Types of Engineered Wood

Plywood

Plywood is produced by thin sheets of wood veneers or plies being arranged in layers with each layer alternating the wood grain direction to create a solid panel. The alternating pattern of layers, cross lamination,  adds strength in both directions and stability. This has more of a finished look than the other alternatives, like OSB Panels, and can be used on areas like kitchen cabinets as well as sheathings and decking; however, it is less cost effective due to more wood being needed in comparison. 

OSB

OSB Panel, or Oriented Strand Board, is made of stranded panels of different thicknesses glued together and compressed with extreme force. The rectangular shaped strands are arranged in layers at right angles to one another, which ensures panel consistency and makes the panel strong in both directions due to the cross-orientation. It is commonly used for wall sheathings, floor deckings, and roof deckings. 

Composite Panels

Structural Composite Panels or COM-PLY panels are manufactured by bonding layers of wood fiber between veneers. They are made in either three or five layer arrangements, with a  three layer arrangement having a wood fiber core and veneer face and back, and the five layer arrangement also having a veneer crossband in the center. The most common use for COM-PLY is APA rated Sturd-I-Floor 

LVL

LVL, or Laminated Veneer Lumber, is produced by bonding thin wood veneers together in a large billet so that the grain of all veneers is parallel to the long direction and then cut down to the desired dimensions for the specific application. There is no size limitation like there would be with conventional lumber standards. It is often used for headers and beams, hip and valley rafters, and scaffold planking. 

Glulam

Glued laminated timber, or glulam, is composed of bonded individual pieces of lumber (having a nominal thickness of two inches or less). Glulams are available in custom and stock sizes, and can range from simple straight beam to complex curved members. Typical uses range from simple purlins, ridge beams, garage door headers and floor beams, to huge cantilevered beams. In commercial construction, glulam is used in applications ranging from large, flat roof systems to complex arches. 

I-Joists

I-Joists are structural, load-carrying products that combine stranded and laminated materials together. The flange material for I-joists is typically dimension lumber or laminated veneer lumber (LVL); the web is plywood or OSB. The "I" configuration provides high bending strength and stiffness characteristics. The web resists shear stresses and the flanges resist bending stresses.These are most commonly found used in residential floor framing 

Rim Boards

A rim board is the wood component that fills the space between the sill plate and bottom plate of a wall or, in second floor construction, between the top plate and bottom plate of two wall sections. APA Performance Rated Rim boards can be manufactured using plywood, oriented strand board (OSB), glued laminated timber (glulam), or laminated veneer lumber (LVL). These engineered wood rim boards have less shrinkage than lumber and match the depth of wood I-joists and other engineered wood framing products. They are available in lengths up to 24 feet, depending on the product used. 

SIP's

Structural Insulated Panels, or “sandwich panels”, are composed of two wood structural panel faces with a thick plastic foam layer sandwiched between. The rigid plastic foam provides high insulation values while the structural panel faces contribute to the system’s overall stiffness, strength and dimensional stability. They are most commonly used in place of traditional framing, sheathing, and insulation in floor, wall, and roof applications. 

Nail-Laminated Timber

Nail-Laminated Timber is created by dimensional lumber being placed on edge with individual laminations that are fastened together with either screws or nails. The nominal thickness of the boards 2x, 3x, and 4x.  Width is typically 4-12 inches. NLT gets its strength and durability from the nails/screws that fasten individual pieces of dimensional lumber into a single structural element.  

Dowel Laminated Timber -DLT 

Dowel Laminated Timber is created by stacking together  dimension lumber together on its edge or cross laminating them and fitting them together with hardwood dowels. It has a wide range of uses and can most commonly be used in construction of walls, floors, and roofs.