Glued laminated timber

Glued laminated timber (glulam) according to EN 14080 is manufactured from bonded lamellae with parallel fibre orientation. There are at least two lamellae with thicknesses from 6 to 45 mm. The timber is planed and classified into strength classes by visual or machine grading. The adhesive used to bond the lamellae has to fulfil the requirements for loadbearing structural timber components. The suitability of the wood species in glulam construction has to concur with EN 14080. Spruce, fin, pine and larch are most commonly used. One can distinguish between homogenous (all lamellae across a beam's cross-section belong to one strength class) and combined (outer and inner lamellae belong to different strength classes) glued laminated timber. For each of these two configurations EN 14080 defines seven different types of strength classes. EN 14080 also applies to glued laminated timber with universal finger-jointing and composite components consisting of glued laminated timber and glued solid timber. Glued laminated timber is particularly suited for components bearing high stresses or spanning large distances which have to satisfy stringent requirements with respect to dimensional stability and appearance. Straight as well as curved beams can be manufactured. The CE-certification of this product according to the harmonized standard EN 14080 has been compulsory since 08.08.2015.