Engineered Wood Products Issues - Research Paper Example

?Engineered Wood Introduction Engineered wood is also referred to as manufactured board, man-made wood, or composite wood. Engineered wood comprises a whole range of products derived from the wood. These products are manufactured by binding the fibers, wood veneers, particles, or strands with the help of adhesives to make different kinds of composite materials. The wood products are engineered to accurate specifications of design that are tested so as to meet either the local or the international standards or both. The products of engineered wood are manufactured and designed so as to enhance the natural stiffness and strength characteristics of normal wood. This increases the durability of the products. Composition of engineered wood The aspects of manufacturing of engineered wood that help differentiate between the products made from it and also cause differences in the performance characteristics of different products include the quality of veneer used in engineered wood, the species and density of the timber used in it, the arrangement and thickness of veneers, and the type of bond between veneers (Austral Plywoods, 2012). The softwoods and hardwoods that are used to make lumber are also useful for making the products of engineered wood. Engineered wood that is made of fibers or wood particles are also made from wood waste or sawmill scraps. The oriented strand board is made from trees that belong to the poplar family that is a non-structural yet common species. Similar engineered cellulosic products are made from a variety of lignin-containing materials that include but are not limited to rice straw, wheat straw, sugar cane residue, kenaf stalks, and hemp stalks. Products made from these materials contain vegetable fibers instead of actual wood. “The best engineered wood floors are built having 3-12 multiple ply layers…that are cross layered, glued and pressed together” (Hosking, 2012). The core layers inside the engineered wood are usually made up of either a soft or hard plywood material. The upper portion of the hardwood veneer is thicker and is pressed and glued over the top of the inner core. The flooring of engineered hardwood is present in nearly all species of wood. Types of engineered wood products Engineered wood products can be categorized into a variety of types that include plywood, glued laminated timber, oriented strand board, laminated veneer lumber, and cross laminated timber. They are discussed as follows: Plywood Plywood is a kind of structural panel made in wood that is often referred to as the original product of engineered wood. Plywood is made from the cross-laminated veneer sheets that are bonded with one another with moisture-resistant and durable adhesives under specific conditions of pressure and heat. The stiffness and strength of panel in both directions are enhanced by changing the direction of grain of the veneers layer by layer. Other panels of structural wood include structural composite panels and oriented strand board. Glued laminated timber Glued laminated timber is made up of numerous layers of dimensional timber that are bonded with one another with the help of adhesives that are resistant to moisture. These adhesives help create large structural members of great strength which can be used in buildings as horizontal beams or vertical columns. Glued laminated timber provides extensive design flexibility when it is manufactured in the curved shape. Oriented strand board Oriented strand board is a structural panel made from rectangular strands of engineered wood which are first oriented longitudinally and then organized in layers that are tied together with adhesives that are cured with heat and are resistant to moisture. Individual layers of the oriented strand board are cross-oriented that helps them develop stiffness along with strength in the panel. Oriented strand board is manufactured in the form of large continuous mats. The quality of oriented strand board is consistent throughout and there are no gaps, voids, or laps in it. Laminated veneer lumber Laminated veneer limber is manufactured from thin veneers of wood that are tied together to form a large billet. Laminated veneer lumber’s grains are aligned along the longitudinal direction. As a result of this, the dimensional stability and mechanical properties of the product are enhanced which leads to a broader range in the length, width, and depth of the product as compared to those of the conventional lumber. Laminated veneer lumber belongs to the family of the structural composite lumber products of engineered wood that are generally employed in the very structural applications as the conventional timber, rim boards, sawn lumber, columns, studs, and beams. Cross-laminated timber Cross-laminated timber is a panel made from lumber. The panels are versatile multi-layered wherein each layer is laid in a cross-wise fashion with regard to the adjacent layers which provides the panels with increased strength and rigidity. Cross-laminated timber can be used for the assemblies of walls, roofs, and floors as well as for long spans. Other types of engineered wood lumbers Other types of engineered wood lumbers include parallel strand lumber, laminated strand lumber, and finger-jointed lumber. The shape and design of wood and its strands differentiate one type from another. Uses of engineered wood These days, a lot of applications in different industries ranging from construction to industrial products use the engineered wood products. Products made from engineered wood can be used for beams and joists in place of steel in the building projects whereas veneers are made with whole logs like MDF, plywood, and particle board. Man-made wood is typically used to manufacture the flat pack furniture because of its low weight, low cost of manufacturing, and ease of transport. Certain kinds of engineered wood offer more structural strength as compared to the solid wood building materials. A potential example of this is the eight-storey Stadthaus in London made with the cross-laminated panels of timber. It is the tallest habitable apartment complex made of timber in the world (TRADA, 2009). The glued laminated timber offers more stiffness and strength to the structure as compared to the dimensional lumber and its strength is also greater than that of steel. These properties make the glued laminated lumber products quite environment friendly since they contain lesser embodied energy than steel. Comparison between engineered wood and solid wood The products of engineered woods are used in a variety of ways generally in the same ways as the products of solid wood are used. However, certain comparative advantages of the engineered wood provides it with an edge over solid wood which is why engineered wood often happens to be the first choice in applications. Since engineered wood is artificial, it can be designed in such a way that it completely fulfills the performance requirements of specific applications. The products of engineered wood are versatile and are manufactured in different sizes, grades, thicknesses, and classifications of exposure durability because of which these products are best for use in both industrial and short-scale construction. Certain products of engineered wood provide the constructors and architects with more options of design as compared to the solid wood without any compromise upon the requirements of the structure. The properties of engineered wood can understandably be customized to meet the individualistic architectural needs of the structures since it is man-made whereas to use solid wood for the same purposes is a much costlier alternative and yet the outcome is not comparable to the effects of engineered wood. Engineered wood panels are more convenient to work with as compared to the solid wood panels which in effect, reduces the cost since manufacturing and designing engineered wood products requires basic skills and use of ordinary tools. Solid wood’s strength is reduced if it is bent whereas plywood can be bent without having any loss in strength which makes it very suitable for use in curved surfaces. Layers of the engineered wood run in different directions with respect to one another which results in their increased stability and durability than what is offered by the solid wood (floors2go.co.uk, n.d.). Another very important benefit of engineered wood particularly when it is used in floors is that it is more resistant to higher levels of moisture as compared to the flooring made with the solid wood. Therefore, it is very suitable for the construction of the flooring of damp basements and in regions of high levels of humidity. Conclusion Engineered wood is one of the most elegant and widely used materials of construction. Although engineered wood is man-made, yet it offers the same beauty and natural warmth that are the characteristic features of real wood. Engineered wood products are manufactured in different surface textures to make them appeal to a vast range of aesthetic tastes ranging from rustic to extremely elegant. Some of the types of engineered wood include plywood, glued laminated timber, oriented strand board, laminated veneer lumber, and cross laminated timber. The engineered wood products can be easily finished with varnishes, paints, and stains. Engineered wood offers a variety of benefits that are not obtainable with the use of solid wood because of which the former is preferred as a construction material over the latter. References: Austral Plywoods. (2012). Characteristics. Retrieved from http://www.australply.com.au/index.php/technical/characteristics. floors2go.co.uk. (n.d.). What is engineered wood flooring? Retrieved from http://www.floors2go.co.uk/buyers-guides/what-is-engineered-wood-flooring. Hosking, J. (2012). All About Engineered Wood Floors. Retrieved from http://www.hoskinghardwood.com/Department/Hardwood-Floors/All-About-Engineered-Wood-Floors.aspx?dId=7&pageId=7. TRADA. (2009). Stadthaus, 24 Murray Grove, London. Retrieved from http://eoinc.weebly.com/uploads/3/0/5/1/3051016/murray_grove_case_study.pdf. Read More