There are two renovation projects going on in the neighborhood. One had a pile of lumber delivered the other day and noticing the texture on the top piece I had to stop and look.
This "plank" is about 12" wide, 6' long, and 4" thick.
Here you see the top and the end. Weird, huh? The bottom part of the image is clear plastic.
And this is an end view. Rather beautiful I think. I thought about having it printed on fabric.
I wonder how this compares to "old fashioned" planks considering the astronomical increase in the price of building materials in the past year. I may have waited too long to have my deck rebuild. Maybe now I can't afford it!
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4 comments:
Good Morning Del, I believe this is called 'engineered wood'! Forests are just about stripped of old growth wood, so tree farms have been developed to supply lumber for our homes and needed structures. These trees are fast growing and the quality of wood is not wonderful, but when cut down and taken to mills, it is turned to lumber confetti! It is then reassembled (engineered) into boards that are made up of this wood confetti and glues. The engineered boards can be laminated together and the results are very strong beams and lumber for general use. The industry can make use of tree wood that is not fit for fine building, furniture and the like. I believe the industry's use of this method has been quite a reasonable use of the fast growing forests that are planted to replace the old growth and fine wood forests that have disappeared and continue to disappear at an alarming rate! Check your lumber store. You will be surprised at the assortment of replacement wood products that are available....I think you'll even be able to replace your deck! Del, this is my interpretation of the lumber industry today...perhaps not a perfect explanation, but one that is reasonably close, I think! Take care and stay well. Pats to KoKo!
That is interesting. I wonder if it is a composite - wood chips glued together.
I thought I knew a thing or two about engineered lumber, but found there are many more things to know!
I went on a search, and I'm pretty sure this is either LSL (laminated strand lumber) or OSL (oriented strand lumber). Fine Home Building (my free access is about to expire! LOL*) says: LSL and OSL are similar. Laminated-strand lumber (LSL) and oriented-strand lumber (OSL) aren’t as strong as PSL or LVL, so they’re most commonly used as rim board, studs, and short headers.
The main difference between these two materials has to do with the way they are manufactured. LSL is made with strips of wood, up to 13 in. long. OSL is manufactured with wood strands that are only as long as 6 in.
So it looks like the difference is in the length of the pieces laminated in.
I agree that the end grain is very intriguing. If I did (used/manipulated) computer images, I think I would photograph that. There certainly are fabric printing services. I think that could be very useful!
*I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've ever been on this site
Stay well!
I love wood and the beautiful patterns in it, from bark down to slices. This is fascinating information, so thanks for your post and the interesting comments from others! A real education.
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