for glulams in upscale home construction

D)ETAILERS report that glued I\laminated timbers and beams are gaining a larger share of the luxury home market, as more builders switch to glulams for headers, floor beams and ridge beams.

"Upscale home builders are specifying more glulams because owners of these houses often spend a lot of time at the job site," says Roy Deering, Fort Worth Lumber Co., Fort Worth, Tx. "These owners like the clean, straight look of glulams, and they don't like to see solid sawn timbers with wane and knots."

Deering says that glulams such as Anthony Power Beams and Power Headers are becoming more popular for framing in 5,000- and 6,000-sq. ft. homes because of their strength fbr long spans, competitive price, and faster one-piece construction at the job site.

Many builders see new engineered wood framing innovations on the Internet and at trade shows and they come to us to get more details," Deering says. Most of the glulam beams supplied by Fort Worth Lumber are cambered to avoid the was one of the first to offer engineered wood to its builder customers. and today it is known for its large inventories of I-joists, LVL and glulam beams as well as its dedication to customer service.

Quarles Lumber's Lonny Goolsby says, "We're selling a ton of Anthony glulam beams, especially for the larger two-story homes, which are popular in this area. This is not a big roof truss market for our company, but it's definitely a growth area for glulam headers and floor girders. I can't tell you the last time we shipped solid sawn 2x12s for headers."

Goolsby says they rely on the Boise Cascade distribution yard for assistance with engineering and specs.

"sag" sometimes associated with conventional solid sawn timbers.

Quarles Lumber, Fort Worth, is a pioneer retail dealer that just celebrated its l00th anniversary. The firm

Quarles Lumber sponsors a special Builders Night once or twice a year. entertaining their contractor customers with a barbecue and with educational seminars or clinics on ensi- neered wood.

Most builders obtain their engineered wood from retail dealers, but more truss manufacturers are also including glulam beams as a part of their component package.

Sonny Loredo, Loredo Truss Co., Austin, Tx., says he ships a lot of Anthony glulam Power Beams along with the floor and roof trusses he supplies to his builder customers. This is especially true in the larger, custom homes.

"Glulam floor beams and headers are a natural part of the truss package that goes to thejob site," Loredo says. "Our builders like the built-in camber of Anthony glulams because they avoid the deflection you sometimes get with conventional solid sawn beams. Being able to supply glulams and trusses together makes us a onestop source for floor, roof and header framing."

Loredo spends a lot of time at job sites, answering builder questions about trusses and glulams. "Our builders like the fact that glulams are solid, one-piece framing, which saves construction time because they don't have to nail pieces of lumber together for headers," he says.

Sierra Point Lumber. Brisbane. Ca., has become a dominant retailer in the Bay Area by specializing in the engineered wood market. Many contractors on their long list of Pro customers have switched to high-strength glulams in place of laminated veneer lumber, solid sawn timbers and other glulams.

Sierra Point Lumber's Dennis Finney says they are shipping increased volumes of Power Beams every year for both single and multifamily construction. "We don't really have to do much promotion of the

Power Beam now because they are well known to architects and engineers who specify them on the construction plans," he notes.

Sierra Point Lumber buys most of its glulams from Georgia-Pacific Distribution. G-P's Mike Griffin says, "Demand for the Power Beam is growing steadily, and we are now supplying it to hundreds of Western dealers. We think it is the best engineered wood product on the market."

Anthony laminated beams are available in I-joist depths and are cost competitive with LVL and solid sawn beams. Their controlled l2Vo moisture content makes them less vulnerable to twisting and warping than solid timbers at l9Vo moisture content, according to dealers interviewed by Anthony. This helps to reduce callbacks.

Boise Cascade Distribution, Dallas, Tx., reports a growing demand for glulams, particularly for garage door headers. Boise Cascade's Johnny Watkins says dealers like the 2600 Fb strength and camber of Anthony Power Beam headers (LVL beams are not cambered).

"We ship a lot of 16' 9" and 18' 9" glulam garage door headers to our retail customers who formerly sold solid sawn, double 2xl2s for headers," Watkins says.

Boise Cascade sponsors product information meetings on glulams and other engineered wood products for its retailer customers.

Dealers, as well, regularly hold special promotion/education events to inform specifiers and customers about load capacities, span tables and applications for glulams (see box at right for sample ways to promote glulams).