Sustainable Building Sourcebook
Chapter: Materials
 

Engineered Structural Products

 
CSI Numbers: 06111 Engineered Lumber Products, 06170 Prefabricated Structural Wood
 
Introduction:
 

Engineered Structural Lumber is made up of five main categories of products, Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL), manufactured wood I-beams, finger-jointed lumber, glulams, and manufactured trusses. Using Engineered Structural Lumber products reduces demand on forests by using wood waste or small dimensional lumber in place of larger lumber.

Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) is dimensional lumber that is composed of thin layers or veneers of wood glued together and sawn to make dimensional lumber in sizes ranging from 2x4's to 4x18's or larger by special order. This class of lumber is used as studs, headers, rim joists, beams, columns, and girders in floor framing and as rafters in roof framing.

Manufactured wood I-beams are composed of a center web of plywood or oriented strand board (OSB) and top and bottom flanges made of LVL or solid wood. Wood I-beams are used as floor joists and as rafters in roof framing.

Finger-jointed lumber is lumber made by gluing short pieces of wood that would normally be scrap into usable lengths. It is most commonly manufactured as 2x4's and 2x6's. See the Finger-Jointed Wood section of this Sourcebook for more information.

Glulams are large dimensional lumber or beams made by gluing 2x4's or 2x6's together to make beams that range in size from 4x8 up to 6x20 and larger.

Manufactured trusses are structural elements that have been engineered and manufactured to meet high design loads using small dimension lumber held together by metal plates. Using manufactured trusses allows the engineered use of 2x4's or 2x6's in place of large dimensional lumber in floor and roof framing applications.

 
At-A-Glance Notes:
 
Technology:
Well developed.
 
Suppliers:
Engineered structural lumber products are readily available from several manufacturers and suppliers. All of these products except finger-jointed lumber must be engineered to meet the load specifications of each project and so must be special ordered. Sufficient lead-time should be allowed for engineering and preparation of these products.
 
Cost:
Mostly equal to solid sawn wood. When labor savings and reduced job site waste are considered, the cost is highly competitive. Engineered wood products should be more stable in price than dimensional lumber. Finger-jointed studs are generally the same price as standard solid studs.
 
Public Acceptance:
Environmentally aware and /or quality conscious individuals may prefer these materials. Floor systems using LVL and manufactured wood I-beams are popular as floor systems because they have been marketed as a squeak free, "silent floor system".
 
Regulatory:
None, when used to manufacturer's approved specifications
 
Considerations:
 

These materials fall into the general category of engineered wood. This means that the tolerances in stability, consistency, and strength are more precise than solid dimensional lumber. In joist and rafter applications, the engineered products are particularly useful for long spans because they are consistently straight, creating a flatter floor or roof.

These materials drastically reduce the amount of waste created in processing the raw materials and in their end-use installation. Waste wood and entire trees, regardless of species, shape, and age can be used in making some of these products. Other products in this group, such as glulams and trusses, use small dimensional lumber in configurations that allow them to replace large dimensional timbers.

 
Guidelines:
 

Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) is used as rim joists and girders in floor framing; as headers, studs, and beams in wall framing; and as rafters and beams in roof framing. LVL can be manufactured in sizes to meet almost all structural needs. Because this is an engineered and manufactured product there is little or no dimensional difference or loading capacity between pieces. If LVL is stored and handled properly it will be straight and true without the crowns and bows found in large dimensional natural lumber.

Manufactured wood I-beams are typically used as floor joists and as rafters. I-beams can be manufactured to span longer distances than solid lumber and can be purchased in lengths up to 40 feet. I-beams weigh much less than solid wood lumber and can be installed quickly. Because they are an engineered and manufactured product they are dimensionally stable and do not crown or bow, as does solid lumber.

Finger-jointed lumber can be used to replace standard 2x4's and 2x6's as studs and in non-structural applications. This reduces waste and the burden on forests by using short pieces of lumber that would normally be landfilled.

Glulams can be used as beams and girders where standard construction practices would require large dimension timber that probably would be cut from old growth trees.

Manufactured trusses are used as floor joists, beams, or roof trusses. They allow small dimensional lumber (2x4, 2x6) to replace larger members used for rafters and joists.

 
Resources:
 
Professional Assistance:
See "Engineers - Structural" in Yellow Pages
Components/Materials/Systems:

See "Building Materials - Retail" in Yellow Pages. Most engineered structural products are sold by local lumber suppliers.

Boisie Cascade Corporation
P.O. Box 50
Boise, ID 83728-0001
(800) 232-0788
www.bc.com
Laminated and I-beams

Building Components Manufacturing
P.O. Box 9328
Minneapolis, MN 55440-9328
(800) 475-9304
Easy Riser engineered stair stringer system (exterior product uses ACQ and not ACC)
Distributor: (409) 273-1131

Champion International Corp
7785 Baymeadow Way, Ste. 302
Jacksonville, FL 32256
(800) 874-3240
Fingerjointed lumber

Georgia Pacific
133 Peachtree St. NE
Atlanta, GA 30303
800-BUILD-GP
www.gp.com/build
Laminated and I-beams

Hart Lumber Co.
559 North W. White Rd.
San Antonio, TX 78220-0033
(512) 337-6464
Laminated and I-beams

Louisiana Pacific Corporation
111 S. Fifth Ave.
Portland, OR 97204
(800) 648-6593
www.lpcorp.com
Laminated and I-beams
Local Wholesaler: Alamo Forest Products
San Antonio, TX (800) 653-6610
Natural Forest Products, Inc.
P. O. Box 426
Burlington, VT 05402
(800) 858-6230

Standard Structures
P. O. Box K
Santa Rosa, CA 95402
(707) 544-2982
www.standardstructures.com
Laminated, fingerjointed, and I-beams

Superior Wood Systems
P.O. Box 1208
1301 Garfield Ave.
Superior, WI 54880
(800) 375-9992
www.fwi-joist.com
I-beams, including insulated I-beams

Texas Building Components
400 Brushy Creek Rd.
Cedar Park, TX 78613
(512) 996-0777
www.tbctruss.com
Steel floor and roof trusses

Trus Joist MacMillan
200 E. Mallard Dr.
Boise, ID 83707
(800) 338-0515
www.tjm.com
Laminated and I-beams
Local Rep: Steve Sellers, (830) 980-2242
Distributors:
Calcasieu Lumber, (512) 444-3172
BMC Building Materials (formerly Stripling Blake), (512) 465-4200

Unadilla Laminated Products
32 Clifton St.
Unadilla, NY 13849
(607) 369-9341
Laminated materials

Willamette Industries
P. O. Drawer 1100
Ruston, LA 71273-1100
(318) 254-0571
www.wii.com
Laminated and I-beams
Locally: BMC Building Materials (formerly Stripling Blake), (512) 465-4200

General Assistance:

APA-The Engineered Wood Association
P.O. Box 11700
7011 S. 19th St.
Tacoma, WA 98466
(253) 565-6600 (ask for publications desk)
www.apawood.org
Technical information on wood products

American Institute of Timber Construction
140, 7012 S. Revere Pkwy.
Englewood, CO 80112
(303) 792-0669
Technical information on glulam beams

American Lumber Standards Committee
P.O. Box 210
Germantown, MD 20875-0201
(301) 972-1700

American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM)
100 Barr Harbor Dr.
Conshohocken, PA 19428
(610) 832-9500
www.astm.org
Standards organization

American Wood Council
1111 19th St. NW, Ste. 800
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 463-2769
www.awc.org
Consumer information, codes and standards for wood engineering

Building Officials and Code Administrators International Inc. (BOCA)
4051 West Flossmoor Rd.
Country Club Hills, IL 60478
(708) 799-2300
www.bocai.org
Code issues and standards

Center for Resourceful Building Technology
Box 100
Missoula, MT 59806
(406) 549-7678
www.montana.com/crbt

International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO)
5360 Workman Mill Rd.
Whittier, CA 90601
(562) 699-0541
www.icbo.org
Code issues and standards

NAHB Research Center
400 Prince George's Blvd.
Upper Marlboro, MD 20774-8731
(301) 249-4000
www.nabrc.org

National Fire Protection Association
1 Batterymarch Park
Quincy, MA 02269
(617) 770-3000
www.nfpa.org
Standards and codes

Southern Building Code Congress International (SBCCI)
900 Montclair Rd.
Birmingham, AL 35213
(205) 591-1853
www.sbcci.org
Code issues and standards

Southern Forest Products Association
P. O. Box 641700
Kenner, LA 70064-1700
(504) 443-4464
www.sfpa.org
Technical information on lumber products

Southern Pine Inspection Bureau
4709 Scenic Highway
Pensacola, FL 32504-9094
(850) 434-5011
www.spib.org

Steel Framing Alliance
1726 M St. NW, Ste. 601
Washington, DC 20036-4523
(202) 785-2022
www.steelframingalliance.com
Technical information on steel framing

Western Wood Products Association
522 SW Fifth Ave., Ste. 500
Yeon Building
Portland, OR 97204-2122
(503) 224-3930
www.wwpa.org
Technical information on lumber products

Wood Truss Council of America
6425 Normandy Ln.
Madison, WI 53719
(608) 274-4849
www.woodtruss.com

Publications

Efficient Wood Use in Residential Location: A Practical Guide to Saving Wood, Money and Forests
Natural Resources Defense Council, 1998
www.nrdc.org