3.10 : Wood Products

Wood products encompass a broad range of materials crafted from wood strands, veneers, lumber, and even waste wood-like shreds, designed for both structural and nonstructural purposes. Various specialized wood products have been developed to enhance strength, durability, and versatility in building applications.

Glue-laminated wood, often referred to as glulam, combines multiple smaller pieces of dimensional lumber using adhesives to form a single, larger piece. Cross-laminated timber consists of structural panels made from solid lumber with layers arranged so that the grain direction alternates, enhancing the panel's strength and stability.

Nail-laminated timber is created by placing dimensional lumber side by side and fastening the pieces together with nails or screws. Dowel-laminated timber uses a similar construction but replaces metal fasteners with seasoned wooden dowels, which avoids the thermal bridging associated with metal.

Laminated strand lumber and oriented strand lumber are both made by bonding longer or shorter wood strands, respectively, coated in adhesive and then heat-cured under pressure to form strong, uniform panels. Parallel-strand lumber involves thin veneer strips arranged in parallel before being bonded and cured.

Laminated veneer lumber is manufactured by gluing together multiple layers of wood veneer in the same direction to create a thick, strong member used in various structural applications.

These innovative wood products provide enhanced performance and sustainability in modern construction projects.