Forest Products Testing Labratory Tour - Did You Know

At the USDA Forest Products Laboratory, scientists are constantly researching ways to devise economical, environmentally friendly construction products. Recently, researchers began looking at waste materials that would end up in a landfill and small diameter timber that traditionally had little commercial value. The byproducts of the Lab’s efforts are building products that can be used in a variety of ways. The USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, was established in 1910 to serve as a centralized wood research laboratory. The Lab, through the Advanced Housing Research Center, has the lead role in wood-frame housing research as a full partner in the National PATH (Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing) program. PATH is a partnership between industry and government that seeks to increase the use of advanced housing technologies in order to radically improve the quality, durability, environmental performance, energy efficiency, and affordability of housing. The Advanced Housing Research Center evaluates and develops technology needed for new and existing housing in which wood or wood-based products are used as building components. Emphasis is on the improved use of traditional wood products, the use of recycled and engineered wood composite materials, energy and sound efficiency, indoor air quality, an improved living environment, and natural disaster resistance. SMALL-DIAMETER TIMBER Throughout the West, National Forests face increased risk from catastrophic wildfire due to an over abundance of dense, overstocked forest stands. Over 50 years of effective fire exclusion has created this situation. To restore these stands to the open park-like structure that existed in pre-settlement times, these stands need thinning followed by prescribed fire. Such restoration costs are expensive and if we can find economic uses for this thinning material, some of the forest restoration costs can be offset. One of the most prevalent species in these stands is ponderosa pine. Preliminary testing on ponderosa pine lumber indicates that if mechanical grading technology is applied, this material could be used in structural applications such as glued-laminated (glulam) timber. The Forest Products Laboratory has also been exploring the concept of using small-diameter ( less than12 in.) timber for roundwood structures. Small-diameter ponderosa pine is particularly difficult to use because there is typically a lot of juvenile wood in this size timber. One advantage of leaving the timber in the round is that more strength is retained than if it were cut into lumber. Sawing exposes the juvenile core, which is considerably weaker. Also, leaving the material in its round form with its natural taper minimizes processing costs and improves the economics of forest restoration. A critical element of using round timbers is the connections. The Lab is evaluating several types of connection systems: dowel nut, flitch plate, and shear key. RECYCLED/RECLAIMED LUMBER The United States has a vast infrastructure of buildings that have been built entirely or partially from wood. Since the turn of the century, more than three trillion board feet of lumber has been produced, much of it residing in our building infrastructure. The EPA recently reported that more than 200,000 housing units are demolished each year in the United States, containing an estimated 667 million board feet of lumber. The U.S. Army has estimated that more than 250 million board feet of lumber are available for reuse from its World War II buildings. As these structures come out of service, demolition has been the method of disposal. Maximizing the reuse of the reclaimed lumber resource could reduce the volume of waste destined to landfills, help conserve our natural resources, and ease harvesting pressure on the existing forest resource. More from Your New House Factory Tours and Product Testing: /playlist/PLjTMbsoHW2ej6wLU1NAVlWhcvVWL1ynJQ Making your new house safer: /playlist/PLjTMbsoHW2egsIHaZpU9Qu-UK7BVmrEO4 Saving money on Your New House: /playlist/PLjTMbsoHW2eiIHfs0e20H7noxgBOvEp4M

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