Beyond lumber grading, AFPA is a certification agency for the Canadian Heat Treated Wood Products Certification Program under the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. We work in that capacity with guidance from the Canadian Lumber Standards Accreditation Board. We also monitor wood packaging materials, pallets and containers for their ISPM15 (International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures) certification.
Canadian dimension lumber is manufactured in accordance with CSA O141 Softwood Lumber and must conform to the requirements of the Canadian and US lumber grading rules. Each piece of dimension lumber is inspected to determine its grade and a stamp is applied indicating the assigned grade, the mill identification number, a green (S-Grn) or dry (S-Dry) moisture content at time of surfacing, the species or species group, the grading authority having jurisdiction over the mill of origin, and the grading rule used, where applicable.
To ensure this uniform quality of dimension lumber, Canadian mills are required to have each piece of lumber graded by lumber graders who are approved by an accredited grading agency. Grading agencies are accredited by the CLSAB.
The lumber grader is an integral part of the lumber manufacturing process. Using established correlations between appearance and strength, lumber graders are trained to assign a strength grade to dimensional lumber based on the presence or absence of certain natural characteristics. Examples of such characteristics include; the presence of wane (bark remnant on the outer edge), size and location of knots, the slope of the grain relative to the long axis and the size of shakes, splits and checks. Other characteristics are limited by the grading rules for appearance reasons only. Some of these include sap and heart stain, torn grain and planer skips.
Sawn lumber, as the name suggests, is lumber that has been sawed from a larger tree. These members come in many dimensions, species and grades. In Canada, the quality control, identification and grading of lumber is overseen by the National Lumber Grades Authority (NGLA).
We are pleased to provide our 2021 edition of the Standard Grading Rules for Northeastern Lumber online for easy reference and general understanding of the northeastern lumber and timber grades. A hard-bound book may be purchased from NELMA or refer to the following sections from the grading rules for viewing or downloading:
For lumber products grade marked with multiple species or species combinations (as demonstrated in Figures 2-3), the reference design values are governed by the new NDS Supplement Table 4G. Due to the way the design values were derived for products included in Table 4G, the tabulated design values are at least as conservative as the design values for products included in Tables 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4F. Since imported lumber is manufactured and graded under that same product standard, grading rules, and supervisory agencies as U.S. lumber, RDPs and regulatory agencies should be comfortable using and recognizing the additional new resource of structural dimension lumber (2-4 inches thick, 2 inches & wider) included in Table 4G.
The customary specification of structural lumber used for decades is no longer sufficient for engineered wood construction. Over the last two decades, the volume of foreign dimension lumber (2-4 inches thick, 2 inches and wider) available has dramatically increased. Additionally, North American grading agencies are also grade-marking lumber with multiple species or species combinations.
b2a8ae9291