McKillican | Green Reference - Terms starting with the letter C

Terms starting with ...

Cambium	A thin layer of tissue between the bark and wood that repeatedly subdivides to form new wood and bark cells.
Canadian Green Building Council (CaGBC)	The Canada Green Building Council accelerates the design and construction of green buildings in Canada. The Council is a broad-based inclusive coalition of representatives from different segments of the design and building industry. (www.cagbc.org)
Cant	A log that has been slabbed on one or more sides. Ordinarily, cants are intended for re-sawing at right angles to their widest sawn face. The term is loosely used. (See Flitch)
CARB	California Air Resources Board (CARB) In April 2008, the final rules for formaldehyde emissions for composite panels were codified into law. CARB Phase 1 and CARB Phase 2 compliant products are available from most suppliers today, even though Phase 1 doesn't go into effect for particleboard and MDF until January 2009 and Phase 2 doesn't go into effect until January 2012. For more information about this new California regulation visit www.carbrule.org.
CARB1	ARB Phase 1 Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Hardwood Plywood (HWPW), Particleboard (PB), and Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF)
CARB2	ARB Phase 2 Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Hardwood Plywood (HWPW), Particleboard (PB), and Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF)
Casehardening	A condition of stress and set in dry lumber characterized by compressive stress in the outer layers and tensile stress in the center or core.
Catalyst	A substance that initiates or changes the rate of chemical reaction but is not consumed or changed by the reaction.
Cell	A general term for the anatomical units of plant tissue, including wood fibers, vessel members, and other elements of diverse structure and function.
Cellulose	The carbohydrate that is the principal constituent of wood and forms the framework of the wood cells.
Certified Wood	"Certified forest products" are branded with the label of one of the organizations (see FSC) that sets standards for responsible forest management. Some forest certification systems require manufacturers to have a material management system, or "chain of custody" process, in place in order to sell "certified forest products" with their label. (See Chain of Custody)
CFC Plywood	Term for "Composite Fiber Core" plywood. Unlike standard veneer core panels, CFC adds thin MDF cross bands that sandwich sn inner veneer core on top and bottom. This provide a superior surfaces of a panel and provides better strenght than solid composite products like PB and MDF as well as improves density over standard veneer core plywood products. The added dimensional stability ensures that the panel lays flater and it does not telegraph or warp like standard veneer core plywood. This product allows for melamine TFM lamination unlike plywood.
Chain-of-Custody	A document that tracks the movement of a wood product from the forest to a vendor and is used to verify compliance with FSC guidelines. A "vendor" is defined as the company that supplies wood products to project contractors or subcontractors for on-site installation.
Chain-of-Custody Certification	A certification that is awarded after companies that process, manufacture and/or sell products made of certified wood successfully complete audits to ensure proper use of the FSC name and logo, segregation of certified and non-certified materials in manufacturing and distribution systems, and observation of other relevant FSC rules (e.g., meeting minimum requirements for FSC content in assembled wood products).
Charrette	A short and intensive design process that usually involves people from different backgrounds and disciplines in order to gain an integrated and broad perspective of issues at hand. See also Integrated design.
Check	A lengthwise separation of the wood that usually extends across the rings of annual growth and commonly results from stresses set up in wood during seasoning.
Chemical Brown Stain	A chemical discoloration of wood, which sometimes occurs during the air drying or kiln drying of several species, apparently caused by the concentration and modification of extractives.
Chipboard	A paperboard used for many purposes that may or may not have specifications for strength, color, or other characteristics. It is normally made from paper stock with a relatively low density in the thickness of 0.1524 mm (0.006 in.) and up.
Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)	CFCs are chemicals manufactured from hydrocarbons, such as methane, chlorine, fluorine, or bromine and often used as a propellant that traps heat in the atmosphere and contributes to global warming. Commonly used in refrigerants and solvents, they can destroy the ozone in the upper atmosphere when released.
Cleavage	In an adhesively bonded joint, a separation in the joint caused by a wedge or other crack-opening-type action.
Closed Assembly Time	The time interval between completion of assembly of the parts for bonding and the application of pressure or heat, or both, to the assembly.
Close-Grained (Fine-Grained) Wood Grain	Wood with narrow, inconspicuous annual rings. The term is sometimes used to designate wood having small and closely spaced pores, but in this sense the term "fine textured" is more often used.
Coarse-Grained Wood Grain	Wood with wide conspicuous annual rings in which there is considerable difference between earlywood and latewood. The term is sometimes used to designate wood with large pores, such as oak, keruing, meranti, and walnut, but in this sense, the term "open-grained" is more often used.
Cohesion	The state in which the constituents of a mass of material are held together by chemical and physical forces.
Cohesive Failure	Rupture of an adhesive joint, such that the separation appears to be within the adhesive.
Cold Pressing	A bonding operation in which an assembly is subjected to pressure without the application of heat.
Cold-Pressed Plywood	Refers to interior-type plywood manufactured in a press without external applications of heat.
Cold-Setting Adhesive	An adhesive that sets at temperatures below 20¡C (68¡F).
Collapse	The flattening of single cells or rows of cells in heartwood during the drying or pressure treatment of wood. Often characterized by a caved-in or corrugated appearance of the wood surface.
Commercial Buildings Incentive Program	Commercial Buildings Incentive Program (Formerly known as C2000) was developed by NRCan. Provides compensation for creating energy efficiency features in new commercial/institutional buildings. Based on MNECB and CBIP Technical Guide.
Commissioning	Commissioning of building systems is a systematic process to ensure that all the building systems perform interactively according to the contract documents, the design intent and the owners operational needs. Commissioning maximizes energy efficiency thus minimizing environmental impacts associated with energy production and consumption.
Composite Assembly	A combination of two or more materials bonded together that performs as a single unit.
Composite Panel	A veneer-faced panel with a reconstituted wood core. The flakeboard core may be random or have alignment in the direction 90¡ from the grain direction of the veneer faces.
Composting	A waste management system for plant material (i.e. kitchen scraps and garden thinnings) that involves the biological decomposition of organic material into a rich soil amendment.
Compound Curvature	Wood bent to a compound curvature, no element of which is a straight line.
Compreg	Wood in which the cell walls have been impregnated with synthetic resin and compressed to give it reduced swelling and shrinking characteristics and increased density and strength properties.
Compression Failure	Deformation of the wood fibers resulting from excessive compression along the grain either in direct end compression or in bending. It may develop in standing trees due to bending by wind or snow or to internal longitudinal stresses developed in growth, or it may result from stresses imposed after the tree is cut. In surfaced lumber, compression failures may appear as fine wrinkles across the face of the piece.
Compression Wood	Abnormal wood formed on the lower side of branches and inclined trunks of softwood trees. Compression wood is identified by its relatively wide annual rings (usually eccentric when viewed on cross section of branch or trunk), relatively large amount of latewood (sometimes more than 50% of the width of the annual rings in which it occurs), and its lack of demarcation between earlywood and latewood in the same annual rings. Compression wood shrinks excessively longitudinally, compared with normal wood.
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)	CFD is a detailed airflow modeling technique which "solves the governing equations of air motion" to give predictions of pressure, velocity and temperature. CFD allows engineers to reconsider natural ventilation rather than mechanical ventilation and air conditioning.
Concealed Surfaces	Term used to Identification of Parts. As defined by AWI Quality Standards 400-G-3: C. Concealed Surfaces - Surfaces are concealed when: 1. Surfaces are not visible after installation; 2. Bottoms of cabinets are less than 762 mm [30"] above finish floor; 3. Tops of cabinets are 1830 mm [72"] or more above finished floor and are not visible from an upper level; 4. Stretchers, blocking and/or components are concealed by drawers. 5. Corners are created by tall, wall, or base cabinets, and shall be non-accessible.
Conditioning (pre and post)	The exposure of a material to the influence of a prescribed atmosphere for a stipulated period of time or until a stipulated relation is reached between material and atmosphere.
Connector, Timber	Metal rings, plates, or grids that are embedded in the wood of adjacent members, as at the bolted points of a truss, to increase the strength of the joint.
Consistency	That property of a liquid adhesive by virtue of which it tends to resist deformation. (Consistency is not a fundamental property but is composed of rheological properties such as viscosity, plasticity, and other phenomena.)
Constructed Wetlands	Extensive engineered systems comprising wide range of native plants designed to mimic natural wetland treatment properties.
Construction Adhesive	Any adhesive used to assemble primary building materials into components during building construction-most commonly applied to elastomer-based mastic- type adhesives.
Contact Adhesive	An adhesive that is apparently dry to the touch and, which will adhere to itself instantaneously upon contact; also called contact bond adhesive or dry bond adhesive.
Contact Angle	The angle between a substrate plane and the free surface of a liquid droplet at the line of contact with the substrate.
Cooperage	Containers consisting of two round heads and a body composed of staves held together with hoops, such as barrels and kegs.
Copolymer	Substance obtained when two or more types of monomers polymerize.
Corbel	A projection from the face of a wall or column supporting a weight.
Core Stock	A solid or discontinuous center ply used in panel-type glued structures (such as furniture panels and solid or hollowcore doors).
Coupling Agent	A molecule with different or like functional groups that is capable of reacting with surface molecules of two different substances, thereby chemically bridging the substances.
Covalent Bond	A chemical bond that results when electrons are shared by two atomic nuclei.
CPA	The Composite Panel Association (CPA), founded in 1960, represents the North American composite panel industry on technical, regulatory, quality assurance and product acceptance issues. CPA General Members include 40 of the leading manufacturers of particleboard, medium density fiberboard and hardboard. Together they represent nearly 95% of the total manufacturing capacity in US, Canada and Mexico.
CPA EPP	Composite Panel Association (CPA) EPP Certification. Products manufactured under the guidelines of this certification program meet stringent requirements for recovered and recycled wood fiber content and emissions. For program specifics, visit the CPA website at www.pbmdf.com
Cradle to Cradle	An understanding of the life cycle of materials and their embodied energy that accounts for the original extraction or harvest of material to its end-life and eventual reuse.
Cradle to Gate	An understanding of the life cycle of materials and their embodied energy that accounts for the original extraction or harvest of material to the beginning of its first use.
Creep	(1) Time dependent deformation of a wood member under sustained wood. (2) In an adhesive, the time-dependent increase in strain resulting from a sustained stress.
Crook	The distortion of lumber in which there is a deviation, in a direction perpendicular to the edge, from a straight line from end-to-end of the piece.
Cross Break	A separation of the wood cells across the grain. Such breaks may be due to internal stress resulting from unequal longitudinal shrinkage or to external forces.
Crossband	To place the grain of layers of wood at right angles in order to minimize shrinking and swelling; also, in plywood of three or more plies, a layer of veneer whose grain direction is at right angles to that of the face plies.
Cross-Grained Wood Grain	Wood in which the fibers deviate from a line parallel to the sides of the piece. Cross grain may be either diagonal or spiral grain or a combination of the two.
Cross-Link	An atom or group connecting adjacent molecules in a complex molecular structure.
Cup	A distortion of a board in which there is a deviation flatwise from a straight line across the width of the board.
Cure	To change the properties of an adhesive by chemical reaction (which may be condensation, polymerization, or vulcanization) and thereby develop maximum strength. Generally accomplished by the action of heat or a catalyst, with or without pressure.
Curly-Grained Wood Grain	Wood in which the fibers are distorted so that they have a curled appearance, as in "birdseye" wood. The areas showing curly grain may vary up to several inches in diameter.
Curtain Coating	Applying liquid adhesive to an adherend by passing the adherend under a thin curtain of liquid falling by gravity or pressure.
Cut-Off Luminaries	A cut-off luminaire provides shielding of emitted light to reduce light pollution. Best practice standards set by IESNA. (see IESNA)
Cuttings	In hardwoods, portions of a board or plank having the quality required by a specific grade or for a particular use. Obtained from a board by crosscutting or ripping.