Engineered Wood Framingham MA

Source: BUILDING PRODUCTS Magazine
Publication date: September 1, 2005

By Sharon O'Malley

Summit Homes in Cordova, Tenn., has been building houses with engineered wood for so long that office manager Kevin Yoon “can't even remember some of the problems we used to have with real wood.”

But he says he knows his firm would be building different kinds of structures without the engineered I-joists, laminated veneer lumber (LVL), and glued laminated beams (glulams) that offer sturdy, warp-resistant alternatives to solid-sawn lumber.

“Architects can draw some crazy stuff,” says Yoon, whose company, a production builder, will construct 250 homes this year. “Some of the spans … can go up to 48 feet. Before, there was no product that could do that.”

In fact, engineered wood products have been on the market for decades, gaining entry in home building when Trus Joist invented the I-joist in 1969. For years, those I-shaped structural members cost far more than the wood beams they replaced and were used only in high-end custom homes.

But during the past 15 years that BUILDING PRODUCTS has been in existence, engineered wood garnered widespread approval as new types were introduced to meet design challenges, and as engineering improved and prices fell somewhat. Today, engineered wood still costs at least 10 percent more than traditional lumber in most markets, and only very expensive new homes can boast 100 percent engineered frames.

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