Glulam Houses and Building Codes to Know
Glulam is a stress-rated engineered wood beam designed for both exposed and hidden applications, usually available in stock sizes as well as custom ones across four appearance categories (Premium, Architectural, Industrial and Framing).
Veneered ceilings make a bold, eye-catching statement while serving an equally important function in everyday applications such as purlins, ridge beams, garage door headers and floor beams.
Cost
Glulam is an economical alternative to steel and concrete construction materials, offering greater strength for less money while having lower greenhouse gas emission rates.
Glued laminated timber (glulam), also known as stress-tested engineered wood, offers outstanding strength and integrity. As such, glulam makes an ideal material for projects of all shapes and sizes from striking vaulted ceilings to purlins, ridge beams, garage door headers as well as demanding environments such as bridges, utility poles and marinas.
Due to being assembled using prefabricated components that arrive dry at construction sites, glulam structures can cut construction times by up to three times when compared with concrete or steel structures that require cast-in-place construction. Furthermore, its just-in-time shipping capability helps keep costs under control as do its reduced storage needs.
Glulam also boasts outstanding thermal properties that help avoid thermal bridging, further cutting energy costs. Furthermore, additional insulation can be added post-manufacture for any desired extra insulation needs.
Be sure to look for an American Paving Association (APA) Member Mark when selecting a glulam manufacturer. This certification signifies their dedication to a rigorous program of quality verification and testing and compliance with model building codes. APA also offers various publications for design assistance including their S475 publication with recommended preliminary load values for common applications; you can access this publication free online in PDF format.
Durability
Glulam, or glued laminated timber, is making waves in the construction industry as an innovative new material. Pound for pound, it outshines steel in terms of strength and stiffness while being more cost-efficient than comparably sized dimension lumber projects. Plus, projects built using glulam require significantly less time to complete than their concrete or steel equivalents.
Gulam may be best known as an aesthetic structural material used in vaulted ceilings and other eye-catching design features, but it also plays an invaluable role in common yet hidden applications, including simple purlins, ridge beams, garage door headers, flat roof systems and bridges. Additionally, its strength proves itself in demanding environments such as bridges, utility poles and marinas.
Glulam, an engineered wood material designed to withstand extreme stresses and moisture conditions, consists of individual laminations of structural wood bonded together using durable adhesives with grain running along its length of each member. Custom and standard sizes are both available as well as four appearance classifications such as framing, industrial, architectural, and premium options.
Fabrication and shipping constraints are the only restrictions to glulam structures’ sizes; fabrication can produce virtually any length. Furthermore, manufacturers can bend individual laminations before bonding them together into a curved profile to meet project needs.
Glulam buildings boast superior fire resistance over steel or concrete structures; in fact, Glulam structures can withstand 30 minutes of direct flame exposure without suffering significant damage.
A glulam frame is less susceptible to earthquake damage and wind loads than concrete or steel structures, making it an excellent option for seismically active areas like coastlines and mountainous regions. Furthermore, glulam’s ecological friendliness makes it a suitable choice for green construction projects; made from renewable resources that require less energy in manufacturing than concrete or steel construction, its insulation properties help prevent thermal bridging while increasing energy efficiency while its porous sound-absorbing materials can minimize noise transference.
Sustainability
Glulam is an eco-friendly material with numerous advantages for sustainable architecture. From raw material sourcing to waste management, glulam offers high renewable and recyclable potential. Furthermore, its manufacturing process employs environmentally friendly adhesives, helping reduce environmental pollution while improving indoor air quality.
Gulam buildings’ structural efficiency also helps reduce energy use and carbon emissions. Wood products require less energy to manufacture than concrete or steel structures, and thermal insulation helps lower operational energy costs for glulam structures. Furthermore, their fireproof qualities provide additional protection from spreading flames.
Sustainable buildings must reduce environmental impacts across all phases of their lifecycle – raw material production, building construction, operation and end-of-life recycling. Switching from steel and concrete structures to wooden ones reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 31% while sequestering carbon dioxide through their lifespan (1 cubic meter of timber can store 1 ton).
Wood-framed glulam houses perform better than brick-and-concrete houses when it comes to sustainability. Their low ecological footprint across 11-18 of the main environmental indicators – carbon storage offsetting 30-47% of emissions while optimized energy mixes cut operational impacts by up to 67%! Plus, circular strategies like prefabrication, reuse, and recycling amp up their impact reduction by shortening construction times and costs.
Glulam construction panels can be assembled offsite during the construction phase to reduce transportation distances and emissions while using smaller foundations and site work – further minimizing environmental impact. Furthermore, its long span capabilities enable more open designs with reduced interior walls for greater natural lighting and greater design flexibility in final designs.
Gulam’s strength and durability also lower repair and renovation costs over the life of its structures, unlike concrete and steel structures which often need costly renovations and replacements. Furthermore, its recyclability enables reuse of existing components, helping reduce waste generation through demolition or waste generation. As a result, glulam contributes to resource-efficient economies while offering numerous social benefits including job creation, local economic development, cultural heritage preservation.
Appearance
Glulam is an environmentally friendly building material, stronger and more durable than steel or concrete pound-for-pound. Furthermore, its aesthetic qualities add warmth, elegance, and character to any residential or commercial space – even designs difficult to achieve using conventional sawn lumber can utilize this material for striking entranceways that will leave an impression.
Glulam differs from sawn lumber in that it’s produced using smaller machines; rather, its lamellas are then joined together into larger beams for more stable structural systems that don’t bend or warp over time. Thanks to its uniform appearance and aesthetic possibilities, glulam has become an increasingly popular choice for architectural projects.
Gulam is not only beautiful, but also highly versatile – you can custom fabricate it into any number of shapes and sizes to meet unique design requirements. From precision custom radii, profiles, tapered shapes, to the creation of stunning organic forms that combine function with beauty.
Manufacturing with renewable wood resources creates an engineered timber product with superior durability and longevity that also has a lower carbon footprint than concrete and steel construction materials. Furthermore, green building certification can be attained using engineered timber products.
Glulam can be customized with various paints and coatings to meet any style or design aesthetic. While its most notable use may be exposed areas like vaulted ceilings or other architectural features with vaulted ceilings, other applications for Glulam include purlins, ridge beams, garage door headers, floor beams or even curving into dramatic arches for domed roofs spanning vast distances.
Glulam comes in four appearance grades to meet the unique requirements of any project. Industrial and Framing grade appearance glulam are commonly used for concealed areas that do not show, while Architectural and Premium grade appearance glulam can be found used decorative or exposed applications. Aesthetic choice does not impact structural performance, so designers are encouraged to specify their personal preferences in project specifications.