TRADA revises technical guidance on glulam
(27/01/2012)

TRADA Technology has extensively revised its Wood Information Sheet (WIS) Glued laminated timber. Glulam is a high-performance product for structural engineering applications, produced in factories with robust production control systems. It often catches the eye of designers for use in specialist buildings, but it can be used for most load-bearing structures, especially where appearance is important and where long spans or curved members are crucial.

Glulam is generally stronger than the timber from which it is made because defects such as knots, splits and sloping grain, are randomly distributed throughout the component – and manufacturers can produce virtually any size, section and profile, subject to transportation limitations.

Although written in terms of design using Eurocode 5 (EC5) the WIS includes a summary of variations when using BS 5268-2 Structural use of timber. Code of practice for permissible stress design, materials and workmanship . Note that a number of amendments were made to Section 3 (Glued laminated timber) of
BS 5268-2 in its 2007 amendment, in order to bring the standard closer to European practice. However, engineers are likely to find Eurocode 5 a more useful tool for designing glulam structures.

TRADA members may download Glued laminated timber in PDF format free of charge. The cost is £12.00 for non-members.