Glulam, the naturally engineered solution.

The rapid development in recent years of timber engineering has resulted in many high-performance engineered timber products coming onto the market. One of these is glued laminated engineered timberr, more commonly known as Glulam. The benefits of the exceptional strength that Glulam offers makes it especially suitable for use in the load bearing structures of buildings with long spans and where architectural beauty is a pre-requisite.

A Glulam component consists of small cross-sectional boards, laid upwards so that the grain is parallel to the horizontal axis. The laminates are end-jointed by the process of finger jointing and therefore each individual laminate acts as a continuous structure.

Glulam is used for its versatility and strength whilst its natural colouring gives a light and gentle touch to our structures. Glulam can be produced to individual shapes, and can be straight or curved to achieve greater aesthetics for that truly unique and bespoke structure. Glulam has been used structurally to great commercial advantage in the USA, mainland Europe and Australasia for more than 50 years.

The Benefits of Glulam.

Environment. Glulam products are more environmentally friendly compared with concrete and steel materials, requiring less energy in production and being recyclable.

Ease of use. Glulam materials are much lighter than concrete or steel materials. For example, a Glulam beam is one-sixth of the weight of a concrete beam and two-thirds the weight of a steel beam.

Fire. Glulam offers significant advantages in respect of fire protection compared with reinforced concrete or steel materials. In a fire, a charred layer forms around an un-destroyed core which retains its load bearing capacity, thus reducing the entry of oxygen and heat from outside which delays significantly the further spread of flame.

Shape. Glulam beams can be produced in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, and offers greater flexibility in design and construction.

Appearance. Glulam's natural appearance adds great aesthetic qualities to any structure. Glulam is warm and inviting, and as real as the wood from which it is made.

Thermal Properties. Once installed, wood is an extremely effective insulating material with a very high energy efficiency.

Maintenance. Glulam is naturally resilient in aggressive chemical environments. Designed correctly, Glulam requires practically no maintenance.

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