Frequently Asked Questions
1. To which plywood and lumber inspection agencies is Coastal Forest Resources Company a member? What are the mill numbers for your facilities?
Coastal’s plywood manufacturing plants are members of the American Panel Association (APA) and all of our on-grade panels carry the APA grade mark and third party inspection services. The Havana, Florida plywood plant is APA Mill # 351 and the Chapman, Alabama plywood plant is APA Mill # 527.
The lumber and timber products from Coastal’s sawmill in Chapman, Alabama are third party certified by Timber Products Inspection (TPI) and carry TPI Mill # 494.
2. Does Coastal use an interior glue to lay up panels?
All of the glue we use is exterior glue; therefore, all of our Rated Sheathing is Exposure 1. Any C grade or higher panels require exterior glue.
3. What qualifies Structural-1 panels?
APA designated Structural-1 panels must meet all PS-1 requirements plus special species, grade, and glue bond requirements. Our Rated Sheathing Structural-1 contains D grade inner ply with additional restrictions, exterior glue, and 100% Group 1 SYP species veneers. All of our C & Better Exterior panels may be produced and grade marked Structural-1 by special order.
4. Do you make a CC panel?
CC is a downfall product from AC, BC, BB, and other higher grade panels. Since our CC grade is not a regular production item the supply is limited and cannot be guaranteed. The CC panels from Coastal are generally not PTS (Plugged and Touch Sanded). Please call us for more specifics on this product line.
5. What is the National Green Building Standard?
The National Green Building Standard was the first green building standard ever approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in 2008. This standard provides an alternative to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® program, which is considered by many as being biased against wood construction. The National Green Building Standard is more appropriately weighted to the entire life cycle of products being used for construction whereas the LEED® program focuses more on where the construction materials are sourced.
6. Are Coastal’s products stamped “Heat Treated”?
Yes. All of Coastal’s on-grade lumber and timber products carry the “HT” stamp which signifies that they have been heat treated and meet the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM-15) adopted by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). More information regarding this standard is shown below.
Coastal’s plywood panels are exempt from regulations requiring the “Heat Treated” stamp because all of our plywood veneer is heated to high temperatures during the manufacturing process. When wood is being shipped in or out of the U.S., the “Heat Treated” stamp is required on solid lumber products to insure that they have been kiln-dried at a high enough temperature to kill any harmful organisms. The stamp is required on solid wood, not on plywood since it is an engineered wood product.
For further clarification on this issue please read the statements below which come from www.apawood.org, the American Panel Association website:
Engineered Wood is Exempt from ISPM-15
Plywood, OSB, and laminated veneer lumber (LVL) are members of the engineered wood family. The severe environments that the raw materials experience in the manufacturing process not only destroys any live organisms in the wood but dries it down to 6-8% moisture content making it a very lightweight, economical shipping platform.
Clear Customs with Engineered Wood
Engineered wood packaging materials are exempt from ISPM-15, an International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures adopted by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). Under this standard, wood packaging materials are required to be either Heat Treated to 56 degrees C to the core for 30 minutes or fumigated with Methyl Bromide to the schedule in the ISPM15 document. A total of 134 nations will eventually implement ISPM15 regulations regarding the importation of solid wood packaging materials.
Engineered wood packaging materials are exempt from ISPM-15 regulations because the manufacturing process not only destroys live organisms in the wood, it also minimizes the moisture content, resulting in extremely lightweight, economical shipping products.
7. Is Coastal FSC or SFI certified?
We are not FSC or SFI certified at this time.
Coastal Forest Resources Company has recognized the need for sustainable forest management throughout the history of the company, long before the environmental movement became so popular. All of the logs used in the manufacture of plywood and lumber at our facilities are procured within a 100 mile radius of the mills in Havana, Florida and Chapman, Alabama respectively. Our log supply comes from American southern pine forests, which are the best and most cared for forests in the world. Since we believe in providing our customers with the most competitive pricing possible, we have chosen to forgo expensive and redundant certification programs and pass the savings on to our customers. No certification programs can make our plywood and timber products more environmentally friendly, these programs will only result in more expense for our customers. You can be confident when buying our products that we meet all local, state, and federal regulations and guidelines regarding sustainable forest management.
PerformancePanels.com provides the following information:
“Forest Certification programs sprouted in the 1990s to address rampant deforestation and mismanagement in developing countries. Today there are several forest certification agencies that verify the sustainable forest management practices of land management companies, forest product manufacturers, and other related organizations. The certifying agencies typically assess forest management using sustainable forest principles, criteria, and performance measures.”
“North American companies have practiced sustainable forest management long before certification came into existence. For this reason many manufacturers opt to forgo some certification programs – not because they do not comply with the standards of certification, but rather because of the expenses involved in obtaining and maintaining certification, which may include independent auditing, membership dues, and additional fees. Contact each manufacturer directly to learn about its philosophy and practices regarding sustainable forest management.”
8. Is mold and mildew a problem? What can be done to prevent mold growth?
Coastal produces high-quality plywood suitable for residential and commercial construction, as well as various industrial applications. We manufacture, store, and load our plywood in accordance with APA, TECO, ANSI, HUD/FHA, #VM40C and PRP 133 standards.
Coastal certifies that when we ship plywood from our mills, it is dry and it’s moisture content is below 16%. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, moisture content of 19% or higher is required to support mold growth.
Coastal’s requirements for proper handling and storage of plywood to prevent mold or mildew growth are:
Distributor Delivery: Coastal loads and ships dry plywood only. Distributors should receive and unload plywood under cover and place it in dry storage immediately.
Job-site Delivery: Haulers should keep plywood dry during transport and builders should store plywood at least 4″ above ground and covered by a suitable moisture barrier.
Ventilation: Keep plywood in well-ventilated areas and store above ground and away from standing water.
Inventory Rotation: Use plywood production dates to ensure proper inventory rotation (first in, first out) in all distribution channels all the way through to final consumption.
Coastal cannot control how it’s plywood is handled once it is shipped. Therefore we expressly disclaim any liability for mold or mildew growth that occurs on our plywood after Coastal ships it or for any damage such mold or mildew growth may cause.
9. Does Coastal produce “formaldehyde free” plywood
The following is our statement regarding formaldehyde emissions and our plywood products:
Formaldehyde is a ubiquitous molecule, commonly found in small amounts in the environment. It’s also a naturally occurring biological molecule found in living organisms. Human blood contains about 2 ppm of formaldehyde.
Coastal uses phenolic resin glue as the bonding agent for their high quality plywood. Therefore all APA grade-marked panel products produced by Coastal are manufactured in accordance with U.S. Voluntary Product Standards PS-1 or PS-2 and they exceed all U.S. requirements pertaining to formaldehyde emission standards. In fact, large-scale chamber tests have shown that formaldehyde emission levels in Coastal’s panels are no higher than the levels found naturally in the environment. Indeed, because formaldehyde levels associated with phenolic resin-bonded products are so low, these products easily meet or have been exempted from the world’s leading formaldehyde emissions standards and regulations, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Air Toxic Control Measure for Composite Wood Products, Japanese Agricultural Standards (JAS), and the EN 300 standard for European markets.
In summary, the terms “formaldehyde free” and “zero formaldehyde” are misnomers since the formaldehyde molecule is all around us. But Coastal’s panel products are the solution to your “lowest formaldehyde” requirements.
For more information on formaldehyde in panel products, please click on the following link at performancepanels.com: http://www.performancepanels.com/?content=app_pp_atr_form