when stick framing, we use laminated beams for large spans that wont have the support of a stud wall underneath. These are made of many layers of wood pressed and glued together.

Such laminates are tremendously stronger than a solid piece of wood for a number of reasons, the chief of which is there are many layers of varying grain structure instead of one single grain structure as in a solid timber.

However, it is my personal belief that such have not as long of a lifespan as a solid timber. The glue compounds that hold it together break down over time, and I suspect that after a time of maybe 100 years they will have lost a significant amount of their strength. When building a modern stick frame, this is something of a non-issue as the frame itself will have deteriorated similarly. However, in a timber frame I would say this fact makes the use of laminates something I would avoid.

DLB


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