Attribute Schema Library
Attribute schemabuilding materials & lumber

Engineered Wood Products Attributes

Engineered wood products are the structural members a building materials distributor sells against a plan: LVL, LSL, PSL, wood I-joists, glued-laminated timber, rim board, cross-laminated timber, and performance-rated structural panels. Buyers are pro dealers, component manufacturers, framers, and the engineers who spec them.

The data is hard because the number on the label is a design value, not a dimension. Every mill publishes its own grade string — 2.0E 3100Fb, 24F-V4, TJI 230, E1 — and they do not compare across brands. The values that decide whether a member works (Fb, E, Fv, Fc⊥, bearing length, web hole charts) live in a specifier's guide PDF and an ICC-ES report. What reaches the ERP is a description string and a linear-foot price.

Then variant explosion: one LVL line is several grades × eight depths × four thicknesses × a dozen stock lengths, treated and untreated, each orderable. Depths arrive as fractional-inch text that does not sort, and unit of measure changes by family — LF for beams, EA for joists, MSF for panels — inside one catalog.

Core

Every SKU needs these. Without them the record is not a product, it is a row.

EWP Product Type
enum
Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL)

First cut on every filter rail. LVL, LSL, PSL, I-joist, glulam, rim board, CLT and rated panels have different grade systems and cannot share one spec table.

Brand / Product Line
text
TJI 230

SCL design values are product-line specific, not generic. 'LVL' is not a spec; TJI 230 and BCI 6000 are not substitutes even at equal depth.

Manufacturer Part Number
identifier
VERSA-LAM 2.0 3100 1-3/4 x 11-7/8

The string the mill's order desk and the specifier's guide both use. Dealer SKUs do not survive a substitution conversation.

GTIN / UPC
identifier
00012345678905 (GTIN-14)

Required to sync to GDSN and to any retail or big-box listing. Also the only reliable join key between mill data and the distributor's price file.

Depth
number · in
11.875 in (11-7/8")

The dimension buyers filter on first. Must be numeric to range-filter; fractional-inch text sorts 11-7/8 ahead of 9-1/2.

Thickness / Net Width
number · in
1.75 in (1-3/4")

Net width for beams (1-3/4, 3-1/2, 5-1/4, 7 in); flange width for I-joists (1-3/4, 2-1/16, 2-5/16, 3-1/2 in). Drives plies and hanger selection.

Stock Length
number · ft
24 ft

Separates stocked from special order. LVL runs to 60 ft on order; a 28 ft ask against 24 ft stock is a different lead time and price.

Grade / Combination Symbol
text
2.0E 3100Fb (LVL) / 24F-V4 (glulam)

The mill's verbatim grade string. Store as-is for ordering, but never compare across brands on it — compare on E, Fb and Fv.

Selling Unit of Measure
enum
LF

Changes by family inside one catalog: LF for beams, EA for I-joists, MSF for panels, MBF for lumber. Wrong UoM prices the quote wrong by an order of magnitude.

Differentiating

What buyers actually compare on. This is where catalogs win or lose the filter.

Modulus of Elasticity (E)
number · psi
2,000,000 psi (2.0E)

Governs deflection and the bounce complaint. The value buyers actually shop when a floor spec is L/480 rather than L/360.

Reference Bending Stress (Fb)
number · psi
2,900 psi at 12 in. depth

Sizes the header. Publish with the reference depth it was tabulated at (12 in. for most LVL lines) or it is not comparable.

Horizontal Shear (Fv)
number · psi
285 psi

Governs short heavily loaded spans and multi-ply girders, where shear controls before bending does.

Span Rating
enum
40/20 (sheathing) / 24 o.c. (Sturd-I-Floor)

How rated panels are bought. Left number is roof support spacing, right is subfloor; Sturd-I-Floor uses a single o.c. number. Separate fields.

Bond / Exposure Durability Classification
enum
Exposure 1

Exposure 1 tolerates construction-cycle wetting; Exterior is a permanent-exposure bond. OSB is Exposure 1 only — there is no Exterior OSB.

Compliance & identifiers

Standards, regulatory data, and the identifiers channels reject you for missing.

Reference Product Standard
enum
ANSI/APA PRG 320-2019

What the submittal cites. SCL to ASTM D5456, I-joists to ASTM D5055, glulam to ANSI A190.1/ANSI 117, CLT to ANSI/APA PRG 320, panels to PS 1-19 / PS 2-18.

Certification / Grade Stamp Agency
enum
APA – The Engineered Wood Association

The third-party agency whose mark is on the member. Inspectors verify the stamp, not the invoice description.

Formaldehyde Emission Status
enum
Not a TSCA Title VI regulated composite wood product

TSCA Title VI / CARB ATCM Phase 2 cover hardwood plywood, particleboard and MDF. Structural panels and SCL are outside the regulated list — say so explicitly.

Country of Origin
identifier
United States

Drives duty exposure, Buy American language on public work, and mill substitution rules. Also required by every downstream data pool.

The fields that aren't in the schema at all

What most engineered wood products catalogs are missing.

The table above is the schema most catalogs already have. These are the attributes that usually aren't in it — each one surfaced by a signal from the live market rather than by an audit of what's already there. This is what Anglera's Schema Foundry does on a real catalog, in this category.

Supplier signal
+ Compression Perp. to Grain (Fc⊥) & Bearing Length

Buyers ask how much bearing a beam needs on a 2x4 plate on nearly every header quote. The answer is in the specifier's guide; distributor records carry Fb and E but no Fc⊥ or bearing field.

Bearing gets guessed. Crushing at the support returns as a callback, and the next RFQ goes to whoever answered it from the product page.

Search signal
+ Maximum Web Hole Size and Location (I-joists)

Hole charts are published as a diagram in the specifier's guide, keyed to depth, series and distance from bearing. Buyers searching for an I-joist that clears a 4 in. duct get no filter and no answer.

Field-drilled holes outside the chart void the manufacturer warranty and fail inspection. The joist is sistered or replaced after it is installed.

Competitor signal
+ ICC-ES Evaluation Report Number (ESR)

Mill sites lead with the report — ESR-1153 for TJI joists, ESR-1040 for VERSA-LAM LVL. Distributor catalogs carrying the identical SKU commonly have no field for it at all.

Plan reviewers and EORs will not accept a product without the code report. The line is substituted at submittal for a brand the reviewer can verify.

Marketplace signal
+ Preservative Treatment / AWPA Use Category

Treated and untreated LVL and LSL are distinct orderable SKUs at identical nominal size. Listings routinely collapse them into one record with treatment mentioned only inside the description string.

Untreated LVL ships for a UC3B or UC4A application. Return at best, decay claim later, and the treated premium never lands on the quote.

Supplier signal
+ EPD / Chain-of-Custody Claim (FSC, SFI)

Mass timber and LEED-driven bids request a product-specific EPD and a chain-of-custody claim by name. Catalogs carry a generic sustainability flag or nothing; the EPD sits as a PDF on the mill's site.

The bid is scored without documentation or dropped from the sustainability line item, and the competitor who attached the EPD takes the package.

How Schema Foundry finds these

Messy in, governed out.

The same value, spelled every way building materials & lumber suppliers spell it. A filter only works once they agree.

Depth
11-7/8"11 7/8 in11.87511-7/8 IN.302 mm11-7/8in
11.875 in

Fractional-inch strings sort as text, so 11-7/8 lands ahead of 9-1/2 on the filter rail and no range filter is possible.

Bond / Exposure Durability Classification
Exposure 1EXP 1Exp.1Interior w/ ext glueIEGExposure I
Exposure 1

'Interior with exterior glue' is retired PS 1 wording buyers still send. It is not the same claim as an Exterior bond.

Grade / Combination Symbol (SCL)
2.0E2.0E 3100Fb2900Fb 2.0E2.0 3100LVL 2.02.0E-2900
2.0E-2900Fb; E and Fb split to numeric

Mills disagree on ordering and on whether Fb is quoted at the 12 in. reference depth. Only the split numeric fields compare across brands.

Appearance Classification (glulam)
ArchitecturalArchARCHArchitectural AppearanceArch. grade
Architectural

ANSI 117 defines Framing, Industrial, Architectural and Premium. Appearance drives price and whether the beam can be left exposed.

What buyers ask

Every one of these should be answerable from the attributes above. If it isn't, that's a gap.

  • Will a 1-3/4 x 11-7/8 2.0E LVL carry a header over a 16 ft garage door with roof load above?
  • Can I bore a 4 in. duct through the web of an 11-7/8 TJI 230, and how close to the bearing?
  • Is this glulam balanced or unbalanced, and which face goes up?
  • How much bearing do I need at the end of this beam on a 2x4 SPF plate?
  • Is this LVL treated? Can it go in a UC3B above-ground exterior application?
  • Do you have the ESR number? The plan reviewer wants the code report.
  • What does 40/20 mean, and can I use that panel on a roof at 24 in. o.c.?
  • Do you stock this in 28 ft, or is anything over 24 ft a special order?

What channels require

The same SKU, different mandatory fields per destination.

Distributor site / dealer portal / ERP price file
EWP Product TypeBrand / Product LineDepthThickness / Net WidthStock LengthSelling Unit of Measure
GS1 GDSN (GS1 US building products)
GTIN-14GPC brick codeBrand nameNet contentPackaging dimensions and gross weightCountry of Origin
Spec-writer channels (BuildSite, ARCAT)
Reference Product StandardICC-ES Evaluation Report NumberDesign values (Fb, E, Fv)Manufacturer datasheet PDFCSI MasterFormat section

Engineered Wood Products data, in practice

Why can't Fb be stored as a single number?

It can, but only alongside the depth it was tabulated at. SCL bending values are published at a reference depth — 12 in. for most LVL lines — then adjusted by a size factor for deeper or shallower members. A bare '2,900 psi' is not comparable across brands, because mills differ on whether they publish the reference value or a value already worked into their span tables. Store Fb as a number plus the reference depth, and keep the size-factor exponent from the specifier's guide next to it. Glulam has the same issue under a different name: the volume factor Cv applies instead of a depth factor.

What is the difference between a 40/20 span rating and a 24 o.c. Sturd-I-Floor rating?

They are different rating systems on different products and must not share an enum. APA Rated Sheathing carries two numbers: the left is maximum support spacing in inches for roof use with the long panel dimension across supports; the right is maximum spacing for subfloor use. A 40/20 panel goes over rafters at 40 in. o.c. or floor joists at 20 in. o.c. APA Rated Sturd-I-Floor is a single-layer floor panel and carries one number — 16, 20, 24, 32 or 48 o.c. — the maximum joist spacing. Separately, panel thickness is now expressed as a Performance Category (CAT 19/32, CAT 23/32), not a nominal thickness.

Do engineered wood products need TSCA Title VI formaldehyde certification?

Mostly no, and the record should say so rather than sit blank. EPA's TSCA Title VI and CARB ATCM Phase 2 regulate hardwood plywood, particleboard and MDF. Structural panels — structural plywood to PS 1-19 and OSB to PS 2-18 — and structural composite lumber are outside the regulated product list; they are bonded with phenolic and isocyanate adhesives. If the same catalog also sells hardwood plywood or MDF, those SKUs do need a TSCA Title VI compliance status and a panel producer's certification. Carry the field for the whole category and populate 'not a regulated composite wood product' explicitly.

Why can't LVL, glulam and CLT share one grade field?

Because they are three unrelated naming systems. LVL and other SCL use a proprietary mill string combining E and Fb — 2.0E 3100Fb, 1.7E 2650Fb — product-line specific and backed by an ICC-ES report rather than a public grade table. Glulam uses ANSI 117 combination symbols such as 24F-V4, 24F-1.8E and 30F-E2, where 24F means Fb = 2,400 psi and V or E indicates visually graded or E-rated laminations. CLT uses PRG 320 grade families, E1 through E5 and V1 through V6. Keep the mill's grade string verbatim as an identifier for ordering, and hold E, Fb and Fv as separate numeric fields. Only the numerics compare across families.

More building materials & lumber schemas

DeckingDimensional LumberDrywallInsulationPlywood & OSBRoofing Shingles

Run this against your own engineered wood products.

Bring the category. We'll show you which of these attributes your catalog is missing — and the ones we find that aren't on this page yet.

Book a demo