Engin ure

Glued en neered wood products expected to boom into the 21st Century

rnHE YEAR 2000 is just three-andI a-half years away. About 1.265 days and counting. As the millennium approaches, construction industry professionals are making plans for the future. The evolution of new buildins

Story at a Glance

Product-by-product f ive-year forecast for glued engineered wood products big jumps expected in OSB, glulams, LVL and l-joists.

materials, enhancements of existing materials and changing construction techniques are affecting the way builders and design professionals do business.

Few areas of the building products industry have seen more change or grown faster in recent years than the engineered wood products sector.

Builders, remodelers and design professionals who just a decade ago were wary of these emerging technologies, are now increasingly educated in the potential cost savings and superior strength which these products offer.

Today, more and more building trade professionals view the use of OSB, plywood, glulams, I-joists and LVL as standard building materials. And recently released statistics by APA - The Engineered Wood Association indicate the market for engineered wood products continues to be wide open and growing fast.

APA classifies glued engineered wood products into four general groups: structural wood panels, glued laminated timber (glulam), structural composite lumber (SCL) primarily consisting of laminated veneer lumber (LVL), and wood I-joists. Market studies indicate that the use of some of these products will more than double by the year 2000.

Structural Wood Panels

Structural wood panels, which include plywood, oriented strand board (OSB) and composite panels, are perhaps the most widely used of the glued engineered wood products. From siding and roof sheathing to floor underlayment and concrete forming, structural wood panels are an increasingly growing part of the

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