Chapter 8

8.1 Introduction

Plywood, oriented strand board (OSB), waferboard, composite panels, and structural particleboard,
collectively referred to as wood structural panels, are widely used building materials with a variety of
structural and nonstructural applications.

As far as the types of buildings covered in this text are concerned, the first two items in the above list are of
primary interest. The relatively high load capacities and the ease with which panels can be installed have
made wood structural panels widely accepted for use in these applications.

8.2 Panel Dimensions and Installation Recommendations

The standard size of wood structural panels is 4 ft 􏰊 8 ft. Certain manufacturers are capable of producing
longer panels, such as 9 ft, 10 ft, or 12 ft, but the standard 4 ft 􏰊 8 ft dimensions should be assumed in design
unless the avail- ability of other sizes is known.

As the lumber supports dry, the members shrink and the nails appear to “pop” upward through the sheathing.
This can cause problems with finish flooring (especially vinyl resilient flooring and similar products). Squeaks
in floors may also develop.

8.3 Plywood Makeup

A plywood panel is made up of a number of veneers (thin sheets or pieces of wood). Veneer is obtained by
rotating peeler logs (approximately 81@2 -ft long) in a lathe. A continuous veneer is obtained as the log is
forced into a long knife. The log is simply unwound or “peeled.”

The direction of the grain in a finished panel must be clearly understood. See Example 8.5. The names
assigned to the various layers in the makeup of a plywood panel are

1. Face—outside ply. If the outside plies are of different veneer quality, the face is the better veneer grade.

2. Back—the other outside ply.

3. Crossband—inner layer(s) placed at right angles to the face and back

plies.
4. Center—inner layer(s) parallel with outer plies.

If structural calculations are required, the cross-laminations in plywood make stress analysis somewhat
complex. Wood is stronger parallel to the grain than perpendicular to the grain. This is especially true in
tension, where wood has little strength across the grain; it is also true in compression but to a lesser extent.

Because of the differences in strength and stiffness, the plies that have the grain parallel to the stress are much
more effective than those that have the grain perpendicular to the stress.

Even if the sheathing thickness and reference uniform load capacity are read from a table (structural
calculations not required), the orientation of the panel and its directional properties are important to the
proper use of the plywood.
8.4 Species Groups for Plywood

The various species are assigned, according to strength and stiffness, to one of five different groups. Group 1
species have the highest strength characteristics, and Group 5 species have the lowest strength properties.

The specifications for the fabrication of plywood allow the mixing of various species of wood in a given
plywood panel. This practice allows the more complete usage of raw materials.

Although plywood grades have not yet been covered, it should be noted that some grade modifications can be
added to the sheathing grades that limit the species used in the plywood. For example, the term STRUCTURAL
I can be added to certain plywood grades to ensure increased strength properties.

Besides limiting the species of wood used in the manufacture of plywood, the STRUCTURAL I designation
requires the use of exterior glue and provides further restrictions on layup, knot sizes, and repairs over the
same grades with- out the designation.

8.5 Veneer Grades

Before a panel is manufactured, the individual veneers are graded according to quality. The grade of the
veneers is one of the factors that determine the grade of the panel.

The six basic veneer grades are designated by a letter name:

N Special-order “natural finish” veneer. Not used in ordinary structural applications.

A Smooth, paintable surface. Solid-surface veneer without knots, but may contain a limited number (18 in a 4 ft x 8 ft
veneer) of neatly made repairs.

B Solid-surface veneer. May contain knots up to 1 in. in width across the grain if they are both sound and tight-fitting.
May contain an unlimited number of repairs.

C-plugged An improved grade of C veneer that meets more stringent limitations on defects than the normal C veneer. For
example, open defects such as knotholes may not exceed 1/4 in. by 1/2 in. Further restrictions apply.

C May contain open knotholes up to 1 in. in width across the grain and occasional knotholes up to 1 1/2 in. across the grain.
This is the minimum- grade veneer allowed in exterior-type plywood.

D Allows open knotholes up to 21/2 in. in width across the grain and occasional knotholes up to 3 in. across the grain. This
veneer grade is not allowed in exterior-type plywood.

8.6 Exposure Durability Classifications

Exposure durability classifications apply to plywood fabricated under PS 1 (Ref. 8.18), as well as to panels
(both all-veneer plywood and other panels) that are performance-rated.

Interior plywood may be used if it is not exposed to the weather and if the MC in service does not
continuously or repeatedly exceed 18 percent. Interior plywood can be manufactured with exterior,
intermediate, or interior glue, but it is generally available with exterior glue. Thus, plywood manufactured
with exterior glue is not necessarily classified as Exterior plywood.
Interior plywood with any glue type is intended for use in interior (protected) applications. Interior plywood
bonded with exterior glue is known as Exposure 1 and is intended for use where exposure to moisture due to
long construction delays may occur.

8.7 Plywood Grades

For many years, the specifications covering the manufacture of plywood have been prescriptive in nature.
This means that a method of constructing a plywood panel was fully described by the specification.

U.S. Product Standard PS 1—Construction and Industrial Plywood (Ref. 8.18) covers the manufacture of
traditional all-veneer panels known as plywood.

The concept of a performance standard was adapted to manufacturing of wood structural panels because a
prescriptive type of specification did not lend itself to the development of some of the newer panel products
(Sec. 8.8).

The performance rating of traditional all-veneer plywood has resulted in the development of newer, thinner
thicknesses. For example, 15/32 in. now replaces 1/2 in., 19/32 in. replaces 5/8 in., and 23/32 in. replaces 3/4 in.

The grade-trademark on a sanded plywood panel will include the following:

1. Veneer grade of the face and back

2. Minimum species group (highest species group number from Fig. 8.7) of the outer plies

3. Exposure durability classification

8.8 Other Wood Structural Panels

These other panel products include composite panels, waferboard, oriented strand board (OSB), and
structural particleboard. APA Rated Sheathing and APA Rated Sturd-I-Floor panels include plywood and all
the others mentioned. These are recognized by the IBC under performance standards such as U.S. Product
Standard PS-2 (Ref. 8.19) and APA PRP-108 (Ref. 8.14).

Composite panels (or COMPLY) are recognized by the NDS (Ref. 8.2), along with plywood and OSB, as wood
structural panels. Composite panels have a veneer face and back and a reconstituted core. They are typically
produced with five layers, such that the center layer is also wood veneer. The reconstituted core is formed
from low-quality wood fiber, often from a recycled source.

Waferboard is a nonveneer panel manufactured from reconstituted wood wafers. These wafer-like wood
particles or flakes are compressed and bonded with phenolic resin. The wafers may vary in size and
thickness, and the direction of the grain in the flakes is usually randomly oriented.

Structural particleboard is another panel product not recognized by the NDS. It is a nonveneer panel
manufactured from small particles (as opposed to larger wafers or strands) bonded with resins under heat
and pressure.

FRP (fiber reinforced plastic) plywood is the latest addition to the suite of wood structural panel products. FRP
sheets are bonded to plywood panels. Currently, the application of FRP to wood panels is limited to plywood,
since the bonding of the FRP overlay requires a reasonably smooth surface to adhere and avoid delamination.
8.9 Roof Sheathing

Plywood, OSB, and other panels with directional properties are normally used in the strong direction (long
dimension of the panel perpendicular to the supports). However, in panelized-roof systems (Sec. 3.2) the
panels are often turned in the weak direction for sheathing loads.

The span rating described in Sec. 8.7 appears in the grade-trademark of both traditional plywood and APA’s
performance rated sheathing.

Table M9.2-1 in the ASD/LRFD Manual provides bending stiffness and strength capacities for wood structural
panels.

Nominal load capacities for LRFD can be determined using the tabulated reference load capacities in APA
publications (Refs. 8.5 and 8.6). The reference load capacities governed by deflection are directly applicable
to LRFD, since deflection calculations are identical in ASD and LRFD (see Sec. 6.6 and Sec. 6.9).

Finally, the nominal LRFD capacities for bending and shear must be multiplied by the appropriate time effect
factor () and resistance factor () to determine adjusted LRFD load capacities (see Ref. 8.2).

The maximum spans defined by the span rating assume that the edges parallel to the span are supported in
some fashion. This is referred to as panels with edge support. Typically, panel clips are used to provide this
edge support, but lumber blocking or another mechanism may be used. Panels without edge sup- port have
reduced maximum spans.

8.11 Floor Sheathing

Wood structural panels are used in floor construction in two ways. One system involves two layers of panels,
and the other system involves a single layer.

The terms used to refer to these different panel layers are:

1. Subfloor—the bottom layer in a two-layer system

2. Underlayment—the top layer in a two-layer system
3. Combined subfloor-underlayment—a single-layer system

As stated for roof sheathing, Table M9.2-1 in the ASD/LRFD Manual provides the basic bending stiffness and
strength design values for sheathing.

It should be noted that typical wood structural panel applications for floor sheathing are not controlled by
uniform load criteria, but instead are based on deflection under concentrated loads and how the floor feels to
building occupants.

In two-layer floor construction, the top layer is a grade of panel known as UNDERLAYMENT. The
underlayment layer lies under the finish floor covering and on top of the subfloor.

Single-layer floor construction is sometimes known as combination subfloor- UNDERLAYMENT because one
layer serves both functions. Single-layer floor systems may use thicker grades of Underlayment and C-C
Plugged Exterior plywood, composite panels, or some form of nonveneer panel.

The reference bending stiffness and strength design values for single-layer floor panels are given in Table
M9.2-1 of the ASD/LRFD Manual.
8.12 Design Problem: Floor Sheathing

In this example a typical floor sheathing problem for an office building is considered. See Example 8.15. The
floor utilizes a two-layer floor system with a separate subfloor and underlayment.

8.13

Wall Sheathing and Siding

Wood structural panels can be used in wall construction in two basic ways. In one method, the panels serve a
structural purpose only. They are attached directly to the framing and serve as sheathing to distribute the
normal wind force to the studs, and they may also function as the basic shear-resisting elements if the wall is
a shearwall.

Typical sheathing grades of plywood and a variety of nonveneer panels are used when finish siding will cover
the sheathing. In wall construction, the long dimension of the panel can be either parallel or perpendicular to
the studs (sup- ports).

In the second method of using wood structural panels in wall construction, a single-panel layer is applied as
combined sheathing-siding. When panels serve as the siding as well as the structural sheathing, a panel siding
grade such as APA Rated Siding may be used.

8.14 Stress Calculations for Wood Structural Panels

In the design of structural components such as box beams with wood structural panel webs and lumber
flanges, foam-core sandwich panels, or stress- skin panels, it will be necessary to use reference design values
and effective cross-section panel properties in design calculations.

The ASD/LRFD Design Manual for Engineered Wood Construction (Ref. 8.1) and the Panel Design
Specification (Ref. 8.7) provide tables of reference design values for structural panels. The grade and
construction factors (CG) are identified as “multipliers for STRUCTURAL I panels” at the bottom of each table
of panel design values for various panel construction types.

The grade and construction adjustment factor compensates for the STRUC- TURAL I panel grade within the
various panel construction types.

The reference bending and tension design values tabulated in the ASD/LRFD Manual are for panels 24 in. or
greater in width, w. The width here is defined as the dimension of the panel perpendicular to the applied
stress.

Panel section properties. The basic cross-section properties for wood structural panels are provided in Table
6 of the Panel Design Specification (Ref. 8.7). The section properties in Table 6 are based on a gross
rectangular cross section with a unit 1-ft width. However, since wood structural panels are composite
materials, effective design values are more appropriate for use in design.

The variables which affect the reference design values are

1. Direction of stress
2. Panel grade and composition

The direction of stress relates to the two-directional behavior of wood structural panels because of their
cross-laminated construction. Because of this type of construction, two sets of properties are tabulated.
Finally, the composition and grade of a panel influence the effective proper- ties.

Stress calculations. Prior to 2001, provisions for engineering design with wood structural panels were not
included in the NDS. While specifying wood structural panels with design aids (such as those presented in the
previous sections) has not changed significantly, stress calculations have subtly changed.

The use of reference design values is similar to ordinary beam design calculations.

Structural Panels under Normal (Sheathing) Loads

For loads normal to the surface of the panel (Fig. 8.20a), design capacities are obtained from the ASD/LRFD Manual Table
M9.2-1. The reference bending strength, FbS, and the reference bending stiffness, EI, are tabulated for a unit 1-ft width of
panel.

Plywood under In-Plane Loads

Procedures for designing structural members with plywood loaded in the plane of the panel (Fig. 8.20b) are not provided
in the NDS. However, procedures are given in the Plywood Design Specification, Supplements 2 and 5 (Refs. 8.9 and 8.12).

Another factor that is unique to structural calculations for wood structural panels is that there are two
different reference shear design values. The different shear design values are a result of the cross-
laminations. The type and direction of the loading determine the type of shear involved, and the appropriate
reference shear design value must be used in checking the capacity.