What are the advantages of glued beam?

The merits of modern and in-demand wooden construction specifically explained does not make much sense, as they are already on everyone's lips: it is the ecological purity of the material, the ability of natural wood to regulate natural wood microclimate, ease of material processing, low thermal conductivity and more. Debates are conducted only about the types of materials: solid beam, board, log, glued beam, etc. . Without underestimating the merits of other materials, it is possible to confirm the opinion of the majority that glued beam has the greatest prospects in construction.

Thanks to the production technology, it is possible to obtain glued beam of cyclopean sizes: at a thickness of up to 200 mm its length can be 20, 30, 60 meters or more. At such sizes, to compare it with a solid beam is even incorrect - theoretically the length of glued beam can be unlimited!

In a nutshell about technology, the bark is removed from the log when processing, and then the log is sawed on the boards. Boards are under control, which replaces the joints and potholes with a cork, as well as press drying up to 8-12 % humidity. On the ends of the boards make spike-notches, and then build them up to the desired length, getting boards-lamella.After a thorough processing on all sides and application of preservatives and antiseptics, lamellas are applied with glue and pressed into bars (in 2-5 layers), then form cutters upper and lower profiles. When gluing the lamellas, the direction of the wood fiber structures alternates, which makes the beam exceptionally strong and remain fortified during shrinkage and distortion (the stability of the form) . The overall processing technology consists of about a dozen technological operations that are performed on precise woodworking machines. The accuracy of the joints is great that it may not even require intermediate tape insulation.

The shrinkage of glued beam during the year is about 2%, while in raw wood this figure reaches 7-8% - a good reason to choose a glued beam! Applying chemicals to the beam successfully resist fires, the appearance of mold, insects, woodcutters. As a result, buildings made of profiled glued beam can stand still for more than a hundred years without losing the attractiveness of appearance. In addition to buildings, the beam goes to the furniture manufacture and building/house interior decoration.

There are almost no drawbacks to glued beam, except for the high price and possible errors of production, which can lead to a bundle of lamellas. But the list of advantages is worth it to consider glued beam a modern building favorite.