Fire rating for glues creates sticlqy wicket for FJ producers

A FIRE satety ruling affecting finla.gerjoint lumber goes into ellect this summer, requiring a change in adhesives to meet a burn time standard for certain applications. The impact to the industry is immediate, involving a more expensive glue, machinery upgrades, and a labeling protocol. Some producers are moving ahead full bore with the change, while others are wondcring whether the addcd cxpense will push margins too far in an already challenging cost environment.

The new standard requires a label signifying whether fingerjoint lumber contains heat-resistant adhesives ffiRA) or non heat-resistant adhesives. The HRA rating applies to lumber used in multi-family, multi-story, or commercial applications; but is not stipulated for single-family home construction. Since an estimated 7O7o to 807o of FJ lumber goes into construction requiring the label, however, mills said they intend to produce only the higher-rated product. According to an industry expert, approximately 1 billion bd. ft. of FJ lumber is produced in North America per year, mostly in the 2x4 stud dimension.

The labeling standard did not arise from any fiery catastrophe involving FJ lumber: rather. from a series of

By William Perritt

controlled experiments conducted last year by the American Forest & Paper Association, USDA Forest Products Laboratory, American Wood Council, and Forintek Canada Corp. Researchers found that some FJ lumber assembled under current standards fell several minutes short of a required one hour burn time before structural collapse. At issue was the glue used to join components.

In the tests, wall assemblies of FJ studs using three different types of glue were compared to solid-sawn stud performance. Studs joined with pheno l-resorcinol-formaldehyde (PRF) passed the one-hour burn test, but those using polyurethane (PUR) and polyvinyl acetate (PVA) fell apart about l0 minutes early.

Lumber manufacturers are currently trying to find glues that are aesthetically pleasing, while adhesive companies are working to develop clear products that meet the fire standard. Most who have made the switch are using the PRF product, which has a brown appearance. "It's ugly," said one source.

American Lumber Standard Committee will administer the labeling program, working through regional wood products associations. An Amer- ican Wood Council spokesman said, "Our long-term goal is to standardize the testing procedure for these glues."

One major FJ mill owner said he is concerned the disagreement among producers over the veracity of the burn tests and confusion surrounding adhesives and testing protocol has harmed the market. "The ALSC will apply the new standards by August 1," he noted. "In the meantime, all this uncertainty over adhesives hurts the industry. Some counties have stopped allowing the use of fingerjoint until there's some certainty. It's important to have clear rules."

The cost impact per mill for switching glues varies widely, according to sources, depending chiefly on component length. For instance, a mill using 1-2' pieces to assemble studs will feel harder impacts than a mill using 6' pieces. Most contacts said glue costs will double or triple in the near term.

Refitting his mill cost one manufacturer $60,000, and a loss of production over several weeks while staff adjusted to a new adhesive. However, all mills interviewed said they will simply produce only HRA-rated lumber rather than try to run two lines. Tracking end use as the stud goes from mill to retailer to contractor to structure proved prohibitively complicated, while many retailers are unwilling to stock two lines of FJ lumber.

A mill manager said, "We use the new (brown) glue on everything. It's hard to run two separate glues on two systems, and the lumberyards would not be happy to carry the two types of stud."

Another manager addressing marketability said, "The non-HRA will be a hard-sell or a no-sell. I wouldn't be caught dead trying to market the nonHRA product. The need to cany two inventories for HRA and non-HRA is too inconvenient for all of us and causes uncertainty about our products."

A major manufacturer of adhesives used in FJ lumber strongly encouraged exclusive use of the PRF adhesive, suggesting that any use of PVA or PUR will send a bad message to the marketplace. "We do not believe it is in the industry's best interest to have two fire performance standards," a company spokesman wrote lumber mill customers. "Fingerjointed lumber has seen steady market share growth over the past l0 years because it has promised benefits over solid-sawn studs, such as straightness and easeof-use, with interchangeability in fire performance."

Larger FJ mills are trying to absorb the HRA costs and move on. but smaller firms are considering curtailments, at least until lumber prices rebound from current lows. Permanent shuts are also anticipated among the smaller players or at mills that manufacture FJ lumber as a sideline.

Contacts noted at least two FJ mills recently closing. due in part or in whole to the glue changeover. An industry expert estimated, "The l0-toI 5-million-bd.-ft.-per-year producers will probably drop out, because the marketplace will not pay $l more for HRA-rated lumber."

A lumber salesman said one mill closed recently "because the market and the glue issue pushed them over the edge. They shipped about 350 cars per year. We'll see more fall by the wayside, because even the best mills aren't making any money."

"We've cut back our production," said a source at a sawmill that produces both solid and FJ lumber. "We haven't made the change to the HRA glue, but might if the market were better. And it's hard to know just how much is used in multi-family structures. And what do the tests mean, anyway? Will they really help make buildings safer?

"This turned into something that just hurt us," the source went on. "The timing hurt the fingerjoint market and put too many questions out there. It's probably going to be simpler for contractors to just use solid-sawn studs."

A wholesaler urged FJ manufacturers to make the change to HRA across the board, as most are doing. "They don't know where that wood is going to so. But there's a lot of non-HRA lumber in the field, and uncertainty as to whether building inspectors will start turning that volume down."

- William Perritt is Crow's Weekly Market Report news editor and RISI International Woodfiber report contributing editor. Crow's publishes five reports each week covering prices and analysis of over I ,600 softwood lumber and panel products. For a free trial subscription, email info@crowscom, phone (800) 80095 10. or gtt to www.risiinfo.com.