Glulam beams

WHAT IS MASS TIMBER?

Glulam is another engineered product in laminated timber. It’s exceptionally strong and ideal for load-bearing applications. Although it’s considered a modern material, it was a Swiss patent in 1901 that heralded the beginning of glulam – named because of its glued and laminated nature. Today, glulam beams are manufactured in a factory where layers of accurately-planed softwood (such as spruce, larch or fir are bonded together under heat and pressure. This process means that small pieces of timber can be used to create large structural elements.

What are the benefi ts of glulam?

With all the beauty of natural wood, glulam looks great, but can span much further and be curved and shaped easily into practically any shape – perfect for supporting intricate roof structures with stylish exposed beams. Curved glulam is manufactured by bending laminates on formers before being bonded, followed by clamping and curing.

Glulam can be used as beams, lintels and posts in your home. It has high dimensional

CLT and glulam come under the bracket of mass timber, which is a term describing engineered wood used as structural building materials. Mass timber is er lded s i si ifi t sust i ility e efits According to the Structural Timber Association, rep rts i di te repl i steel it tim er m y redu e l l r emissi s y up t ile site m u turi t lie t spe ifi ti s me s si ifi tly l eri time spe t site t er types of mass timber include dowel-laminated timber (DLT), nailed-laminated timber (NLT), laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and parallel-strand lumber (PSL).

Above: Glulam beams were used on the Build It Education House (selfbuild.co.uk/ ourhouse). They were supplied by SIPCO, who provided the property’s beams and SIPs roof structure stability and, according to the Structural Timber Association, can span up to 50m in length, which is why it’s seen in commercial settings, like sports halls and supermarkets. It’s also lightweight, which means it’s practical to handle. It’s often used as an alternative to concrete and steel beams RSJs and frames. This material can actually outperform steel in a fire, as the latter distorts in high temperatures, whereas the integrity of glulam remains in tact –which means it doesn’t usually require e pensive fire retardants.

Glulam is considered a green alternative to concrete as it has a 60% lower carbon footprint. Within homes, it’s often used to span large open-plan spaces, creating a striking contemporary feature.