Coming Soon: Class A Fire-Rated Veneer Core

We are excited to announce we have passed developmental testing for our new Fire-Rated Veneer Core Plywood, but we’re not stopping there. Columbia is going the extra mile and achieving Third-Party Certification through Capital Testing and Certification Services to produce our fire-retardant products at both our Chatham and Craigsville locations. This is expected to be completed in mid-January 2026. This certification will have our products in Compliance with both the ASTM E-84 Class A requirement for the United States, as well as the S102-18 requirements in Canada.

We plan to offer certified Class A cores in:

What does this mean to you? Let’s get into it!

What Does "Fire-Rated" Really Mean?

There are two different Class A requirements for fire-retardant wood products. These standards are often confused but serve very different purposes.

IBC Section 2303.2 covers fire-retardant-treated wood used in structural applications—think roof trusses or framing components. These materials must meet the code’s full definition of Fire-Retardant-Treated Wood and pass an ASTM E2768 which is not required for decorative or non-structural applications.

This requirement is defined in IBC Section 803 and applies to wall and ceiling finishes. To qualify, a product must pass the ASTM E84 tunnel test with:

Because veneer-cored hardwood plywood is used decoratively, Columbia’s focus is on the interior finish Class A requirement—where beauty and safety must work together.

Not all fire-retardant panels are created - or verified - equally.

Many manufacturers choose to get “Developmental Testing” on their products. What this means is they manufactured the product and had a sample tested. The sample, under those exact manufacturing conditions, passed. In cases where a manufacturer has developmental testing, they can provide those test results to the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) over the job site, and they can choose whether to accept that product or request the product be certified.

Specifying a product with “Third-Party Certification” reduces the guess work for distributors, contractors, and AHJ’s because manufacturers choosing to go this route have taken extra steps to have their process reviewed by a certifying laboratory who audits the process, the quality control methods, and submits to regular unannounced audits of these processes as well as annual re-testing to ensure the product still meets the building code requirements.

Many companies do not understand these nuances and claim to be certified simply because they passed the developmental testing – but it’s important to understand this distinction.

Does a fire-rated core mean the finished panel with decorative veneer is fire-rated?