Glulam - Laminated Beams:

Fundamentally, Glulam is big pieces of wood made by gluing smaller pieces together, but it has many advantages over large solid sections.

Each piece of timber used in making Glulam is strength graded and moisture checked. Weaknesses in timber tend to revolve around natural defects which are measured as a proportion of the member section – smaller pieces allow smaller defects. When these sections are glued together to a large section, the defects become much smaller in relation to the finished beam dimensions resulting in a strong and stable product.

Each of the individual laminates can be made into long lengths by finger-jointing random lengths together.

The distribution of these finger-joints throughout the finished beam means there are no weak points in the overall section. The lengths achievable are usually restricted only by the ability to transport them.

As the small section laminates are quite flexible, curved sections are made by bending the stacked laminates during the gluing process. Once the glue cures, the beam retains the curved shape. As the radius required to curve the laminates decreases, they must be made from thinner raw materials so the tighter the radius, the more laminates are needed to make the required beam depth.