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Sanded/Solid/Repaired Faces

To locate a manufacturer for this panel-type, click on a name from the list below. Learn more about this panel-type.

Potlatch Corporation (Panels)

Roseburg Forest Products (Panels, Rim Board)

Georgia-Pacific Wood Products LLC

Pacific Wood Laminates, Inc. (Panels, Rim Board)

Martco Limited Partnership

Hardel Mutual Plywood Corporation

Hood Industries, Incorporated (Panels)

Tolko Industries Ltd. (Panels)

Eagle Plywood Specialties (Panels)

Swanson Group Mfg. LLC. (Panels)

Timber Products Company (Panels, Rim Board)

Coastal Plywood Company (Panels)

Olympic Panel Products LLC (Panels)

Plum Creek (Panels)

S.D.S. Lumber Company (Panels)

Brochmann Polis Industrial E Florestal

Louisiana-Pacific Canada Ltd.

Murphy Plywood (Panels)

Boise Cascade LLC

Scotch Plywood Company of Alabama (Panels)

More About Sanded/Solid/Repaired Faces

Panels with A-grade and B-grade veneer faces are always sanded smooth in manufacture to fulfill the requirements of their intended end use – applications such as cabinets, shelving, furniture, built-ins, etc. Still other panels – APA Underlayment, APA Rated Sturd-I-Floor, APA C-D Plugged and APA C-C Plugged – require only touch-sanding for "sizing" to make the panel thickness more uniform. Sanded panels are fully sanded to a smooth surface while touch-sanded panels are sanded but perhaps not as uniformly as the sanded panels. It should be noted that when presented with moisture in the form of humidity, vapor or liquid, the grain of the wood is likely to raise and the surface become more uneven. Download Sanded Plywood, Form K435, for more information.

Sanded panels can be manufactured in a variety of ways – as plywood (cross-laminated wood veneer), as composites (veneer faces bonded to wood strand cores), or rarely as oriented strand board (OSB).

For a full description of veneer grades, consult Panel Design Specification, Form D510. 

Bond Durability Classification. For many industrial-type applications, including product and system components, truck trailer liners, crates and pallet decks, Exposure 1 panels are suitable. For uses not permanently exposed to elevated moisture exposure, especially export packaging and refrigeration applications, Exterior panels are recommended for repeated wetting and redrying or long-term exposure to weather or other conditions of similar severity. For more information on the difference in bond durability classification, visit the Durability page.

Species of Wood. Plywood is manufactured from more than 70 species of wood. These species are divided on the basis of strength and stiffness into five groups under U.S. Product Standard PS 1-07. Strongest species are in Group 1; the least strong in Group 5 (see Table 1 in the Voluntary Product Standard PS 1-07). The group number that appears in the trademark on some APA trademarked panels – primarily sanded grades – is based on the species used for face and back veneers. Where face and back veneers are not from the same species group, the higher group number is used, except for sanded panels 3/8-inch thick or less and decorative panels of any thickness. These are identified by face species because they are chosen primarily for appearance and used in applications where structural strength is not critical. Sanded panels greater than 3/8-inch thick are identified by face species if C- or D-grade backs are at least 1/8-inch thick and are no more than one species group number higher than the face veneer group number. Some species are used widely in panel manufacture; others rarely. Check local availability if a particular species is desired.

Span Ratings. The Span Ratings in the trademarks on APA Rated Sturd-I-Floor appear as a single number. When plywood, APA Rated Sturd-I-Floor panels have a puncture-resistant face. The Span Ratings of 16, 20, 24, 32 and 48 inches are assigned to APA Rated Sturd-I-Floor. The larger the Span Rating number, the stronger the panel regardless of thickness. Sanded panels other than fully sanded Rated Sturd-I-Floor panels do not have Span Ratings.

Panel Orientation. The strength axis, or original long panel dimension (unless the strength axis is otherwise identified), should typically run across the supporting members for greatest strength.

When ordering APA panels, use the following formats:

Sanded and Touch-Sanded Panels: Designate thickness, APA trademark, grade, group number, bond durability classification, additional information (such as Tongue and Groove, Sanded Face Structural I, Class I or II, edge treatments), dimensions and number of pieces. For example:

3/8" APA A-A Group 1, Exterior,
48"x96", 100 pcs.

Rated Sturd-I-Floor Panels: Designate thickness, APA trademark, grade, Span Rating, bond durability classification, additional information (such as Tongue and Groove, Sanded Face, Structural I, edge treatments), dimensions and number of pieces. For example:

19/32" APA Rated Sturd-I-Floor,
20 oc, Exposure 1, Tongue and Groove
48"x96", 100 pcs.

Other considerations:

Structural I Panels. These panels are especially designed for engineered applications such as structural components where design properties including tension, compression, shear, cross-panel flexural properties and nail holding and bearing are of significant importance. Please see section 5.6.5 Structural Panels in U.S. Voluntary Product Standard PS 1-07 for details on veneer species and grade and bond durability requirements.

Class I and Structural I Concrete Forming Panels. B-B concrete form panels (Plyron^®) are typically manufactured in two classes: Class I and Structural I. Panels are sanded on both sides and treated with a release agent unless otherwise specified. Class I panels will have faces of Group 1 species, crossbands of either Group 1 or 2, and center plies of any of Group 1 through 4. Structural I B-B Plyform panels are also sanded and have Group 1 veneers throughout.

Edge Treatments. A common edge treatment is a tongue and groove edge that is used when engineered wood panels are placed together with their long edges adjacent to each other (one edge has a groove milled into it and the other a tongue). By joining tongue edges into grooved edges, a strong connection is created. This connection causes the adjacent panels to move up and down together when loads are applied near the edge.

Also, different edge treatments are available for panels through a secondary manufacturing process. Research proves that a square edge on a panel deck performs as well as a bull-nosed edge and slightly better than a chamfered edge when edges are exposed to some types of impacts.