Engineered Timber methods
The 200 or more years old wood frame construction has evolved very little till some years ago. Advanced timber frame construction (or OVE: Optimum Value Engineering) is a major innovation. The use of engineered timber in framing is another one. Both can reduce the use of timber to up 55%.
Engineered Timber
Traditional timber frame construction methods are based on large pieces of solid wood (see: Wood frame construction).
Engineered timber, on the other hand, refers to a large set of new wood products made with small pieces of wood bonded together with glue, heat and pressure.
That fact gives higher stability (they do not warp), consistency and also durability and strength to engineered timber over solid wood.
Engineered Timber products
Engineered timber involves a large category of products. Plywood is one of them, and undoubtedly one of the best known.
But there are others:
- OSB (Oriented Strand Board): made with fragments of wood; a little less stronger than plywood.
- I-joists: similar to steel I-beams, made of plywood and OSB; a much stronger product than solid wood, used for framing the roof and the floor.
- Glue-Laminated Lumber (solid beams made with glue and pieces of wood);
- OSL: Oriented Strand Lumber (made from slakes of wood and glue);
- LVL: Laminated Veneer Lumber (very similar to plywood; made from layers of wood).
All these materials can be used with advantage as wood frame construction products, instead of solid wood.
Prices of engineered timber products
The several engineered timber products involve a wide range of prices.
Some are similar or even lower, but others, like LVL, are more expensive. But even if they are more expensive, engineered lumber products almost always deserve the little difference of price due to their consistency, greater strength and durability.
Advanced wood frame engineering principles
Advanced wood framing is another alternative to traditional wood frame construction - an alternative based on well established engineering principles, with the goal of saving timber, while replacing it with insulation materials - in order to block thermal bridging and to get more comfort and energy savings.
By using less timber in walls and ceilings, advanced timber framing helps the environment and can lower wall construction costs.
Requirements of advanced wood frame
Advanced wood-framing demands more planning and technological know-how. Unfamiliarity with this technique will. obviously, slow down the framing tasks.
People familiar with wood framing have the skills to use advanced framing - though not the practice. In that case, instead of lower labor costs, advanced Wood Frame Construction may yield higher costs.
Cross-section framing
To compare advanced framing with traditional wood-framing, take a look at the figure below, from EERE.
Basically, the differences between standard timber frame construction and their advanced engineered formulation are in 1) the corner studs and 2) T-wall intersections. Advanced corners and advanced ladder T-wall intersections are at the base of wood savings.
These savings hasn't any negative impact in effectiveness or on the structural strength of the walls. Opposed statements are unscientific and baseless. Since the new voids can be filled with an insulation material, that will also contribute to more comfort and energy-efficiency (often estimated at 5-10%).
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