Design Solutions - Winter 2021 - 50

NEW STANDARDS SUITE

AWI has spent the past six years
developing a new suite of standards,
many of which are created through
our ANSI-Approved Process. The
new standards are drafted by AWI
professional staff and reviewed by
the AWI Technical Committee and
teams of subject experts. AWI's
Technical Committee has committed
to undertaking the testing required
to prove the assumptions made
throughout AWI's seven decades of
standards development.
Some of the information you are
used to seeing all together in the old
AWS2 in the section called " Casework "
is now found in the appropriate new
AWI Standard section. For example,
the finish of the wood casework will be
specified using the forthcoming AWI
Factory Finishing Standard and the
installation will be specified with the
ANSI/AWI 0620-2018 Finish Carpentry /
Installation Standard.
Using these new Standards also
helps you judge the completed work to
make sure you got what you paid for.
They help protect you, the customer
and the woodworker. Your whole
project will get off on the right foot by
reviewing AWI 100 Submittals and AWI
200 Care & Storage Standards. They
will provide you with good direction
and advice, when used consistently,
and will benefit ALL types of projects.

Released May 19 and effective
June 1, 2020, ANSI/AWI 0641-2019
succeeded, replaced, and supplanted
Section 10 of the Architectural
Woodwork Standard, Edition 2 (2014)
as the most current version of the
AWI Standard for Architectural Wood
Casework. The ANSI/AWI 0641-2019 Architectural Wood Casework Standard
contains the familiar Premium, Custom
and Economy Grades for aesthetic
grades, with the biggest change being
the introduction of Performance Duty
Levels 1-4.

Along with AWI's Quality
Certification Program, performance
duty level designation will add another
layer of assurance that the owner is
getting what they paid for and the
product will perform as anticipated.
Whether it's a school library, executive
office, or institutional facility, AWI
Standards apply to all project types
and can help ensure a project's
success.
CASEWORK STANDARD

ANSI/AWI 0641-2019 can help
guide you in clearly
indicating
your
expectations
of casework
aesthetics, and
performance. Let's look
at this multifaceted tool to
navigate the complex and unique
world of an architectural wood
50

designsolutions winter 2021

I

casework project. You can find ANSI/
AWI 0641-2019 - Architectural Wood
Casework on the AWI website at
https://www.awinet.org . Print copies
are available via the Publications Store,
while a digital version is available in
" Casework, " found under " Standards "
in the main navigation bar.
As you start getting familiar with
the new Standard, you will see a lot of
information in the new AWI Standard
for Casework. We're going to look at
a few of the most important things
that help you understand what great
resources the AWI Standards are. Once
you're familiar with how the standard
is organized, you'll be able to navigate
it on your own. Let's look at those
critical elements that make a project a
success.
As you navigate the digital
standards on the AWI Digital Portal,
you'll notice a navigation tree along the
left side of the page that acts as your
digital " table of contents, " directing
you to areas of interest in much the
same way as the table of contents on
p. iii of the print edition. Notice that the
numeric reference system has been
greatly simplified, now being capped
at four numeric levels and a single
alphabetical designator for each line for
ease of specification and reference.
Next, 2.0 Scope provides a summary
of what is and what is not covered by
this standard. 3.1 General Requirements
is a great place to review if you are
not familiar with modern casework
construction. The material requirements
for architectural wood casework can be
found under heading 3.2 Material.
CASEWORK STANDARD DISTINCTIONS

Material requirements are followed
by what is now the biggest change
in the new ANSI/AWI 0641 -2019
Architectural Wood Casework Standard;
the distinction between Structural
Performance Measures and Aesthetic
Requirements. In other words, what a
cabinet has to do and how it has to look.
Like all new AWI Standards, ANSI/AWI
0641-2019 adheres to AWI's Metrication
Policy, as found in AWI's Procedures
for ANSI-Approved Standards. AWI will
use metric units in all of its current and
https://www.awinet.org
Design Solutions - Winter 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Design Solutions - Winter 2021
