Glulam is Increasingly a Building Technology of Choice
It's Highly Desirable
It's a lifestyle choice reflecting a growing preference for light airy homes, with inbuilt design flexibility and fantastic environmental credentials.
It's Fast and Cost-effective
Fewer on-site labour days, and a lack of remedial work ensure a faster construction period overall. This results in a more cost effective solution across the whole project, as compared to using alternative building materials (for instance steel, concrete or solid timber lengths).
It's Easier to Get Skilled Workers, and Easy to Work With
There is a more readily available workforce for timber products, as compared to steel workers or concrete installers. The light weight of the product also means it can be easily worked with onsite, and builders can complete the work themselves without the need for further sub-contractors.
Durability, Stability, Flexibility, and Strength
These attributes make Glulam especially suitable for load-bearing functions, but also where architectural beauty and/or product aesthetics are a priority.
Other Major Advantages Include:
Fire Resistance; lack of corrosion; fungal resistance; shock resistance plus acoustic, thermal and electrical insulating qualities.
A Focus on Carbon Neutrality
Carbon neutrality is fuelling a lot of the movement towards Glulam.
There is somewhat of a sea change under way in the building industry. Zero carbon is now a big issue throughout the world. Therefore progressive draftsmen, architects, builders and developers are increasingly building timber framed homes and structures.
Glulam as a product (over other options such as steel, or concrete) is fast becoming an industry preference. The wood used for framing is “carbon neutral” or has a “carbon footprint” of zero (no more carbon is emitted in its production and whole life cycle than is absorbed from the atmosphere when it is growing).
Those wishing to know how much carbon would be saved by building a timber frame home would be surprised to know the answer: Four tonnes (4000 kg) on average! (For every m3 of wood used instead of other building materials, 0.8 tonne of carbon is saved from the atmosphere. For a 100m2 2-level timber frame house, this translates into a carbon saving of four tonnes).
So when you build with timber frame construction, you make a positive contribution to tackling climate change.
For amazing international stories of the increasing use of Glulam click here
