Module 01: Engineered Wood, Wood Composites and Other Building Boards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering engineered wood products, adhesives, wood composites, building boards, glulam, and construction papers from Module 01.

Engineered Wood

An extensive range of wood derivative products manufactured by binding together strands, particles, fibers, or veneers of wood (such as rye straw, wheat straw, rice straw, hemp stalks, kenaf stalks, or sugarcane residue) together with adhesives to meet precise design specifications and construction standards.

Building Board

Any thin, broad, long, flat, plain, or textured sheet made of wood strips, strands, flakes, fibers, veneer, chips, cement, or other composite material used for paneling, ceiling, flooring, framing, carpentry, formwork, and rough or finishing applications.

Urea-Formaldehyde (UF) Resin

The most common adhesive used in engineered wood product manufacturing.

Phenol-Formaldehyde (PF) Resins

Adhesives characterized by their yellow or brown color, used for exterior-exposure wood materials.

Melamine-Formaldehyde (MF) Resin

A white, heat- and water-resistant adhesive often used in exposed surface products in more costly designs.

Methylene Diphenyl Di-isocyanate (MDI) / Polyurethane (PU) Resin

The most expensive adhesive type used in engineered wood; generally provides waterproofing ability and contains no formaldehyde.

Casein Glue

A lamination glue used in dry locations that are not exposed directly to rain or water.

Resorcinol-Phenol Formaldehyde

An expensive lamination adhesive possessing qualities necessary for durability and water resistance.

Composite Panel

A wood panel product consisting of two face veneers bonded to a reconstituted wood core.

Veneer

A thin sheet of wood rotary cut, sliced, or sawn from a log or flitch, used as a superior facing to inferior wood or bonded together to form plywood.

Crossband

A layer of veneer immediately adjacent to and at right angles to the face plies in a plywood panel.

Core

The center of a plywood panel, consisting of veneers, sawn lumber, or composition board.

Banding

Solid wood stock extending around the sides of a veneered panel, concealing the core and facilitating edge shaping.

Plywood

A wood panel product made by bonding veneers together under heat and pressure, usually at right angles to each other.

Plymetal

Plywood clad on one or both sides with sheet metal.

Plyboard

An engineered wood board made of wooden strips at its core and thin veneers on both faces, compressed into a composite board; less dense and less water-resistant than plywood.

Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL)

An engineered wood product made of multiple thin wood layers assembled with waterproof adhesive under heat and pressure; similar to plywood without crossbands and rated for elastic modulus and allowable bending stress.

Parallel Strand Lumber (PSL)

A structural lumber product made by bonding long, narrow wood strands together under heat and pressure using waterproof adhesive; used for beams and columns in post-and-beam construction.

Oriented Strandboard (OSB)

A non-veneered panel made by bonding three or five layers of long, thin, rectangular-shaped wood strands arranged at right angles under heat and pressure with waterproof adhesives.

Waferboard

A non-veneered panel product composed of large, thin wood flakes bonded under heat and pressure with a waterproof adhesive.

Particleboard (Chipboard / Low Density Fiberboard)

A non-veneered composite wood panel product consisting of small wood particles bonded with synthetic resin under heat and pressure; available in $4\,\text{ft.}$ widths, lengths from $8\,\text{ft.}$ to $16\,\text{ft.}$, and thicknesses of $\frac{1}{4}"\,$, $\frac{5}{16}"\,$, $\frac{3}{8}"\,$, $\frac{1}{2}"\,$, $\frac{5}{8}"\,$, and $\frac{3}{4}"\,$.

Strawboard

A hardboard made of compressed wheat straw processed at $350^\circ\text{F}$ to $400^\circ\text{F}$ and covered with tough kraft paper.

Fiberboard

A fibrous-felted, homogeneous panel made from lignocellulosic fibers (usually wood or cane) with a density of less than $490\,\text{kg/m}^3$ but not more than $159\,\text{kg/m}^3$.

Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF)

A composite panel product consisting of cellulosic fibers mixed with synthetic resin or an alternative bonding element and joined under heat and pressure.

Hardboard

A very dense, felted, homogeneous panel made from lignocellulosic fibers consolidated under heat and pressure in a hot press to a density not less than $490\,\text{kg/m}^3$.

Tempered Hardboard

Hardboard manufactured by impregnating standard board with tempering compounds of oils and resin and baking it to polymerize the material, enhancing hardness and moisture resistance.

Fiber Cement Board (Ficemboard)

A lightweight board made of fibers (timber slurry), Portland cement, quartz sand, and additives; used for interior and exterior applications such as ceilings, partitions, and siding.

Gypsum Board (Plasterboard)

A wallboard made of a layer of gypsum plaster pressed between two thick sheets of paper and kiln dried; used in drywall construction with metal furring and studs.

Gypsum Lath

A board with a gypsum core and heavy paper on both sides, used specifically as a base to provide adhesion for plaster.

Wood Wool Cement Board

A non-structural panel used in low-cost housing construction for heat insulation and sound absorption, but not suitable as a fire-retardant material.

Asbestos Cement Board

A dense, rigid board containing a high percentage of fibers bonded with Portland cement; characterized by high resistance to fire, flame, and weathering, but low resistance to heat flow.

Corkboard

A rigid board made from cork granules mixed with synthetic resin, formed into sheets of $1\,\text{in.}$ to $6\,\text{in.}$ thickness and baked under pressure.

Peg Board (Perforated Board)

A trademark for a brand of tempered hardboard with regularly spaced perforations designed for hook insertion for displaying or storing articles.

Glued Laminated Timber (Glulam)

A structural timber product composed of several layers of dimensioned lumber glued together with the grain of all laminations approximately parallel longitudinally.

Gang Nail System™

A timber construction system using spiked or toothed metal plates secured at member intersections (such as chord-to-web connections) to assemble trusses.

Sheathing Paper

Building paper used to provide an airtight barrier over walls, floors, and ceilings; includes plain paper and asphalt-impregnated or coated felt or kraft paper weighing $4\,\text{lbs/ft}^2$ to $10\,\text{lbs/ft}^2$.

Roofing Felt

A building paper used in built-up roofs, manufactured in $36\,\text{in.}$ wide rolls with weights ranging from $3\,\text{lbs/ft}^2$ to $20\,\text{lbs/ft}^2$.

Rolled Roofing

A heavy, mineral-surfaced paper used as a final roof covering, made in $18\,\text{in.}$ and $36\,\text{in.}$ widths, weighing from $45\,\text{lbs/ft}^2$ to $120\,\text{lbs/ft}^2$.

Gypsum Precast Roof Decking

Precast gypsum containing various types of fibers for additional strength; made in either the square plank (from 4 to 6 feet) or edged plank (10 feet long).

Gypsum Wallboard

A fireproof sheathing used for interior wall and ceiling applications; characterized by a core of gypsum covered on each side by heavy specially made kraft paper. This material is also used for partitions that do not require framing.

Wallboard

A rigid sheet composed of wood pulp, gypsum or other materials; may be fastened to the building to provide an interior surface finish; the long edges of the board usually tapered to provide easy treatment of joints when board is erected.

Tempered Board

A hardboard impregnated with a drying oil or other oxidizing resin and baked to improve its hardness and moisture resistance.

Wood Fiber Insulating Paper

Made from ground wood or bagasse with some wastepaper pulp added. Usually gray in color and produced in 36 in. wide rolls, weighing about 9 lbs. per square foot. This is used for insulating walls, ceilings and floors.

Asbestos Fibers

A soft, pliable paper used for insulating pipes for carrying steams, boilers and other vessels with high temperatures. It is produced in various weights usually from 5 to 10 lbs. per square foot. A heavier asbestos felt paper is produced for use as a built-up roofing material. This is saturated with asphalt and produced in 36 in. wide rolls weighing approximately 15 lbs. per square foot.

Vapor Barrier Paper

This material is intended to prevent the passage of moisture vapor through walls, ceilings and floors.