Engineered lumber: An alternative to old-growth resources
- Trus Joist MacMillan, Boise, ID (United States)
People and the environment both have a stake in the future of our forest. Any solution that doesn't consider the two will not resolve the current conflicts such as those occurring in the Pacific Northwest. One answer to the threatened shortage of dimension lumber, and the possibility of reduced harvests in many areas throughout the nation, comes from new-generation technology that can turn logs from young, fast-growing trees into high-quality framing lumber -- the kind that is traditionally obtained from the embattled old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest. Used primarily in residential construction, [open quotes]engineered lumber[close quotes] is made from strands of wood or veneer generally cut from small-diameter, plentiful trees. High-tech processes bond these wood fibers together with adhesives under heat and pressure to produce structurally engineered lumber. Engineered lumber also has applications in commercial and industrial construction, both as a structural material and as a decorative product. For instance, engineered lumber products were used to create a curved roof truss system on a factory in Austria, while exposed engineered beams adorn the lobbies of office buildings worldwide. Unlike alternative material such as plastic and steel, engineered lumber products are made from a renewable resource and their manufacture consumes far less energy.
- OSTI ID:
- 5614596
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Forestry; (United States), Vol. 91:11; ISSN 0022-1201
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Low VOC drying of lumber and wood panel products. Progress report No. 4, annual summary
Nation's ailing timber industry finds it has a friend in Washington
Related Subjects
POLICY AND ECONOMY
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
BUILDING MATERIALS
MANUFACTURING
COMPOSITE MATERIALS
WOOD
ADDITIVES
BEAMS
CONSTRUCTION
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
ENERGY CONSERVATION
FORESTS
RENEWABLE RESOURCES
TREES
WOOD PRODUCTS INDUSTRY
INDUSTRY
MATERIALS
PLANTS
RESOURCES
291000* - Energy Planning & Policy- Conservation
320302 - Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization- Industrial & Agricultural Processes- Materials