Timber design - stress grading

[Ingenuity]

I have not done a lot of timber design to US codes but...is structural timber stress graded in the USA and can i verify that on a site. That is, can i pick up a piece of lumber on a project site and clearly see what stress grading it is via a grading stamp?

Same with plywood - does the US stamp plywood sheets and provide stress grades for the sheets?

My previous timber design was to Australian standards where we would see say "F14" stress grade that designates 14 MPa (2ksi) allowable bending stress.

thanks

PS - i call it timber but US engineers call it WOOD - sorry i am from the south, as in down-under south! I have always thought that wood comes from a tree, but timber comes from a mill

 

[Qshake]

The answer to your question is yes, the lumber, plywood is stamped.

By the way we call wood here because back in our day us engineers were responsible for the felling, milling, engineering, and constructing of all our timber structures!

Well, what did you expect after we walked three miles (one way and up hill both ways) four feet deep snow to get to school! By the time we graduated from school we were pretty hard up to top some of those earlier feats!

 

[Ingenuity]

thanks Qshake...

i guess you also mined our own ore, smelted you own steel, rolled your own sections, then had breakfast...etc

seems like the lumber and plywood i have seen is from asia and probably not rated...certainly no APA or equal stamp. I will investigate further. again, thanks.

 

[JAE]

Qshake...this has nothing to do with engineering, but your fabulous rantings reminded me of a great dialog from Monty Python where four fellows rant on about the "bad old days".
enjoy!

http://www.montypython.net/scripts/4york.php

 

[Ingenuity]

JAE,

Great stuff...fond memories...those were the days...don't make comedy today like they used to....

..."But you try and tell the young people today that... and they won't believe ya'..."

 

[Qshake]

Thats great!! I haven't stopped laughing yet!!

 

[ksreedhar]

Refer AITC “ Timber Construction Manual” Chapter 6- Design of Structural Systems. All the details are available includes Design, Erection and connections etc.,. For design of timber structural systems both Glued laminated Timber and swan lumber as per AITC provisions are available in STAAD.Pro.
ksreedhar

 

[LPPE]

Wood to me are any 2x stock. Timber to me are stock like 6x6, 8x10, etc. I think NDS gives a description of what qualifies as "timber". Up here in the Northeast, most homes are stick framed with conventional 2x. There has been a push lately back to Post and Beam construction. A lot of mortise and tennon connections with wood pegs and such. We usually call this Timber Construction. There are even companies that specialize in just this type. Vermont Timber Works is one.