What Can I Expect from Synergy? Introduction The purpose of this document is to provide our customers with information and guidelines on what to expect from Synergy products. The premise being that with this understanding of how we make our products, how to use what is delivered to the jobsite, how we grade each piece of wood and the finishes we use to create a beautiful, long lasting product, will help educate the reader on What To Expect From Synergy. Synergy uses real wood on all of our products. Our various species of wood come from lumber mills across the United States and include cypress, ponderosa pine and southern yellow pine. Variations in the wood, which can include knot structure, grain color and grain patterns, should be expected and is where the beauty of real wood comes from. These variations in the wood are the reason real wood is chosen to beautify a home. Honey on #2 Cypress showing variation in the wood through the stain
Our Process The first step in producing our tongue and groove products is to run the raw wood through our molder. This is the machine that puts the profile on the long edge of each board. The wood is then resorted and inspected for any objectionable defects such as holes, splits, cracks, loose or missing knots. The visible defects are removed and then each piece is end matched with a male/female interlocking end. After the end matching process, the wood is wide belt sanded from 150 grit and then 180 grit. From there, the board proceeds into a multi-head, rotary brush sander which "eases" the edges of the boards making them ready for the staining process. One of the reasons for all of this sanding is to remove "chatter" marks on the boards from the molding operation. Chatter marks are horizontal lines on the board caused by the knives of the molder cutting the End Matched Board board while it is being run through the molder. These lines will not come out of the board without this wide belt sanding process and if they were not removed, they would be exacerbated once stain is put on the board. Yet another process that separates our products from other companies is in the next step; application of the stain. We hand-wipe each piece of wood after the stain is applied which "pushes" the stain deeper into the wood. The result is a deeper, consistent color that cannot be achieved without the hand wiping procedure. After the stained material goes through our drying process, a clear sealer coat of an exterior grade polyurethane is applied. The sealer coat is designed to envelope the porous wood (which includes the stained portion of the wood), preventing the next coat of polyurethane from being excessively absorbed into the wood. Upon completion of another drying cycle, the wood is lightly sanded and is now ready for the final coat of exterior grade polyurethane.
Grading of Lumber 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. 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 Ponderosa Pine Western Lumber Grading Rules, 2011 Southern Yellow Pine Southern Pine Inspection Bureau Grading Rules, 2014 During our production process, Synergy inspects and re-grades each piece of lumber. Even with this extra grading, is the Synergy product going to be perfect? The answer is, no it isn't. Wood is a natural product and therefore, each piece is going to be different. For the pieces that make it through our facility and to the jobsite that might have some undesirable issue, please see the section labeled "How To Use What is Delivered". Everything that is delivered to a jobsite is useable. The following pages have photos and descriptions of what we typically accept for each type of wood we process. Some of the definitions of the grading terminology for each will be found at the end of this article.
#2 Cypress Grading #2 Cypress 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 allowed: unlimited diameter sound or unsound knots, pith knots, slight peck, shake and checks. Wane allowed: See section "What Synergy Allows". Splits allowed: equal to the length of the piece in inches. Pith allowed: all
Select Cypress Grading Select Cypress Synergy's select cypress is graded as follows: Knots allowed: 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 Grading We developed Synergy's E-Peck cypress 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. Raw E-Peck Cypress When E-Peck cypress is finished with a stain and our topcoat system, the stain color deeply penetrates the peck creating a dark, rustic appearance. Colonial on E-Peck Cypress Synergy's E-Peck cypress is graded as follows: Graded same as #2 cypress except admits up to 2 knot holes per board and unlimited surface checks. Please note that if the hole is an undesirable effect, the installer has two options. Cut the hole out of the board and use the ends as starting and stopping pieces or apply a black 15 lb felt roofing paper on the backside of the board behind the hole using contact adhesive.
#2 Southern Yellow Pine Grading #2 Southern Yellow Pine Synergy's #2 Southern Yellow Pine is graded as follows: 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
C-Grade Southern Yellow Pine Grading C-Grade Southern Yellow Pine Synergy's C-Grade Southern Yellow Pine is graded as follows: 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 (not over 1/64" deep); very light machine gouge (not over 1/64" deep); light chip marks (not over 1/32" deep); very slight knife marks. Pitch - light Pith - small (3/4 square inch or less)
#2 Ponderosa Pine Grading #2 Ponderosa Pine Please note: With our #2 Ponderosa Pine, heartwood is present and is visible through our Clear finish. Over time, the heartwood will "age" or darken when exposed to any light. This is a natural occurrence and is not considered a defect. Synergy's #2 Ponderosa Pine is graded as follows: Knots allowed: Sound and tight, up to 2.1/2" diameter for red knots, up to 1" diameter for black knots. Pitch allowed: Streaks and patches of light to medium pitch covering 1/2 of face or two very small streaks of heavy pitch. Pith allowed: Firm heart pith, not more than 1/2" wide, 1/2 the length of the board. Shake allowed: Light shake, not over 1/6 the length. Split allowed: Short splits, limited to one on each end.
What Synergy Allows Even though Synergy grades each piece of lumber based on accepted industry grading rules, there are other things we look at, such as side bend and checks. A side bent board is a board that when laid flat, there is a slight curve in the axial direction. A diagram of this is shown in the next section under "How To Use What is Delivered". Synergy allows the following during our manufacturing process (based on length to curve): 4' to 7' long boards; up to 1/4" side bend 7.1/2' to 8' long boards; up to 3/8" side bend 9.1/2' to 10' long boards; up to 1/2" side bend 11.1/2' long boards; up to 5/8" side bend 12' to 14' long boards; up to 3/4" side bend Over time, we have observed that it is very easy (defined as light pressure applied to a board when placed on edge) to "straighten" a board with side bend with the given dimensions above. Of course, if a side bend board is found while installing and it is undesirable, it can still be used. Please see the next section on how to use it. A check is a lengthwise separation of the wood, which occurs usually across the rings of annual growth. A photo of a surface check can be found in the definition section of this document. How To Use What is Delivered Even with the inspection process that each Synergy board experiences, sometimes items get through or happen in transit to the jobsite. But even if something gets through our process or in transit, is it useable? The answer is yes! So how do you use something you would rather not have in your ceiling? First, realize that since you have end matched product, the end joint can fall anywhere on the ceiling. You will need to have shorter, cut pieces at the end of every run you are making (just like a wood floor). When using Synergy tongue and groove products, USE THE BOARDS AS THEY COME OUT OF THE PACKAGE! Don't set aside boards that may have natural or undesirable defects. Use these boards during the normal course of installation by cutting out the undesirable areas and using these as starting or ending pieces.
Two common items that we hear about are knot holes and side bent boards. Let's take a look at each. Knot Hole: As an example, let's say you have a job that you ordered 532 lineal feet of cypress and each board is 9.1/2' (114") long. You start your installation and on one of the boards, a 2" diameter knot fell out. If you cut the 2" diameter hole out and use both ends, this represents 1.7% of the board. But it also represents.03% of the job total! Further, even if you had 10 boards with 2" holes in each (highly unlikely), it is still.3% of the job total. You are still below our recommended 5% waste for the job. But if you saved these 10 boards for the end of the job, that represents a little over 17%! Side bend (at end of board): Same example as above, 532 lineal feet of cypress and each board is 9.1/2' (114") long. In the diagram below, let's say you find one board that the end is bowed approximately 84" from one end. If you cut part of the bow out (18.1/4"), that represents 16% of the board but only.3% of the job total. Side bend (in middle of board): Let's say that you have a 9.1/2' board that has more than 1/2" side bend to it, say 3/4", as shown in the diagram below.
Just by cutting the board in half, the side bend will go well below 1/2 the original side bend, as shown in the following diagram. Now both of the remaining pieces can be used as starter or ending pieces in your ceiling. Your total waste is 0%! Wood Movement Installed wood moves constantly (expanding and contracting) due to the moisture content of the wood changing in relation to the environmental conditions as it correlates to the relative humidity of the surrounding area. Although wood is constantly expanding and contracting due to temperature and relative humidity, wood does not move equally in all directions. The grain structure causes it to move differently in three different directions. Wood is very stable along its longitudinal direction (length of board), parallel to the grain. Green lumber shrinks approximately.01% of its length as it dries. Wood moves much more across the grain, tangent (width as it is plain-sawn) to the growth rings. Green lumber shrinks as much as 8% in this direction. Wood moves only half as much (4%) in the radial direction (thickness as it is plain-sawn). All wood brought into Synergy is kiln dried. Each species is slightly different and therefore will have a different moisture content. What is important is that we will not finish any wood that is above 18% moisture content. If any Synergy product is to be installed on an interior ceiling or wall, you should allow the wood to acclimate to its environment at least 72 hours (or more if possible) so that the wood equalizes. If the product is going to be installed on an exterior porch ceiling, no acclimation period will be required; unless it is going into a very dry climate.
Synergy Samples If you have received a sample of one of our cypress or pine products, please note that all of our samples are cut from #2 mill-graded lumber. Most of our samples may not have knots in them and this is NOT indicative of our #2 graded products, which will have knots present. Please bear that in mind when making your purchase. Color Variation Wood is a natural product and when stained, variations in color and grain pattern are to be expected. Warranty A copy of Synergy's 5-year, limited warranty is available on our website at: http://www.synergywood.com/assets/images/synergy 5-year Warranty.pdf While our products are designed for exterior porch ceiling applications, we do not recommend or warranty any Synergy items that have been exposed to direct sunlight or direct moisture. In the unlikely event of a warranty claim, the end user is responsible for documenting the Job Number and Manufacture Date of the product being used. This information can be found on each of the packages being delivered to the jobsite. No claims can be made without this information. For any other information you might need, please call or email us.
Definitions Chipped grain means that a part of the surface is chipped or broken out in very short particles below the line of cut. It should not be classed as torn grain and, as usually found, shall not be considered a defect unless it is present in excess of 25% of the area. Loosened grain means that a small portion of the wood has become loosened but not displaced. Torn grain means that a part of the wood is torn out in dressing, and in depth is four distinct characters; slight, medium, heavy and deep. Medium torn grain is over 1/32", but not more than 1/16" in depth. A skip is an area on a piece that failed to surface. A heavy skip is one that the planer knife did not touch. A machine burn is a darkening or charring of the wood due to overheating by the machine knives. A machine gouge is a grooving across a piece due to the machine cutting below the desired line of cut. A sound knot is solid across its face, as hard as the surrounding wood, and shows no indication of decay. A medium knot is one over 3/4", but not more than 1.1/2" in diameter. A pith knot is a sound knot with a soft center not more than 1/4" in diameter. Peck is typically decay which appears in the form of a hole, pocket, or area of soft rot usually surrounded by sound wood. Slight peck is not through the piece occupying less than 10% of the surface area. Decay is a disintegration of the wood substance due to action of wood-destroying fungi, and is also known as dote or rot. Machine bite is a depressed cut of the machine knives at the end of the piece. Pitch is an accumulation of resinous material.
A shake is a lengthwise separation of the wood, which occurs usually between and parallel to the rings of annual growth. Shake on cypress A check is a lengthwise separation of the wood, which occurs usually across the rings of annual growth. Check on cypress Wane is bark, or the lack of wood or bark, from any cause on the edge or corner of a piece. Wane - bark or lack of wood on edge
Pith is the small soft core in the structural center of the log. Pith - spongy material in center of tree Pitch is an accumulation of resinous material. Pitch in Ponderosa Pine