“That’s not a glulam!” I said, incredulously.
“It is!” Eric insisted with a laugh, raising his hands in defense.
Seeing as Eric is one of the most sincere and honest people around, I figured he had to be right. “Okay,” I replied. “Let’s talk glulams.”
Glulam use around the world has developed into some crazy, creative, and nearly unbelievable structures:
Some of the basics on glued laminated timbers (glulams) that I commonly hear: they come in just about any size and shape (meaning they can make spans that solid timber simply doesn’t grow to); they can achieve geometric shapes and structural performance that is otherwise unattainable with solid timber; they’re inherently stable and dry; they have visible layers of wood. As a visual person the look is always top of mind for me which is where this conversation started:
While glulam projects have a reputation for being fast and loose, we don’t operate that way, Eric explains: “We give the same care, craft, and precision to any glulam project or integrated glulam as we do to our regular timber frame projects.”
Our teams are all familiar with heavy timber. Turns out glulam are so akin to solid timbers to our artisans that crafting, assembling, transporting, and raising glued laminated trusses is second nature:
Remember those visible layered wood surfaces? While some projects celebrate that aesthetic, the look of a glulam can be drastically changed by adding custom finishes like paints, stains, and additional textures.
Or glulams can appear more uniform as ‘grain matched’ pieces:
In the minds, eyes, and hands of Eric and others, a glulam is as special as a solid timber. “Our goal is to manufacture and treat glulams with the same precision as we do a full timber frame project. We want to be a partner in the process to seamlessly and smoothly integrate glulams into assorted projects.”
And that initial project that raised the ’solid’ versus ‘glulam’ question? Shop drawings proved Eric was right:
And that initial project that raised the ’solid’ versus ‘glulam’ question? Shop drawings proved Eric was right:
Do you have a project that’s out of the box? Or maybe you’re wondering how timber could ever meet your needs? Any challenge is a good fit for us! Connect with us today.