ASTM Committee D-7: Wood; Promoting Safety and Standardization for 100 Years (American Society for Testing and Materials‪)‬

In October 2004, Committee D-7 on Wood of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) is celebrating 100 years of contributions to the safe and efficient use of wood as a building material. Born during a period of rapid social, economic, and technological change, the Committee faced controversial issues and the challenge of a changing forest resource. This article highlights the technical and economic challenges we have faced over the years, discusses some of the controversial decisions, and speculates on future challenges. The United States is the leading producer and consumer of wood products in the world. The majority of this wood resource is used to construct the approximately 1 million new single-family homes built each year, or to repair and remodel existing homes. This demand for construction material has led to better utilization of wood, the development of improved grading practices, and improved engineered wood products. Solid-sawn lumber continues to provide the bulk of structural lumber products used in construction. Mechanical grading procedures provide precise control of property assignments, but they have introduced an entire new set of "grades" to the marketplace. In addition, engineered wood products such as laminated veneer lumber and parallel strand lumber are being substituted for solid-sawn lumber. Large-diameter timbers are increasingly difficult to obtain, and products from them are often replaced by prefabricated wood I-joists and glued laminated (glulam) beams. Plywood once replaced solid-sawn wood for sheathing material, and oriented strandboard has now largely replaced plywood. Compared to 100 years ago, the use of forest resources in the United States includes a more diverse array of species and trees with smaller diameters.