CSA Standard

O121-08

Douglas fir plywood

Published in March 2008 by Canadian Standards Association A not-for-profit private sector organization

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ISBN 978-1-55436-629-3

Technical Editor: Dwayne Torrey

© Canadian Standards Association — 2008

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the prior permission of the publisher.

Contents

Technical Committee on Wood-Based Panels v

Subcommittee on Plywood vii

Preface viii

1. Scope 1

   
   

2. Reference publications 1

   
   

3. Definitions 2

   
   

4. Quality system 4

   
   

5. Species 4

   1. Faces and backs 4

   2. Inner plies 4

   3. Backs — Good-one-side panels 4

      
      

6. Materials 5

   1. Veneers 5

      1. Permitted characteristics 5

      2. Jointing 5

   2. Adhesives 5

   3. Patching materials 5

      
      

7. Construction and bonding 5

   1. Construction 5

      1. Ply thickness 5

      2. Layup 6

   2. Bonding 6

      1. General 6

      2. Shear test 6

      3. Heat durability test 6

      4. Overlay bond test 6

         
         

8. Specific grades of plywood 6

   1. General 6

   2. Regular grades 7

      1. Sheathing 7

      2. Select 7

      3. Select Tight Face 7

      4. Good-one-side 7

      5. Good-two-side 7

   3. Overlaid grades 7

      1. HDO 7

      2. MDO 8

   4. Custom grades 8

      
      

9. Dimensions and tolerances 8

   1. General 8

   2. Width and length 8

      1. General 8

      2. Tolerances 8

   3. Thickness 8

      1. Panel thickness 8

      2. Ply thickness 9

   4. Squareness 9

   5. Straightness 9

      
      

10. Identification and marking 9

    1. Required marking 9

    2. Optional marking 9

    3. Marking location 9

    4. Degrade panels 10

Annexes

A (normative) — Additional commercial species grouping 12

1. (normative) — Veneer and panel characteristics and defects 13

2. (normative) — Bond tests 16

D (normative) — High Density Overlay and Medium Density Overlay plywood 20

E (informative) — Common industry practices 22

Tables

1. — Inner ply species 10

2. — Ply thicknesses 11

3. — Panel thickness tolerances 11

Technical Committee on Wood-Based Panels

N.J. Nagy CertiWood Technical Centre, North Vancouver, British Columbia

Chair

D.P. Janssens Structural Board Association, Markham, Ontario

Vice-Chair

J.P. Aucoin Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Inc., Edmonton, Alberta

Y.H. Chui Wood Science and Technology Centre, Fredericton, New Brunswick

J.A. Dangerfield FPInnovations — Forintek Division,

Vancouver, British Columbia

Associate

B. Di Lenardo Canadian Construction Materials Centre,

Ottawa, Ontario

M. Feng FPInnovations — Forintek Division, Vancouver, British Columbia

R. Ferris Alberta Plywood Ltd., Edmonton, Alberta

J.F. Houde Canadian Window and Door Manufacturers Association,

Ottawa, Ontario

Associate

P. Jaehrlich CertiWood Technical Centre, North Vancouver, British Columbia

Associate

A.W. Kempthorne Delta, British Columbia

C. Lum FPInnovations — Forintek Division, Vancouver, British Columbia

Associate

J. McPherson Longlac Wood Industries Inc., Longlac, Ontario

D. Moses Equilibrium Consulting Inc., Toronto, Ontario

N. Perozzo Winnipeg, Manitoba

Consumer Representative

F. Saillant Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, Ontario

D. Scott Richmond Plywood Corporation Limited, Richmond, British Columbia

K. Stochlia ICC Evaluation Service, Inc., Whittier, California, USA

Associate

B.E. Underhill Weyerhaeuser Company, Edson, Alberta

C.R. Wilson Carl R. Wilson & Associates Ltd., North Vancouver, British Columbia

Associate

S. Zylkowski APA — The Engineered Wood Association, Tacoma, Washington, USA

Associate

D. Torrey Canadian Standards Association, Mississauga, Ontario

Project Manager

Subcommittee on Plywood

D. Scott Richmond Plywood Corporation Limited, Richmond, British Columbia

Chair

P. Jaehrlich CertiWood Technical Centre, North Vancouver, British Columbia

Secretary

1. Anderson AFA Forest Products Inc., Surrey, British Columbia

   
   

2. Black CertiWood Technical Centre, North Vancouver, British Columbia

C. Finch Quesnel Plywood, a Division of West Fraser Mills Ltd., Quesnel, British Columbia

L. More Tolko Industries Ltd., Heffley Creek Division, Kamloops, British Columbia

R. Ong Ainsworth Lumber Co. Ltd., Savona, British Columbia

D. Torrey Canadian Standards Association, Mississauga, Ontario

Project Manager

Preface

This is the seventh edition of CSA O121, Douglas fir plywood. It supersedes the previous editions published in 1978 (metric), 1973, 1961, 1957, 1954, and 1953.

This Standard specifies an in-plant production and quality control system that includes auditing by a recognized certification body. It also provides a mechanism for the specification, quality control, and certification of custom grades and allows the use of alternative overlay systems.

Changes in the seventh edition include the following:

1. revised panel and veneer grade requirements;

2. revised panel construction requirements;

3. increased flexibility in the choice of species;

4. revised requirements for marking; and

5. additional requirements for a quality system.

   This Standard was prepared by the Subcommittee on Plywood, under the jurisdiction of the Technical Committee on Wood-Based Panels and the Strategic Steering Committee on Forest Products, and has been formally approved by the Technical Committee. It will be submitted to the Standards Council of Canada for approval as a National Standard of Canada.

   
   

   March 2008

   
   

   Notes:

   1. Use of the singular does not exclude the plural (and vice versa) when the sense allows.

   2. Although the intended primary application of this Standard is stated in its Scope, it is important to note that it remains the responsibility of the users of the Standard to judge its suitability for their particular purpose.

   3. This publication was developed by consensus, which is defined by CSA Policy governing standardization — Code of good practice for standardization as “substantial agreement. Consensus implies much more than a simple majority, but not necessarily unanimity”. It is consistent with this definition that a member may be included in the Technical Committee list and yet not be in full agreement with all clauses of this publication.

   4. CSA Standards are subject to periodic review, and suggestions for their improvement will be referred to the appropriate committee.

   5. All enquiries regarding this Standard, including requests for interpretation, should be addressed to Canadian Standards Association, 5060 Spectrum Way, Suite 100, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L4W 5N6.

      Requests for interpretation should

      1. define the problem, making reference to the specific clause, and, where appropriate, include an illustrative sketch;

      2. provide an explanation of circumstances surrounding the actual field condition; and

      3. be phrased where possible to permit a specific “yes” or “no” answer.

Committee interpretations are processed in accordance with the CSA Directives and guidelines governing standardization and are published in CSA’s periodical Info Update, which is available on the CSA Web site at www.csa.ca.

viii March 2008

O121-08

Douglas fir plywood

1. Scope

   
   

   1.1

   This Standard applies to exterior bond, all-veneer plywood with a minimum of three plies and parallel grain direction of the face and back plies.

   
   

   1.2

   This Standard specifies requirements for

   1. a quality system;

   2. ply species;

   3. materials;

   4. panel construction;

   5. bonding;

   6. veneer and panel grades;

   7. dimensions and tolerances;

   8. marking; and

   9. testing.

   
   

   1.3

   In CSA Standards, “shall” is used to express a requirement, i.e., a provision that the user is obliged to satisfy in order to comply with the standard; “should” is used to express a recommendation or that which is advised but not required; “may” is used to express an option or that which is permissible within the limits of the standard; and “can” is used to express possibility or capability. Notes accompanying clauses do not include requirements or alternative requirements; the purpose of a note accompanying a clause is to separate from the text explanatory or informative material. Notes to tables and figures are considered part of the table or figure and may be written as requirements. Annexes are designated normative (mandatory) or informative (non-mandatory) to define their application.

   
   

2. Reference publications

This Standard refers to the following publications, and where such reference is made, it shall be to the edition listed below, including all amendments published thereto.

FPInnovations — Forintek Division

SP-18R (1986)

Evaluation procedures for synthetic patching materials for repairs to plywood panels

ISO/IEC (International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission)

Guide 65:1996

General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems

NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology)

PS 1-07

Structural Plywood