EasV-to-understand glossary of EWP terms

f, S engineered wood products become more common in &}ne marketplace, it becomes imperative that sales peo ple be faniliar with the basic terms, concepts and uses of these wood products manufactured to deliver consistent performance while making the most of our natural resouroes.

Composite Lumber: Used for joists, CL is a beam product composed of a combination of wood components, each manufactured differently. One common combination consists of a thick OSB web and top and bottom LVL flanges.

Bngineered \ilood Products: Building products designed and manufactured to meet particular specifica' tions including wood I-beams, laminated veneer lumber, glulam beams, parallel strand lumbr, parallel chord trusses and structural panels. They utilize natural wood rcsources o the rnximum.

Engineered Studs: Made from dry, straight, short lengths of western spruce, pine, fr or Douglas fir bonded together with finger joints and waterproof glue, engineered studs come in2x4 and2x6 sizes up to 10 feet long.

Glued Laminated Beams: Also known as glulams' these engineered structural members are manufactured by end-gluing dimensional lumber (2x4s, 2x6s) into continuous plies. Face-glued with waterproof adhesives, the plies are fonned under pressure and finished. Glulams are used for headers, girders, pudins, beatrts, arches, long spans and exposed applications like ridge beams and roof rafters.

Laminated Veneer Lumber: Produced in common framing lumber sizes, LVL is a beam product manufactured from wood veneers laid in parallel formation, then face laminated for high uniform strength and stiffness. LVL is used for hip and valley rafters, stairwells, headers, beams and scaffolding.

Metal-Plate-Connected Metal-Web Wood Trusses: Primarily for floor and flat roof applications, these trusses have wood top and bottom chords and metal webs connected by metal gusset plates punched ino the chords.

Metal-Plate-Connected Wood Trusses: Standard framing system for residential roofs, these wood trusses have wood chords and wood webs connected with metalgusset plates with punched teeth. They may be pitched chord or parallel chord, and can span from 20 fL to more than 100 fr

Oriented Strand Board: A structural, performancerated panel product, OSB is manufactured from reconsti- tuted, mechanically oriented wood strands bonded with resins under heat and pressure. Material may be produced as the center layer of composite panels or cross laminated in layered panels. Suitable for the same applications as plywood, OSB provides a unifonn panel free of core voids, lnot holes and other natural imperfections.

Parallel Strand Lumber: PSL is manufactured with long veneer strands laid in parallel formation and bonded together with waterproof adhesives to fonn beams. Like LVL, this product is used for beam and header applications where higb bending strength is critical.

Pin-End-Connected Metal Web' \ilood Trusses: For sloped roofs, flat roofs and floors, these trusses have wood top and bottom chords, metal webs and steel pin connectors. They may be either parallel chord or pirched chord.

Plywood: The original structural wood panel, plywood consists of thin sheets of veneer or plies, arranged in perpendicular layers. Panels are used in roof, floor and wall applications.

Waferboard: A construction t panel, waferboard is manufactured t from reconstituted wood wafers, as opposed to strands, bonded with resins under heat and pressure. Designed for floors, roofs and walls, it provides a strong and unifonn panel.

Wood l-beans: Also known as I-joists, wood l-beans are structual, load carrying products designed for roof and floor joist applications with long length and low material weight. The "I" configuration provides high strength and stiffrress. Flange material for l-beams is typically dimension lumber or LVL; web material, OSB or plywood.

Story at a Glance

A mini engineered wood encyclopedia