Glulam Roof Framing

Glue laminated timber glulam is a structural engineered wood product commonly used for beams and columns in residential and commercial applications.

Glulam roof framing. They provide unmatched strength and are perfect for large spans and for home designs that require heavy timbers used for strength. Glued laminated timber constitutes an ever increasing percentage of the framing materials used in residential construction. The columns can be exposed to view as a unique architectural feature of the framing system. Glulam is versatile ranging from simple straight beams to complex curved members.

While this is true for solid sawn as well as glued laminated glulam timbers the larger sizes and longer spans made possible with glulam components make the proper detailing of connections even more critical. Glulam columns are straight and dimensionally true making framing an easy task. The term glulam is an abbreviated term that stands for glue laminated timber. Glulam beams laid on their flat and used as floor or roof panels are known as glt panels see glue laminated timber panels.

Glulam allows a high degree of prefabrication and long structural spans where necessary but is equally effective for shorter spans. A glulam is made with multiple layers of solid wood lumber bonded together with high strength adhesive to form a single structural unit. According to structurecraft and the structural timber association the length of glulam panels are only limited by fabrication and shipping constraints. Glulam is a stress rated engineered wood beam composed of wood laminations or lams that are bonded together with durable moisture resistant adhesives.

In large open spaces glulam beams can span more than 100 feet. Much of this growth is attributed to the fact that glulam beams are available from building material dealers and distributors in stock sizes typical widths. In some instances ware house and distribution centers with roof areas exceeding 1 million square feet have been constructed using glulam framing. 3 1 8 3 1 2 5 1 8 and 6 3 4 inches.

Glulam beams are comprised of structural dimensional wood that is laminated together with structural adhesives. Theoretically glulam panels can span any imaginable length and to date roof areas exceeding 100 000 square meters have been constructed using glulam framing. It is a highly visible form of mass timber in contemporary projects with long spans framing signature designs left exposed to take advantage of wood s natural aesthetic. Builders often refer collectively to all types of laminated beams or other laminated structural wood materials as glulams.

Introduction proper connection details are important to the structural performance and serviceability of any timber framed struc ture. One of the greatest advantages of glulam is that it can be manufactured in a wide range of shapes sizes and configu rations.