Wooden Planks: Crucial In The Construction Industry

Planks

Planks are flat, rectangular and elongated timber with parallel faces. They are typically made from solid-sawn timber, though some newer materials include metal and manufactured or engineered wood. Planks are crucial in the construction of houses, buildings, bridges and other architectural structures. They are used as temporary platforms on supported scaffolds, by lapping ends over bearers. Planks also serve as supporting material for shelves and household fixtures. Some types of planks are also utilized as wooden floorings and boardwalks. Wooden planks are usually pre-cut with a minimum thickness of 1 ½ inches and width of 2 1⁄2 inches. They can be any length and are generally a minimum of 2 x 8 inches, but planks that are 2x10 in

Only very high quality planks are able to meet these performance standards.

Types of Wooden Planks (Scaffolding, Shoring & Forming Institute, 2012)

Planks come in various types but are usually sourced from solid wood or engineered wood. Surfaces are solid and may not have opaque finishes or coatings.

1. Solid sawn planks – Traditional solid planks sawn from a single solid log. The most common species for these applications are douglas fir, western cedar, and southern pine.

2. Engineered planks - Engineered planks are composed of multiple crosslayers of plywood, glued and pressed together. The inner core layers are generally built up with either a hardwood and/or soft plywood type of material, which incorporates the tongue and groove fastening system along the edges of the

Edge Laminated Plank – A plank made from two or more members (either sawn lumber, finger jointed lumber and/or structural composite lumber) where the members are bonded with an exterior grade adhesive. The primary bond is along the least dimension of each member.

4. Face Laminated Plank - A plank made from two or more members (either sawn lumber, finger jointed lumber and/or structural composite lumber) where the members are bonded with an exterior grade adhesive. The primary bond is along the largest dimension of each member.

5. Pinned Plank – A plank made of two or more members (sawn lumber, finger-jointed lumber and/or structural composite lumber) where the members are mechanically fastened together.

6. Structural Composite Lumber (SCL) – products where discrete elements are bonded together with an exterior grade adhesive. Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) is most common SCL used for scaffold plank. Other SCL products include: 1.) Laminated Strand Lumber (LSL), 2.) Oriented Strand Lumber (OSL) and 3. Parallel Strand Lumber (PSL)

Characteristics and Properties of Wooden