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Glulam: Visible Beauty, Hidden Strength

Glued laminated timber, or glulam, is a highly innovative and versatile construction material engineered for a host of residential and commercial construction applications. Increased design values and improved product performance make this cost competitive material the natural choice for every project from simple beams and headers in residential construction to soaring glulam arches for domed stadium roofs spanning more than 500 feet.

What Is Glulam?

Glulam is composed of individual wood laminations, or “lams”, specifically selected and positioned in the timber, based on their performance characteristics, and bonded together with durable, moisture-resistant adhesives. Glulam is available in depths from 6 to 72 inches or greater and in lengths up to 100 feet and longer.

Unlimited Design Flexibility

Glulam has greater strength and stiffness than comparable dimensional lumber and, pound for pound, is stronger than steel. Common uses include purlins, ridge beams, floor beams, headers, complex arches, commercial roof systems, bridges and utility poles. Glulam is available in a range of appearance characteristics to meet end-use requirements.

The strength and durability of glulam beams make them an ideal choice for large, open designs where long spans are required. Glulam beams can also be manufactured in virtually any size or shape. In fact, Glulam is the only engineered wood product that can be produced in curved shapes. The arched curve profile of the roof of the LeMay Car Museum (pictured) is one example of the virtually unlimited design flexibility offered by glulam. (Read more in the APA Case Study: LeMay -- America's Car Museum, Form N115.)

Featured Project: Glulam Meets Sustainable Building Goals in Bullitt Center

Described as the greenest commercial building in the world, the Bullitt center in Seattle, Washington pushes the envelope in urban sustainability. The six-story, 52,000-square-foot structure is designed to meet the stringent requirements of the Living Building Challenge (LBC), a performance-based certification program. “We wanted a sustainable building that would last 250 years,” said Brian Court, project architect with The Miller Hull Partnership. “That’s just one of the reasons we chose wood.” John Stamets Photo

Because wood is a sustainable, renewable resource, and because glulam makes efficient use of the materials by bonding smaller pieces of dimension lumber together to form larger beams and columns, glulam was a logical choice over concrete for the Bullitt Center. The podium structure is built with a Type IV heavy timber frame that consists of Douglas-fir glulam beams and columns finished to an industrial appearance grade. According to Brian Oberg of APA-member Calvert Company in Vancouver, Washington, the project required approximately 119,000 board feet of glulam.

Read more in the WoodWorks Bullitt Center Case Study.

CAD Information

For glulam details in a CAD format, go to the Glulam Beams section at www.apacad.org. Details for glulam floor beams, garage door headers and roof beams are available in four different formats – .DWG, .DWF, .DXF and .PDF, and can be quickly downloaded and inserted into your building plans.

Use Glulam With Narrow Wall Bracing

An integral part of APA’s Narrow Wall Bracing Method is extending headers to the corner framing. When glulam is used, the extended headers provide a good nailing surface for the sheathing and enhance the lateral strength of the wall. Glulam beams work well in tandem with the APA Narrow Wall Bracing Method to offer a strong, stable, and easy to construct solution for narrow wall segments. Learn more about glulam’s role in narrow wall bracing by visiting the Glulam Headers section.

The APA-EWS Mark of Quality

APA EWS trademarks appear only on products manufactured by APA EWS member mills. The mark signifies that panel quality is subject to verification through APA EWS audit– a procedure designed to assure manufacture in conformance with APA performance standards or the standard shown in the mark. Learn more about APA EWS.

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Related Publications

Glulam Floor Beams: PDF 1.0MB
ANSI A190.1-2012 Standard for Wood Products - Structural Glued Laminated Timber: PDF 650K, Free Download
Product Guide: Glulam: PDF 4.0MB
ANSI 117-2010: Standard Specification for Structural Glued Laminated Timber of Softwood Species: PDF 2.6MB
ANSI 405-2008: Standard for Adhesives for Use in Structural Glued Laminated Timber: PDF 2.2MB
Case Study: LeMay -- America's Car Museum: PDF 430K, Free Download

[ More Related Publications ]

Product Manufacturers (Glulam)

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FREE CAD DETAILS

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