LUMBER GRADING

RESOURCES

Even though each type of wood has its own grading system, the purpose of grading lumber is the same; a method to communicate between buyer and seller of what is and isn’t acceptable.

HOW SYNERGY WOOD GRADES LUMBER

The lumber that comes into our facility is graded at each of the lumber mills we buy from. Below is a list of the species and grading rules used by Synergy for our initial inspection of incoming lumber.

Governing Grading Standards Used by Synergy

Cypress - National Hardwood Lumber Associations Rules 2007

Southern Pine - Southern Pine Inspection Bureau Grading Rules, 2014

During our production process, Synergy selects, inspects and re-grades each piece of lumber by hand. Even with this extra grading, wood is a natural product and therefore, each piece is going to be uniquely different.

For the pieces that make it through our facility and to the job site that might have some undesirable issue, please see the page “How To Use What is Delivered”. Everything that is delivered to a job site is 99% usable.

The following is a basic description of what we typically accept for each type of wood we process.

SYNERGY CYPRESS: #2 GRADE
What Synergy Allows:
Synergy’s #2 Cypress is graded as follows:
Medium manufacturing defects allowed (from machining operations such as the molder, end matcher or sander): chipped grain, loosened grain, medium torn grain, heavy skip, machine burn or machine gouge.

Knots - Unlimited diameter sound or unsound knots, pith knots, slight peck, shake and checks.
Wane - See “What Synergy Allows”.
Splits - Equal to the length of the piece in inches.
Pith - All pith
SYNERGY CYPRESS: SELECT
What Synergy allows:
Synergy’s select cypress is graded as follows:

Knots - 1 medium knot (defined as a knot over 3/4”, but not more than 1.1/2” in diameter) in a 6” wide board.

Defects - which can be substituted for 1 medium knot: 3 pin knots or 2 small knots or 3 medium surface checks or 1 slight manufacturing defect or fine shake.
E-PECK®: CYPRESS #2 GRADE
We developed E-Peck® to simulate old growth peck. This proprietary process was designed to have just the right amount of peck in each board. Our process creates a random pattern in each board - and over a series of boards.

What Synergy allows:
Graded same as #2 Cypress except admits up to 2 knot holes per board and unlimited surface checks.
SYNERGY SOUTHERN PINE: #2 GRADE
What Synergy allows:

Decay - in streaks of heart-center decay not to exceed 1/2” wide by 1/4 length of piece, or equivalent in unsound red heart.

Holes - up to 1/4” not limited; one through hole over 1/4” but not over 1”; surface pits and cavities limited to 2” diameter in 6” wide board.

Knots - sound, firm, encased, and pith, limited to 3” diameter in 6” wide board; all knots fixed or tight, except loose knots limited as through holes.

Manufacture - admits very heavy torn grain; raised grain; very heavy loosened grain; up to 1/16” deep machine bite; up to 1/16” deep machine gouge; up 1/16” deep chip marks; knife marks.

Items not limited: Pitch, pith, shake, checks & splits.
SYNERGY SOUTHERN PINE: C GRADE
What Synergy allows:

Checks - medium surface checks (not over 1/32” wide but over 4” long and not over 10” long); through checks not over 1/32” wide are allowed if not longer than width of piece.

Holes - average of not over 6 pin holes (1/16” or less) per surface
foot.

Knots - sound or firm and tight, limited to small size (not over 3/4”), except on medium (over 3/4” and not over 1.1/2”) allowed in 5” and 6” widths.

Manufacture - medium torn grain; light raised grain (not over 1/32”); light loosened grain (not over 1/32” separation); very light machine bite

Need more information? Contact us at info@synergywood.com or call direct at 866-791-6714.

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