Panel deck
A panel deck is a pallet deck made from a sheet of plywood or OSB instead of individual deckboards, giving a smooth, solid surface. The Uniform Standard requires the panel's face grain to run perpendicular to the stringers and panel pieces to be at least 24 in wide.
Also called plywood deck, OSB deck, panel top
Reviewed
Uniform Standard rules for panel decks (2012)
- Material: plywood or OSB made to PS 1, PS 2 or PRP-108 with exterior adhesive, grade-stamped (for example Rated Sheathing or Sturd-I-Floor, Exposure 1 or Exterior)
- Orientation: face grain perpendicular to the stringers
- Piece width: at least 24 in
- Strips and webs: at least 6 in wide; OSB strips are not allowed as bottom boards
- Fastening on stringer pallets: at least 3 fasteners at each stringer end, starting 1 in from the end at 2 in spacing, and interior fasteners no more than 10 in apart
- Tolerances: thickness plus or minus 1/32 in, length and width plus or minus 1/8 in
Why use a panel deck
A panel gives a flat, solid deck for small cartons, bags and items that would drop through gaps, and a clean surface for printing or display. PDS can model panel decks on both stringer and block pallets.
ISPM 15
Plywood and OSB are processed wood and exempt from ISPM 15, but a pallet that combines a panel with solid-wood stringers or blocks still needs treatment. See panel deck pallet and plywood and OSB decks.
Questions
- Do plywood pallets need heat treatment?
- An all-plywood or OSB pallet is exempt, but a panel deck on solid-wood stringers or blocks still needs ISPM 15 treatment for export.
Related
- Solid deckA solid deck pallet has no gaps between top deckboards, or uses one panel. It carries small cartons, bags and drums that would sag into or drop through gaps.
- Panel deck pallet: plywood and OSB decksA panel deck pallet uses plywood or OSB instead of deckboards. Uniform Standard rules on grade, grain and strip width, ISPM 15 notes, and how to specify one.
- Plywood and OSB pallet decksPlywood and OSB pallet decks give a solid surface and are ISPM 15 exempt as processed wood. Panels must be grade-stamped, exterior-glued, at least 24 in wide.
- Heat treatmentHeat treatment (HT) heats pallet wood until its core reaches 56 °C for 30 minutes, the ISPM 15 treatment that lets wood pallets cross borders. Marked HT.
- Perimeter baseA perimeter base is a block-pallet bottom with boards around all four edges, like a picture frame. It gives full four-way forklift and pallet-jack entry.
- Plain-shank nailA plain-shank (smooth) nail has no threads and a withdrawal characteristic of 1.0, so pallets mainly use smooth nails as clinched deck-mat nails.
Sources
- Uniform Standard for Wood Pallets (NWPCA, now Woodpack Global), 2012 edition
- ISPM 15 overview (Wikipedia)