McKillican | Green Reference - Terms starting with the letter R

Terms starting with ...

R-2000	Energy performance program developed and administered by NRCan. Applicable to new homes only and stipulates 30% less energy consumption than conventional new home.
Radial	Coincident with a radius from the axis of the tree or log to the circumference. A radial section is a lengthwise section in a plane that passes through the centerline of the tree trunk.
Radiofrequency (RF) Curing	Curing of bondlines by the application of radiofrequency energy. (Sometimes called high-frequency curing.)
Radon	An odourless gas that passes from some soil types into buildings and may cause cancer.
Rafters	Sloped roof frame members that usually extend from the top wall plate to the roof ridge, or in the case of smaller roofs, from plate to plate.
Rain Barrel	An inexpensive rain water collection system.
Raised Grain	A roughened condition of the surface of dressed lumber in which the hard latewood is raised above the softer earlywood but not torn loose from it.
Rapidly Renewable Materials	Objective is to reduce the depletion of finite raw, and long cycle renewable materials by replacing them with materials that can be renewed quickly and with minimal environmental impact. Some examples: bamboo flooring, wheatgrass cabinetry, sunflower seed board, poplar OSB (oriented strand board), wool carpet, linoleum flooring, cotton batt insulation, etc.
Rays, Wood	Strips of cells extending radially within a tree and varying in height from a few cells in some species to 4 or more inches in oak. The rays serve primarily to store food and transport it horizontally in the tree. On quartersawn oak, the rays form a conspicuous figure, sometimes referred to as flecks.
Reaction Wood	Wood with more or less distinctive anatomical characters, formed typically in parts of leaning or crooked stems and in branches. In hardwoods, this consists of tension wood, and in softwoods, compression wood.
Recontituted VENEER	This product is mad by laminating a block of veneers from what one would call the “edge” of the block; i.e. across the layers of veneer laminated together,. In its simplest application, it is obvious the edges of the laminated veneer become the “grain” of the Reconstituted Veneer and so the “grain” is perfectly straight. By maneuvering the contour of the laminations in the block form, any desired configuration can be attained. Reconstituted Veneer may be dyed as well (see Dyed Veneer). This product allows the “natural” substance to be maintained while freeing the designer to manipulate his/her own horizons.
Recycling	The collection, reprocessing, marketing and use of materials that were diverted or recovered from the solid waste stream.
Reed Construction Data	Reed Construction Data (RCD) is the provider of project lead information for general contractors, subcontractors and building product manufacturers for the Building and Construction community. www.reedconstructiondata.com
Relative Humidity	Ratio of the amount of water vapor present in the air to that which the air would hold at saturation at the same temperature. It is usually considered on the basis of the weight of the vapor but, for accuracy, should be considered on the basis of vapor pressures.
Renewable Energy	(See Green Power)
Resilience	The property whereby a strained body gives up its stored energy on the removal of the deforming force.
Resin	(1) Solid, semisolid, or pseudosolid resin-An organic material that has an indefinite and often high molecular weight, exhibits a tendency to flow when subjected to stress, usually has a softening or melting range, and usually fractures conchoidally. (2) Liquid resin-an organic polymeric liquid that, when converted to its final state for use, becomes a resin.
Resin Ducts	Intercellular passages that contain and transmit resinous materials. On a cut surface, they are usually inconspicuous. They may extend vertically parallel to the axis of the tree or at right angles to the axis and parallel to the rays.
Retention by Assay	The determination of preservative retention in a specific zone of treated wood by extraction or analysis of specified samples.
Rheology	The study of the deformation and flow of matter.
Rift-Cut	Rift-Cut: Produces a rift or comb grain effect. To minimize ray fleck, the log is cut at an angle of about 15% off the quartered position and at a light angle to the medullary rays radiating from the center
Ring Failure	A separation of the wood during seasoning, occurring along the grain and parallel to the growth rings. (See Shake)
Ring-Porous Woods	A group of hardwoods in which the pores are comparatively large at the beginning of each annual ring and decrease in size more or less abruptly toward the outer portion of the ring, thus forming a distinct inner zone of pores, known as the earlywood, and an outer zone with smaller pores, known as the latewood.
Rip	To cut lengthwise, parallel to the grain.
Riparian Area	The area adjacent to a stream that may be subject to temporary, frequent or seasonal inundation, and supports plant species that are typical of an area of inundated or saturated soil conditions. The plant species are distinct from those plant species on freely drained adjacent upland sites because of the presence of water.
Roll Spreading	Application of a film of a liquid material to a surface by means of rollers.
Room-Temperature-Curing Adhesive	An adhesive that sets in the temperature range of 20¡C to 30¡C (68¡F to 86¡F), in accordance with the limits for Standard Room Temperature specified in the Standard Methods of Conditioning Plastics and Electrical Insulating Materials for Testing (ASTM D618).
Rotary Cut	Rotary: Produces a multi-patterned grain veneer.
Rough Lumber	Lumber that has not been dressed (surfaced) but has been sawed, edged, and trimmed.
R-Value	A unit of thermal resistance, the opposite of thermal conductance. The higher the R value, the greater the insulating quality. 1. Clear wall R-value is the R-value of a wall with just studs and does not include the framing included in windows, doors and exterior corners. 2. Center of Cavity R-value is the R-value estimate of the area of the cavity space between studs that contains the most insulation. 3. Whole wall R-value is an R-value estimation that includes both the clear wall estimate of R-value and takes into account additional framing like windows, doors and exterior corners.