Engineered Woods Explained
Engineered woods or manufactured boards have long been a go-to material for home construction and furniture use, due to their use of moisture-proof adhesives that bind layers of strips, strands, particles or veneers together in a composite structure.
These products can be created from logs, sawmill scraps and other wood waste; or cellulosic materials like kenaf stalks, sugar cane residue or bamboo. Each offers specific advantages.
Plywood
Plywood is a manufactured wood product composed of cross-laminated veneer sheets bonded together into one solid piece for strength and stability, resistant to warping or shrinking. Plywood flooring, walls, and ceilings in homes often opt for plywood due to its natural wood aesthetic which can be stained or painted to suit different design styles. However, plywood also excels at other applications including furniture manufacturing and shipping crates manufacturing.
Plywood is manufactured by layering soft wood together with moisture-resistant adhesives and then pressing under heat and intense pressure, so as to be cut to specific sizes to meet specific project requirements. Some varieties are designed for areas exposed to water or weather extremes; other plywood varieties can withstand both conditions well enough for use as stressed-skin applications like aircraft fuselages and ship hulls; it was even widely used during World War Two for British de Havilland Mosquito bombers and American PT boats vital to the D-Day landings.
Production of plywood is both sustainable and cost-effective. By recycling wood that would otherwise be wasted from sawmills – such as defects and scrap pieces – into new plywood products, sawmill waste is reduced dramatically while its cost remains manageable. Furthermore, plywood production allows manufacturers to accommodate different applications with various thicknesses available that reduce overall costs associated with production.
Plywood is one of the most versatile types of engineered wood available, and one of its most widely-used forms. Its natural look fits easily with many interior styles while being easy to cut and fasten; less likely than other engineered wood to split when driven through with drill or nail gun; exterior grade plywood can even be treated with waterproof adhesives to offer extra protection from environmental elements.
Engineered woods such as oriented strand board (OSB) and medium-density fiberboard (MDF), such as oriented strand board (OSB) are manufactured by adhering pieces of real wood, wood fibers from scrap wood or sawdust together using adhesives before subjecting them to high heat and pressure for pressing. Engineered woods tend to be denser than plywood and typically meant for non-structural use but certain grades can also withstand moisture exposure.
LVL
Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) is a wood-based product made of veneer bonded together using phenol-formaldehyde resins, using rotary peeled veneers from various species to produce panels of various lengths and widths that can be cut to various lengths and widths for permanent structural applications such as beams, headers and rafters. LVL may be an affordable alternative to more costly wood products like glulam.
LVL stands out among engineered wood products by being distinguished by its strength, flexibility, resistance to moisture movement and greater dimensional stability than conventional lumber products. Furthermore, LVL production utilizes smaller diameter trees which are commonly farmed for farming purposes while meeting various performance standards like being fire retardant and mold resistant.
LVL is produced similarly to plywood, yet with significant distinctions. Instead of producing one continuous veneer sheet, LVL is manufactured on multiple presses that may contain one or multiple openings – depending on the mill, this may allow one press to produce up to 8 openings that could produce panels up to 80 feet in length!
The four most prevalent engineered wood types are plywood, OSB, MDF and chipboard. Each has distinct benefits for various applications; plywood works best as furniture material while OSB excels at construction projects while MDF and chipboard offer budget-conscious applications. LVL, in contrast, excels at serving multiple structural applications at an economical cost and is the most versatile engineered wood available today. Thanks to its strength, flexibility, and resistance to moisture movement it has become popular for projects requiring significant weight or span long distances. An ideal material for framing applications, engineered wood is easy to nail and screw into for quick assembly. In addition, its water absorption capacity is lower than other engineered woods such as OSB or MDF and will quickly return back to its nominal thickness once dried out. As with other engineered woods, engineered wood should be kept elevated off of the ground and covered from weather in order to avoid warping and warping.
OSB
Oriented Strand Board (OSB) is another engineered wood product commonly used in construction. Like plywood, OSB is composed of compressed and glued wood strands or flakes compressed together and adhered with glue; however, its thickness typically is much greater and its dimensions much more stable compared to plywood. Used commonly as walls sheathing material as well as subflooring and flooring materials it can even come equipped with radiant barrier layers to improve performance of building envelopes.
OSB is produced from fast-growing trees that are harvested and processed in mills to form strands for gluing with waterproof resin to produce finished panels. Most OSB production in North America takes place on the West Coast inland mills using lodgepole pine logs with an average DBH between 10 to 12 inches; other mills use Southern Pine and softwood species with DBHs of 8 inches as log sources.
OSB manufacturing is highly environmentally sustainable, as it utilizes portions of trees that would otherwise go unused. Furthermore, OSB is less expensive than plywood and can be tailored specifically to each building project’s requirements–for instance adjusting thickness can accommodate various insulation and roofing materials.
OSB features strands arranged to resist warping and twisting, making it more durable, stronger, and longer-lasting than other structural lumber products. Furthermore, OSB resists termite attack while having good fireproof properties.
OSB can be an excellent building material, yet its exposure to moisture can cause it to decay rapidly. Therefore, it is vital that OSB and other wood products are treated with preservative before being put into use in a building project or stored correctly – this means keeping them elevated off the ground, protected from rain and sunlight exposure, and stored in a dry environment.
OSB engineered wood products such as OSB can release formaldehyde into the environment. Therefore, for optimal use it should be kept outside and in an adequately ventilated environment for several weeks prior to being stored away for use so as to allow any potential off-gassing from formaldehyde-containing chemicals to escape and dissipate naturally.
MDF
OSB and plywood may both be engineered wood products, but their manufacturing techniques differentiate them in terms of their strengths and weaknesses. Their manufacturing procedures contribute to creating unique characteristics of each material that may make builders choose one or another over the other for specific projects.
MDF (medium density fiberboard) is an engineered wood product made by pressing together wood fibers mixed with resins under high temperatures and pressure into sheets for pressing into sheets. Used mainly in construction projects like cabinet-making, MDF is cheaper than plywood with smooth surfaces easier for painting or veneering; its moisture-proof surface and strength properties make it more suitable than its plywood counterpart for load bearing applications; however it should never replace solid wood in load-bearing applications.
OSB (oriented strand board) is a wood structural panel often produced in wide mats by layering thin rectangular wooden strips compressed and adhered together using heat-cured adhesives. More popular than plywood in North America in 2016, OSB held 66% market share. OSB’s mechanical properties make it suitable for load-bearing construction as well as non-load bearing applications, including wall and floor sheathing and roof decking applications. Some panels even come equipped with radiant barrier layers laminated on one side to facilitate installation and improve energy performance and ease of energy performance overall.
Oriented Strand Board expands when exposed to moisture more quickly than plywood does, particularly around its edges. When this compaction stress releases itself through expansion and puffing up of panels, whatever materials lie above can become uplifted causing upheaval in their place. Screws and nails also tend to secure better in plywood than OSB.
Plywood, on the other hand, is a stronger material made by adhering sheets of veneer wood together using interlacing strands of timber in each layer. Plywood is more affordable than OSB and typically used in construction and home interior applications – though structural uses should always take priority over decor projects. Available in various grades with the highest grade suited for structural applications compared to MDF which is susceptible to moisture and can warp easily over time; plywood’s moisture-proof qualities make it more suitable than MDF for exterior and wet area applications than MDF construction projects.