DECORATIVE HARDWOODS ASSOCIATION
Updates the Standards for Hardwood Plywood
T
he Decorative Hardwoods Association (DHA) and predecessor organizations have been publishing the American National Standard for Hardwood and Decorative Plywood (ANSI/HPVA HP-1) for nearly a century. This standard is an important part of the work we do, as it helps buyers and manufacturers communicate and specify the timeless beauty of natural hardwood plywood. The DHA is therefore proud to announce the latest version of the HP-1 standard has been published: ANSI/HPVA HP-1-2024. For background, hardwood plywood is a bonded assembly intended for interior use with at least one decorative wood veneer surface and a core that can be made from a variety of panel products (veneer core, medium density fiberboard, particleboard, oriented strand board). The natural face veneer can be made from a wide variety of wood species including oak, maple, hickory, walnut, cherry and many more exotic species. These naturally beautiful veneers are unique, with no two exactly alike, giving designers a wide range of options to achieve the look they desire. The goals of the HP-1 standard are to establish internationallyrecognized aesthetic and performance criteria for hardwood plywood, and provide producers, architects, users, and others in the supply chain with a common basis for understanding the product’s characteristics. To support these goals, DHA, an accredited standards development organization (SDO) of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), maintains the standard under
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SURFACEANDPANEL.COM
BY KEITH CHRISTMAN
“periodic maintenance,” meaning we must revise or reaffirm the standard a minimum of every five years. With this latest revision, DHA and its membership saw an opportunity to make some important updates to HP-1 and therefore initiated the revision process of its 2020 standard in 2023. After an extensive revision period and rigorous consensus-based review by a wide range of stakeholders including the general public, the latest version of the HP-1 standard was approved and published. For the first time in over 20 years, the veneer grading tables in the standard were revised to align with the state of today’s raw material, and to better align supply chain expectations for these grades. Highlights of these grading table revisions include: 1 | Hickory and Pecan a. Replaced D and E veneer grades with 1 (back), similar to the Alder tables. The 1 (back) grade aligns perfectly with C grade, except regarding the allowed “scattered sound and repair knots,” which aligns mostly with B grade. 2 | Red and White Oak a. For A grade, removed “slight” from A grade “mineral streaks” requirement. Requirement is now “blending.” b. For B grade, clarified the amount of allowable “mineral streaks” to read “1 row unlimited up to 305mm [12”] long” c. For A and B grade, removed the number quantity of allowable inconspicuous burls and pin knots and replaced with “Yes; Blending”