All you need to know about REITWOOD

AIR DRIEDdried by exposure to air in a yard or shed without artificial heat.

ANNUAL GROWTH RING - clearly defined separations marking the wood added to a tree during the growth year.

ARCHITECTURAL GRADES - clear all heart, clear and B grade redwood, kiln dried for exterior and interior architectural uses.

B GRADE - quality redwood grade containing sapwood, limited knots and other charcteristics not permitted in clear all heart and clear, available kiln dried or unseasoned, surfaced or saw textured.

BOWa deviation flatwise from a straight line drawn from end to end of a piece of lumber.

BURLa distortion of grain, usually caused by abnormal growth due to injury of the tree.

CHECKSa separation of the wood normally occurring across or through the annual growth rings, usually as a result of seasoning.

CLEARredwood grade containing heartwood and sapwood in varying amounts, normally kiln dried, but available unseasoned, some imperfections permitted, surfaced or saw textured.

CLEAR ALL HEARTfinest architectural heartwood grade of redwood, normally kiln dried, but available unseasoned, well manufactured, free of defects one face (reverse may have slight imperfections), surfaced or saw textured.

CONSTRUCTION COMMONredwood grade with same general characteristics as construction heart, sapwood in varying amounts, unseasoned or seasoned, surfaced, rough or saw textured.

CONSTRUCTION HEART - a redwood heartwood grade with knots of varying sizes, other slight imperfections, usually unseasoned, but available seasoned, surfaced or rough.

CROOKa deviation edgewise from end to end of a board.

CUPa curve in a board across the grain or width from a straight line drawn edge to edge.

DIAGONAL GRAINa deviation in the slope of grain caused by sawing at an angle with the bark of a tree or caused by spiral grain in log.

FINGER JOINTEDclear all heart and clear redwood boards up to 24 ft. made from kiln dried pieces fingerjointed and end glued.

FLAT GRAINannual rings form an angle of less than 45' with the surface of the piece (also called slash grain). t-REE oF'HEART CENTERS (FOHC)without pith (side cut), sawn to eliminate pith.

GARDEN GRADESconstruction heart, construction common, merchantable heart and merchantable redwood, usually not kiln dried.

GRADE - quality designation for manufactured wood or logs.

GRAIN - direction, size, arrangement, appearance or quality of fibers in wood or lumber (See flat grain, vertical grain).

GREEN - freshly sawed or unseasoned wood.

HEARTWOODinner core of the tree trunk from the pith to the sapwood. Redwood heartwood is light cherry to deep red mahogany color, contrasting with the sapwood. The heartwood cells no longer participate in the life process of the tree.

HOLESextend partially or entirely through a piece, may be free from cause, designated surface pits if they extend only partially through the piece.

KILN DRIEDdried in a kiln with the use of artificial heat.

KNOTSa portion of a branch or limb that has become incorporated in a piece of lumber, classified as to form, size, quality and occurrence.

LOOSENED GRAINa grain separation or loosening between springwood and summerwood in flat grain lumber.

MANUFACTURING IMPERF-ECTIONS - defects or blemishes produced in manufacturing.

MERCHANTABLEa redwood grade that allows slightly larger knots than construction grades, holes limited to size of knots, checks, splits, manufacturing flaws, sapwood in varying amounts, available unseasoned, surfaced or rough.

MERCHANTABLE HEARTredwood heartwood grade, slightly larger knots than construction grades, holes limited to size of knots, some checks, splits and manufacturing flaws, unseasoned, surfaced or rough.

MIXEI) GRAIN - lumber that mav be either or both vertical and flat grain.

OLD GROWTHtimber in or from a mature. naturally established forest.

PITCHresins that accumulate in wood cells, classified as light, medium, heavy. Redwood lumber is usually free of pitch.

RAISED GRAINan uneveness between springwood and summerwood on the surface of dressed lumber.

ROUGH LUMBERlumber not dressed, but sawed, edged and trimmed.

Story at a Glance

Glossary of redwood terms and definitions . . . grade terminology . . . a syllabus for educating employees.

RUSTIC SIDINGredwood with knots and sapwood, seasoned, in thick-butt bevel, channel, tongue and groove and board and batten patterns, usually saw textured.

SAPWOOD - layers of growth between bark and heartwood, contain sap. In redwood, the layers of cream colored wood with less decay and insect resistance than heartwood.

SAW TEXTUREDa face that has been produced by resawing rough or dressed lumber to yield a rough textured appearance.

SEASONING - removing moisture from wood to improve its serviceability.

SELECTan economical tight knotted heartwood grade with some sapwood, imperfections on the back side, usually unseasoned, surfaced or rough.

SELECT HEARTdurable tight knotted heartwood resistant to insects and decay with no splits or shake, usually unseasoned, surfaced or rough.

SHAKEa lengthwise separation of the wood usually between or through the rings of annual growth.

SPLITSa separation of the wood due to the tearing apart of the wood cells.

SPRINGWOOD portion of annual growth ring formed during early part of the growing season.

SUMMERWOOD - portion of annual growth ring formed after springwood formation has ceased.

TEXTUREoften used interchangeably with grain, in redwood designates smooth surfaced, saw textured or rough board.

WANEbark or lack of wood from any cause, except eased edges, on the edge or corner of a piece of lumber.

WARP - any variation from true or plane surface including bow, crook, cup and twist.

YOUNG GROWTHtimber in or from a forest less than 100 years old.