Making Laminated Wood Beams

Glulam beams manufactured by apa members are certified with the apa trademark.

Making laminated wood beams.

Although you can make diy structural wood beams or glulam timbers yourself they are highly engineered components. Timber technologies glue laminated beams are superior in all strength characteristics to solid sawn lumber and pound for pound stronger than steel. The apa mark of quality. The mark signifies that the manufacturer is committed to a rigorous program of quality verification and testing and that products are manufactured in conformance with ansi standard a190 1 standard for wood products structural glued laminated timber.

Table specifications are provided with each table indicating conditions and assumptions used to calculate the loads. Glued laminated timber also abbreviated glulam is a type of structural engineered wood product constituted by layers of dimensional lumber bonded together with durable moisture resistant structural adhesives. Question one should i make each beam a continuous beam or should i make each beam long enough out of separate beams the length of each distance between the support post and on center with those. The beams will be three ply pressure treated sp number two 2 by 12s using 12 foot long lumber cut to fit the distances between the supporting posts.

In past eras wood beams have almost always been fashioned from one piece of lumber but in recent years wood beams are often built from several pieces of wood to help reduce the cost and to take advantage of some modern materials which can actually strengthen the. In north america the material providing the laminations is termed laminating stock or lamstock. Glulam is manufactured from specially selected and positioned lumber laminations and if you cut a notch or drill a hole in the wrong place it can seriously affect the load carrying capacity. Glued laminated timber or glulam as it is commonly called is a common type of structural.

Beams are an essential part of a deck s support system so if you re building your own deck you want to make sure these elements are as sturdy and long lasting as possible many older decks were built using massive timbers such as 4x6s or 4x8s for beams which support the underside of the deck horizontally. Aitc beam capacity tables. Glue laminated glulam beams. Wood beams can either be made from solid hard wood or can be made through the assembly of small and weak strips of wood.

Make sure an architect or builder approves the size and layout of your wood beam. These can also serve directly as wood beams. These tables are provided as a guideline.