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Foreword

(This foreword is not a part of American National Standard AWI 1236–2022 - Countertops)

ANSI/AWI 1236–2022 - Countertops is intended to provide standards and tolerances for the quality and fit of Countertops.

This standard encompasses various countertop materials including but not limited to plastic-laminate clad (decorative laminate/HPDL), solid surface, epoxy resin, natural and engineered stone, solid and veneered wood, and solid phenolic as specified under CSI MasterFormat Division 12.

This standard establishes minimum aesthetic and performance requirements for each of the aforementioned applications, ensuring that the final product is of the utmost quality with regards to visual appeal and structural integrity of countertops.

This standard is intended for use by individuals and organizations from all aspects of the architectural woodwork industry, including architects, design professionals, manufacturer/suppliers, contractors, installers, and end users. Individuals within the architectural woodwork industry will use this standard to maintain a high degree of control over the aesthetic quality and the structural integrity of their work, ensuring that potential differentiations in the workmanship and implementation of architectural woodwork projects are made uniform.

The requirements contained within this standard are derived from AWI’s Architectural Woodwork Standards that the organization has been publishing in various formats since its inception in 1953. Each requirement has been thoroughly vetted by a committee of leading volunteer professionals in the architectural woodwork industry to ensure that the content is up-to-date and relevant to the current industry requirements.

Effective August 15, 2022, this standard succeeds, replaces, and supplants Section 11 of the Architectural Woodwork Standards, Ed. 2 (2014) as the most current version of the AWI Standard for Countertops. 

Suggestions for the improvement of this standard will be welcome. Suggestions should be sent to:
Architectural Woodwork Institute
46179 Westlake Drive, Suite 120
Potomac Falls, VA 20165

AWI Standards Development:
Doug Hague, Executive Vice President 
Hunter Morrison, Technical Director 
Cheryl Dermyre, Technical Project Manager 
Jairus Whitley, Graphic Designer

This standard was processed and approved for submittal to ANSI by Accredited Standards Committee on AWI 1236 Countertops. Committee approval of the standard does not necessarily imply that all committee members voted for its approval. At the time it approved this standard, the AWI 1236 Countertops Committee had the following members:

Cory Bittner, Committee Chair - TMI Systems Corporation
Jordan Backs - Pittsburg State University
Philip Duvic - Non-Voting Member
Randy Jensen - Leonard Peterson & Company, Inc.
Greg Lutz, Committee Chair - Lutz Woodworks
Michael McNulty - Architectural Woodwork Institute (AWI)
William Munyan - R&M Group Architects
Greg Parham - AWI Quality Certification Corporation (QCC)

The following organizations, recognized as having an interest in the standardization of Manufactured Wood Casework, were contacted prior to the approval of this standard. Inclusion in this list does not necessarily imply that the organization concurred with the submittal of the proposed standard to ANSI.

Advanced Cabinet Systems 
Aljoe Woodwork Consultants
Architecture Technology, P.C.
Arclin
AWI Quality Certification Corporation (QCC)
Cabinet Max Corporation
CCI Group
City of Gaithersburg
Composite Panel Association
Corgan Associates, Inc.
Cubic Custom Cabinets Corporation
Degips Contracting Co.
Deltek/MasterSpec
DG Martin and Associates
Eastern Millwork Inc.
EGR Construction Inc
EGRG, LLC
Frontier Door
G. Fasolt and Associates
Great In Counters
idX Corporation
International Surface Fabricators Association (ISFA)
ISEC
JGBowers, Inc.
Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association (KCMA)
Kitchens Inc
Laminate Technologies Inc.
Legere Group, Ltd.
Leonard Peterson & Co., Inc.
Madison College
Michael B. Erb
OnePointe Solutions
ONSITE Woodwork
P&M Caseworks, LLC
Perkins + Will
Pierce Laminated Products Inc.
Pittsburg State University
Plastic Tops, Inc.
Ray and Associates
Robert Schwartz & Associates
Rosa D Cheney AIA, PLLC
Roznovak Architectural Woodwork Consulting, LLC.
Siteline Interior Carpentry
SpecGuy Specifications Consultants
Sprovieri's Custom Counters
Stairbuilders and Manufacturers Association
Stevens Industries
T&R Fixtures
The MDC Group
The Pearwood Group
TMI Systems Design
Vertex Group LLC
Willis Supply
Woodwork Institute