Glulam’s versatility makes it an excellent construction material for projects with unique design requirements. Specifically, its shape-retaining characteristics lend itself well to creating arched structures or hybrid assemblies with complex structural features.
Glulam’s natural insulating properties offer additional energy savings, making it an excellent choice for projects seeking LEED certification. Furthermore, this sustainable building material often made from salvaged wood is produced in large volumes from recycled sources.
Strength
This type of construction offers incredible strength that is vital for large structures. Its strength helps it overcome challenges such as corrosion and other forms of damage while remaining eco-friendly, enabling houses that will stand the test of time to be built from it. Furthermore, glulam can be easily formed into unique shapes that cannot be achieved with other building materials.
Glulam is produced to stringent quality standards using stress-graded timber with known structural capacities, unlike other building materials which tend to expand or contract when exposed to rapid humidity changes; as a result, swelling or shrinkage should not occur, however rapid humidity changes should be avoided as it could result in delamination of beams.
Glulam’s chemical resistance makes it ideal for applications involving acids or chemicals such as animal hide curing complexes, fellmongerys, fertiliser storage facilities, swimming pools and many others. Furthermore, its ability to resist fire damage makes glulam an appealing material choice.
Strength comes from glulam’s laminated wood lamellae being bound together with an adhesive system, creating layers upon layers that bind strongly together. It can be made either using homogeneous or combined lamellas; with combined lamellas being better for bending beams. Reinforcing of edge areas using steel makes glulam ideal for high stress areas within buildings.
Glulam is an ideal material to use for long-span, curved structures that require high levels of strength and beauty, such as bridges or elevated walkways in B.C. It has become the primary material used in an increasing number of bridges and elevated walkways across the province – such as one pedestrian walkway that spans 44 metres across one of Burnaby’s major thoroughfares and Princeton, in Similkameen Country.
Durability
Mass timber construction such as glulam and CLT is highly resilient. Made of engineered wood, mass timber resists warping and bending for lasting buildings, as well as seismic forces and environmental forces; custom designs can even meet unique design requirements! Furthermore, mass timber promotes responsible forestry while decreasing waste while being resistant to insects and moisture while needing minimal maintenance costs.
Glulam offers excellent durability due to the fact that each slat is dried prior to being glued together, meaning they are less vulnerable to damage caused by moss or fungal infestations and corrosion from acids, rust or other sources. Furthermore, its thermal bridging resistance makes Glulam an ideal material choice for energy efficient homes.
Durability in glulam depends on many factors, including its environment and manufacturing processes. Made from high-grade lumber that has been carefully selected and dried to maximize performance, and manufactured under stringent quality control procedures. Each member produced has an individual quality assurance record showing glue bond test results, lumber grading results, end joint tests results and laminating conditions.
However, even though they follow manufacturing standards to the letter, glulam manufacturers cannot ensure that checking won’t occur in individual members despite these. Climate conditions at distribution facilities, job site storage and installation sites can impact moisture content of wood affecting moisture content of individual members. To reduce checking risks it’s essential to coordinate delivery schedules and minimize job site storage – plus using protective wrappings during shipment and on-site storage to minimize chance of checking occurring.
Flexibility
Compared to steel, glulam is far more flexible and adaptable to various architectural styles than its steel counterpart. Furthermore, glulam’s increased resistance to environmental damage such as warping, twisting and degrading due to humidity or heat makes it the ideal building material for many types of construction projects.
Glulam beams can also be used to replace traditional log houses constructed using block-building techniques, which typically consist of stacking wood blocks with intersecting corners. While this technique has been around for hundreds of years, modern construction techniques often utilize glulam beams, offering similar aesthetic appeal and structural integrity while adding strength and durability.
Glulam is an ideal choice for creating open spaces, spanning long lengths and creating impressive cantilevers. Thanks to its flexibility, glulam can also support unique designs without needing extra steel elements and bracing; ultimately saving costs by eliminating additional materials and labor requirements.
Glulam is also more fire-resistant than steel, with its surfaces charring at an expected rate during an outbreak of fire allowing designers to more easily design structures to meet desired levels of fire protection with greater efficiency. This provides for cost-effective design processes without additional materials or costly finishes that provide added fire-protective properties.
Glulam is an extremely long-lasting material, lasting decades with minimal upkeep or maintenance required. Furthermore, its green qualities make it an excellent choice for creating more eco-friendly structures sourced from renewable forests with manufacturing techniques designed to minimize waste – helping lower greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution-related pollution levels.
Aesthetics
Glulam beams come in all sorts of custom shapes to fit the look and style of any home, from arched structures reminiscent of Tudor architecture to sleek lines that give a home an architecturally contemporary aesthetic; glulam can add the perfect finishing touch for any design or building project.
Gulam log homes offer several distinct advantages over conventional rounded log structures when it comes to internal stresses and uneven drying conditions, including reduced cracking due to internal stresses and uneven drying rates. Their manufacturing process utilizes multiple laminations of wood that are glued together into straight or curved sections of beams; creating stronger, more durable structures than their counterparts that require less work from home owners and builders alike.
Glulam wood paneling not only boasts aesthetic beauty but is also extremely eco-friendly; often sourced from renewable forests and used in projects seeking sustainability certifications such as LEED. Furthermore, due to its natural insulating properties glulam’s ability to retain heat helps prevent thermal bridging for tighter building envelopes.
This study is invaluable for designers as it proves that SDOF modelling of glulam shear and compression members can accurately simulate their response to high strain-rate events such as impacts. Furthermore, DIF and strain rate relationships observed here closely resemble those reported from impact tests performed on similar elements in previous research projects.
This study also confirms the efficiency of using a dynamic model to simulate impulsive loads on glulam. Its results will contribute to furthering our knowledge in predicting damage behaviour of glulam under extreme impulsive conditions and cold temperatures; providing additional data points for blast design provisions on laminated timber elements.
Cost
Though glulam may cost more upfront than other building materials, its long-term durability and strength can result in savings – including lower maintenance and repair expenses and energy bills, plus it supports green projects that earn LEED certifications.
Glulam is an engineered wood product produced by adhering flawless timber pieces together using glue. Glulam can be found in commercial and residential structures alike, while large open spaces requiring long spans without intermediate support can use glulam to add strength without intermediate support being necessary. In addition, its thermal properties help make buildings comfortable while remaining energy efficient.
Note that glulam can be vulnerable to checking, but these issues can easily be avoided with proper planning and preparation. Making sure the material remains dry throughout transport, storage and development can significantly decrease chances of damage; additionally, it’s key to coordinate delivery schedules with job site storage needs as well as being mindful of local climate conditions.
This study tested fifteen NordicLam+ 24F-ES spruce-pine-fir glulam specimens measuring 137mm x 178mm under quasi-static and dynamic four-point bending to document high strain-rate effects under impact loading and study interactions between this and cold temperatures. All specimens used were of identical construction grade, wood species and grade as those in prior research [20,9] conducted on similar glulam impacts under blast [20, 9] or shock tube impacts [9,20,9].
Glulam can be an ideal material to use when building your dream home, but selecting the appropriate contractor is crucial. Make sure your chosen APA member offers quality verification and testing through their trademark logo – this shows their dedication to quality assurance programs.