable for natural finish in some applications, a clear grade of lumber. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Abrasive Planing | A method of applying a smooth, finished surface to a product utilizing belts or drums coated with an abrasive (sandpaper). | Lumber & Building Reference |
| AC Exterior | A sanded plywood panel with A-grade face, C-grade back, and C-grade inner plies, bonded with exterior glue. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Accelerated Air Drying | The use of equipment and procedures to accelerate air drying. Included are yard fan drying, shed fan drying, and forced air drying. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Acoustical Materials | Fibrous material, including lumber or plywood with a face pattern, used in the control of sound. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Active Drying Period | In air drying, the period or season of the year when conditions are most favorable for drying wood. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Actual Size | The finished size, as opposed to the nominal size, of a piece of lumber. Actual sizes may vary by type of product, moisture content at the time of dressing and, in some cases, by species. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| AD Interior | A sanded plywood panel with A-grade face, D-grade back, and D-grade inner plies. Either interior or exterior glue may be used, but the panel is recommended for interior or protected applications. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Adhesive | Any substance used to bond the surfaces of two materials. Adhesives are made from inorganic and organic sources, with the former used principally on materials that would be exposed to weather. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| African Mahogany | A reddish brown, moderately soft wood used in cabinets and furniture. Most African Mahogany comes from Nigeria. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Agency | In forest products, an organization of manufacturers established to oversee quality control operations. A grading or rule writing agency. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Agency Plywood | A product bearing the mark of an authorized grading organization. | Lumber & Building Reference |
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| Aggregate-Coated Panel | A wood fiber-based panel coated with perlite or other material to produce a decorative or acoustical face. | Lumber & Building Reference |
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| Air Dried | Seasoned by exposure to the atmosphere, in the open or under cover, without artificial heat. | Lumber & Building Reference |
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| Air Seasoned | Seasoned by exposure to the atmosphere. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Air Space | Space between insulation facing and interior or exterior wall coverings. For best results, manufacturers recommend filling this space with insulation and allowing at least 3/4" air space in installing reflective faced insulation. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Alaska Fir | A common name for Western Hemlock, Tsuga heterophylla, exported from Alaska. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Alaska Yellow Cedar | This species is found along the Pacific Coast from Northern Oregon to Alaska. It is similar to Port Orford Cedar. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Alder | Alnus rubra, a deciduous tree of the Pacific Northwest having pinkish-brown wood that is used in interior finishing, furniture, and cabinetry; very adaptable to stains. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Alkyd | A synthetic resin usually made with phthalic anhydride, glycerol, and modified fatty acids from vegetable oils. These resins are widely used in architectural and industrial coatings, to overcome the drawbacks found in Linseed Oil, especially when used in interior products. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| All Heart | Lumber of heartwood throughout, free of sapwood. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Alligator | The cracking or separation of the surface layer of materials only, as in the breaking of a layer of paint; crocodiling. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Allowable Cut | That volume of national forest timber designated by the Forest Service that may be offered for sale during any one year; the timber may or may not actually be cut that year. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Allowable Stress | The maximum load at which structural lumber or plywood can be used safely in construction. Allowable stress is determined by species, size, grade, moisture content, specific gravity, duration of stress, and temperature. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Along the Grain | In the same direction as the grain; the stronger and stiffer direction in wood. In plywood, the same direction as the grain of the face ply. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Alpine Fir | Abies lasiocarpa; also Subalpine Fir. A species included in the White Wood group. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Amabilis Fir | Abies amabilis, more commonly called Silver Fir, a species included in the Hen-Fir grouping. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Amended Genoa Prime | An export grade of Southern Yellow Pine requiring that 70% of the pieces be free of knots on one side and two edges. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| American Lumber Standard | A voluntary product standard developed by the Nation Bureau of Standards in cooperation with wood producers, distributors, and users. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| American Lumber Standards Committee | A standing committee composed of representatives of producers, distributors, specifiers, and consumers of lumber. The primary functions of the committee are to review and consider revisions to the American Softwood Lumber Standard. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| AMP | A measurement of the amount of electrical current in a circuit at any one moment. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Anchor Bolt | A bolt set in a concrete foundation or wall to tie down the frame of a structure. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| And Better | This designation, usually abbreviated "&Btr, indicates that lumber so graded contains an unspecified percentage of pieces that are of a higher grade than the lowest acceptable grade. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| And Longer | A designation, usually abbreviated "&Lgr, that indicates a given quantity of lumber contains lengths in excess of a certain size, such as in "16-foot&Lgr. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| And Wider | A designation, usually abbreviated "&Wdr, that indicates a given quantity of lumber contains widths in excess of a certain size, such as "2X6&Wdr. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Angle | An "l" shaped metal fixture nailed to a wall as a channel to accept lay-in tile panels in suspended ceiling systems. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| APA 303 Siding | Proprietary plywood products for exterior siding or fencing. The surface may be given a variety of treatments such as grooving, brushing, or embossing. 303/6 designates a panel with a maximum of six patches or repairs: 303/18 has up to 18 patches. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| APA A-A | Use where appearance of both sides is important for interior applications such as built-ins, cabinets, furniture, partitions, and exterior applications such as fences, signs, boats, shipping containers, tanks, ducts, act. Smooth surfaces suitable for painting. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| APA A-B | For use where appearance of one side is less important but where two solid surfaces are necessary. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| APA A-C | For use where appearance of only one side is important in exterior applications such as soffits, fences, structural uses, boxcar and truck linings, farm buildings, tanks, trays, commercial refrigerators. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| APA A-D | For use where appearance of only one side is important in interior application, such as paneling, built-ins, shelving, partitions, flow racks. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| APA B-B | Utility panels with two solid sides. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| APA B-C | Utility panel for farm service and work buildings, boxcar and truck linings, containers, tanks, agricultural equipment, as a base for exterior coatings and other exterior uses or applications subject to high or continuous moisture. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| APA B-D | Utility panel for backing, sides of built-ins, industry shelving, slip sheets, separator boards, bins and other interior or protected applications. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| APA Marine | Specially designed plywood panel made only with Douglas fir or western larch, solid jointed cores, and highly restrictive limitations on core gaps and face repairs. Ideal for boat hulls and other marine applications where bending is involved. Also available with HDO or MDO faces. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| APA Performance-Rated Panels | Structural panel products manufactured under an American Plywood Association standard covering wood byproducts and species not provided for in Product Standard 1-83 for plywood. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| APA Texture 1-11 | Special 303 Siding panel with shiplapped edges and parallel grooves 1/4" deep, 3/8" wide; grooves 4" or 8" o.c. are standard. T1-11 is available only in 19/32" and 5/8" thicknesses. Also available with scratch-sanded, overlaid , rough-sawn, brushed surfaces. Available in Douglas fir, cedar, redwood, southern pine. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| APA Trademark | The registered trademark of the American Plywood Association. It is used as a grade mark to signify a panel has been manufactured under the association's quality supervision and testing program. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Appearance Grade | A general term for lumber or plywood suitable for exposed use such as in siding, soffits, paneling, or trim. Appearance grade items are mostly clear wood, although a limited number of sound, tight knots may be allowed. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Apron | A piece of finish moulding below the sill of a window, covering the rough edge of plaster or sheetrock. A support placed in a staircase. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Arboreal | Pertaining to trees; treelike; living in or among trees | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Arch | A piece of logging equipment consisting of a U-shaped steel frame with wheels on each leg of the inverted U. Used to support one end of log to facilitate skidding it to a landing with a crawler tractor. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Architectural Grade | See Appearance Grade. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Armored Cable | Two or more insulated wires wrapped in a protective metal sheathing. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Aromatic Red Cedar | Juniperus virginiana. An aromatic wood of Eastern North America used in construction of Cedar chests or as paneling in storage closets as a deterrent to insects. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Arrow | A fancy-butt shingle pattern in which the exposed portion of the shingle roughly resembles the head of a arrow. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Ash | Fraxinus americana. A flowering red-fruited tree whose wood is used to produce hoops and bentwood items. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Ash White | "Ash is a strong hard wood with high shock resistance and excellent bending qualities. The sap wood is light cream to white, while the heart ranges from cream to brown in color. It has very attractive grain characteristics, somewhat akin to Oak. ">Ash is a strong hard wood with high shock resistance and excellent bending qualities. The sap wood is light cream to white, while the heart ranges from cream to brown in color. It has very attractive grain characteristics, somewhat akin to Oak. | Holt & Bugbee Company |
| Aspen | Any of several species of Poplar. The leaves of this tree tremble in the slightest breeze, giving rise to one popular name, Quaking Aspen. The wood is used for pulp, in the manufacture of waferboard, and in roofing shakes. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Astragal | A moulding pattern. There are two basic types, a T-astragal and a flat astragal. The T type is attached to one of a pair of doors to keep one door from swinging through the opening. The flat type is used for decorative purposes. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Atlantic White Cedar | Chamaexyparis thyoides. This species if found in a narrow coastal belt from Maine to Florida and westward to Mississippi. It is not a major species. The wood is used most often for shingles, posts, and interior finishes. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Auger | A flexible metal cable fished into traps and drainlines to dislodge obstructions. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Austrian Pine | Pinus nigra. Also called Black Pine. | Lumber & Building Reference |
| Ax | A instrument used for chopping or splitting with a bladed head attached to a handle. | Lumber & Building Reference |