Low-Emitting & Wood Doors

Hello Brianne, 

The wood doors should be listed under Wall Panels. Wall panels must meet the VOC emissions evaluation, OR inherently nonemitting sources criteria, OR salvaged and reused materials criteria. According to v4 third party certification table, the Indoor Advantage Gold certificate suffice (https://www.usgbc.org/resources/low-emitting-materials-third-party-certification-table) for documentation for the VOC emissions evaluation. I guess this still hold true for v4.1 substitutions of this credit. This will meet California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Standard Method v1.1–2010 or v1.2-2017. 

For composite wood categories to meet the requirements of formaldehyde emissions, the documentation should demonstrate CARB ULEF, CARB NAF, TSCA Title VI ULEF, or TSCA Title VI NAF. 

Hope this helps! 

Hello Brianne, 

Composite Wood products are mixture of several components that may include wood, plastic and straw. The mixtures are combined, and adhesives keep them bound together. For such composite products, the product should meet formaldehyde emissions evaluation. All the composite wood components are to be included in the Composite Wood category. Yes, if you do not have such woods at all, you cannot attempt that category as an option for the number of criteria met. 

Refer to page 666 and 667 of LEED BD+C v4 Reference Guide for more guidance on building products and systems. It appears the plywood used to make cabinets off-site may fall under Custom furniture. Please double check above pages to confirm this. Thanks!  

Brianne-

Actually, all interior doors are considered part of the "Wall Panels" category in v4.1.  So, these would need CDPH testing, not testing for formaldehyde emissions. Wood wall paneling (like veneer-laminated MDF) would also fall under the "Wall Panels" category.  If you're not seeking the "Wall Panels" category, then you don't need any testing for the doors or wood paneling. Composite wood floor underlayment, such as cork acoustic underlayment, would be in the "Flooring" category and require CDPH testing.  Basically, "Composite Wood" is for anything that isn't covered by the other categories. This would include cabinetry, for instance.

See the v4.1 Getting Started Guide, and also I believe there was another string concerning this that confirmed this approach.

Is there any leeway in deciding which category to list wood doors under?  For example, if we found doors that meet all the composite wood requirements, but do not have CDPH certificates, could we potentially account for them under "Composite Wood" instead of "Wall Panels"?  Has anyone run into an issue with this during certification?

Not that I'm aware of.  Due to these new classifications, we've leaned towards not using the "Walls" category because of the difficulties it imposes.

What are the biggest hurdles you've run into with the "Walls" category, Rebecca?

I've actually found Walls to be one of the easier categories to demonstrate compliance.  It seems like the vast majority of products I've researched for walls, ceilings, and insulation do have emissions testing.  I was pretty excited they split those three up, because so far I've been able to grab some combo of Paints & Coatings, Flooring, or Composite Wood to round out 5 categories and max out the points available.  Maybe I've just been lucky?

When we started thinking internally about all the products that go in or on walls in various project types, it was quite extensive.  Plywood behind drywall for blocking, wood doors, interior storefront, windows and doors, wood veneer paneling, FRP panels, composite (like 3form) panels...it goes on.  It depends on project type and scope.  If it's just drywall everywhere, it's easy, it's the "special" finishes that can cause an issue.