Boise Cascade
Lumber & Engineered Wood
BOISE GLULAM
From extra-long roof spans to curved beams and common header to dramatic columns, BOISE GLULAM® gives you the rich, natural look of wood with important benefits engineered in.
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Product Summary
BOISE GLULAM gives you extra-long roof spans to curved beams and common header to dramatic columns with the rich, natural look of wood with important benefits engineered in.
Construction and Materials
Boise Cascade's engineered wood products, specifically their Glued Laminated Timber (Glulam), represent a high-performance and sustainable building material. Glulam is manufactured by bonding together individual pieces of dimension lumber with strong, durable adhesives.
The construction process involves selecting kiln-dried softwood lumber, which is then graded for its structural properties. This lumber is end-jointed to create long, continuous members. These individual laminations are then precisely spread with a structural adhesive and assembled under pressure and heat in hydraulic presses. This controlled process ensures a strong, homogeneous, and reliable structural member that is stronger and stiffer than solid sawn lumber of the same dimensions.
Materials Used:
- Lumber: Kiln-dried softwood lumber, typically Douglas Fir-Larch or Southern Pine, is the primary raw material. The wood is carefully selected and graded to meet stringent structural requirements.
- Adhesives: High-strength structural adhesives, such as phenol resorcinol or melamine-urea formaldehyde, are used to bond the laminations. These adhesives are designed to withstand long-term structural loads and environmental exposure.
The resulting Glulam beams are custom-manufactured to precise project specifications, allowing for a wide range of shapes and sizes. This makes them suitable for a variety of structural applications, including beams, columns, headers, and trusses. Their engineered nature allows for greater design flexibility and the ability to span longer distances compared to traditional wood framing.
Features and Benefits
Boise Cascade Glulam beams are a superior choice for structural applications, offering a robust and aesthetically pleasing alternative to traditional dimensional lumber or steel. Engineered from select kiln-dried dimension lumber, carefully bonded together with high-strength adhesives, these beams provide exceptional load-carrying capacity and dimensional stability.
Key Features and Benefits:
- High Strength-to-Weight Ratio: Glulam beams are engineered to deliver impressive structural performance while being lighter than steel beams of comparable strength. This translates to easier handling, transportation, and installation, potentially reducing labor costs and project timelines.
- Dimensional Stability: Unlike solid sawn lumber, which can warp, twist, and shrink, Glulam is manufactured with seasoned lumber and bonded under controlled conditions. This inherent stability minimizes movement due to changes in moisture content, ensuring long-term structural integrity and reducing the risk of cracking or joint separation in surrounding materials.
- Design Flexibility: Glulam beams can be manufactured in a wide range of depths, widths, and lengths, allowing for custom solutions tailored to specific project requirements. This adaptability makes them suitable for diverse architectural designs, from residential applications to large commercial and industrial structures.
- Aesthetic Appeal: Available in various appearance grades, Glulam offers a natural, warm, and attractive finish that can be left exposed for a visually stunning architectural element. This eliminates the need for additional cladding in many designs, saving on material and labor costs.
- Sustainable Material: Glulam is produced from renewable resources, making it an environmentally conscious building material.
- Durability: When properly specified and protected, Glulam offers excellent durability and longevity.
Core Advantages:
- Exceptional Structural Performance: Glulam's engineered nature allows it to reliably support significant loads, making it ideal for a wide range of structural applications.
- Cost-Effectiveness: The combination of reduced labor for installation, potential for less material needed due to design flexibility, and aesthetic appeal can contribute to overall project cost savings.
- Design Freedom: Architects and builders can achieve unique and complex structural forms with Glulam, pushing the boundaries of traditional design.
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