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Glulam: Lower Cost, Higher Design Value

Glued laminated timber, or glulam has been re-engineered to work better than ever in a host of construction application. Increased design values have expanded design capabilities and improved product performance, while maintaining a competitive cost.

From residential construction to large commercial projects, glulam can take your designs and imagination to a new level.

What Is Glulam?

Glulam (Glued laminated timber) is a stress-rated engineered wood product comprised of wood laminations, or "lams," that are bonded together with strong, waterproof adhesives. Glulam components can be a variety of species, and individual "lams" are typically two inches or less in thickness.

Unmatched Versatility

Glulam has greater strength and stiffness than comparable dimensional lumber. Pound for pound, it's stronger than steel. That means glulam beams can span long distances with minimal need for intermediate supports. It also means that designers and builders have virtually unlimited design flexibility when using glulam, whether the application is home construction, a commercial warehouse roof or a highway bridge.

Consistency of Performance

Glulam eliminates the natural performance variations that characterize solid sawn lumber. Because glulam beams are engineered wood products manufactured to meet specific performance characteristics, the specifier and user can be assured that products which are used on the job will consistently perform as expected.

New Code Recognizes Performance Rated Design Values

Model building codes recognize APA EWS glulam's new design values. Based on the results of an industry wide testing program conducted at APA, horizontal shear values for Douglas-fir glulam have increased by over 25 percent and southern pine values have increased by 35 percent.

Increased Reverse Moment Capacity

Allowable bending stresses on the compression side of an APA EWS 24F-V4 Douglas-fir glulam beam have been increased by over 50 percent, from 1200 to 1850 psi. Other species have realized similar increases. These higher values make it easier to design cantilevers or continuous span floor beam applications using an unbalanced layup. Designers will appreciate the added versatility and load capacity of today's performance tested glulam beam.