Laminated veneer lumber

LVL offers several advantages over typical milled lumber: Made in a factory under controlled specifications, it is stronger, straighter, and more uniform.

LVL is a type of structural composite lumber, comparable to glued laminated timber (glulam) but with a higher allowable stress.

The war industry utilized a panel material developed by the Homasote Company of Trenton, New Jersey, made of wood pulp and ground newspaper, to be used in place of siding and sheathing for buildings.

Troutner proved the structural capabilities of his Micro=Lam product by building a house in Hagerman, Idaho, using beams made of Micro=Lam.

[6] The stacking of these veneers into a complete board, called a billet, creates a single piece of LVL sharing a common direction of wood grain.

LVL is manufactured to sizes compatible with the depth of I-joist framing members for use as beams and headers.

LVL is considered to be a highly reliable building material that provides many of the same attributes associated with large sized timbers.

[1] However, due to the fact that the assembly adhesives limit the penetration of chemicals typically used to treat outdoor-rated lumber, LVL may not be suitable for outdoor load-bearing use — rotten LVL joists were blamed for the Berkeley balcony collapse which killed 7 people.

[10] PSL is made from veneers that are cut up into long strands and oriented parallel to its length before being compressed into its final shape.