Oriented Strand Lumber
Parallam
TimberStrand
Ellis
 Uses long strands of wood
 Wide variety of dimensions possible
 Parallam, 2.3mx1cm softwood veneers
- high-end structural uses
 TimberStrand, 30cmx2cm hardwood flakes
- window frames, door stock, wall studs
Parallam®
Elements:
Strips of wooden veneer
(1/8-1/10” thick, 1/2” wide, up to 8’ long)
Product
Width
Dimensions: Depth
Length
up to 12 inches
up to 21 inches
up to 66 feet
Applications: Beams, columns, headers
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Parallel Strand Lumber
Parallam® PSL – production overview
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Parallam®
• Veneer clipped into long
strips
• Strips coated with glue and
aligned parallel to each other
• Cured by microwave heating
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Parallam® PSL – short strand elimination
Parallam® PSL – strand orientation
wig-wag table
trough
Parallam® PSL – continuous, microwave press
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H
J
Reduction of natural variability
Solid wood
Variability is at its
greatest level.
Laminated Veneer
Lumber
Variability is reduced
in one plane.
Parallam®
Variability is reduced
in two planes.
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Oriented Strand Lumber - Parallam
Trus Joist
Parallam® PSL
TimberStrand™
Elements:
Strands of aspen, cottonwood
(1/20” thick, 1” wide, 12” long)
Product
Width
Dimensions: Depth
Length
1½ -3½ inches
9½-14 inches
up to 48 feet
Applications: Beams, wall studs, headers
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TimberStrand™
• Long strands of hardwoods
• Dimensions smaller than Parallam
• Not as strong as Parallam
• Cured by steam pressing
• Very dimensionally stable
TimberStrand™ LSL – manufacturing overview
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Steam-injection pressing
High pressure steam
Mat of strands
(unconsolidated)
Perforated platen
TimberStrand™ LSL - rimboard
TimberStrand™ LSL - header
TimberStrand™ LSL – stair stringers
TimberStrand™
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TimberStrand™ LSL – light framing
Wood Products Taxonomy
WOOD
Composites
Engineered
Lumber
Composites
Panels
Wood/Nonwood
Solid Wood
Wood Based
Softwood
Lumber
Glued
Pulp and Paper
Treated
Hardwood
Pulp
Paper
LVL
Boards
Finger joined
Mechanical
Edge glued
Chemical
Wood/Cement
Particleboard
OSL
Dimension
Wood/Plastic
MDF
Glulam
Timber
Engineered Wood
Products
Plywood
MSR
I-Beams
Secondary
Wood Products
OSB
Furniture
Trusses
Cabinets
CLT
Windows & Doors
Millwork & Factory-built
Housing
I - Beams
flange
web
Elements:
Flange- MSR lumber, LVL, Parallam
Web - OSB, Plywood
Product
Width
Dimensions: Depth
Length
1½ -3½ inches
9 ½-24 inches
up to 66 feet
Applications: Floor joists, roof joists
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Wood I-Beams
Wood I-Beams – manufacturing overview
I - Beams
Trus Joist
I- Beam constitution
FLANGE
WEB
MSR lumber
OSB
TimberStrand
LVL
LVL
OSB
Plywood
OSB
Wood I-Beams
Flange = MSR lumber
Web = Plywood
Flange = TimberStrand LSL
Web
= Oriented Strandboard
Wood I-Beams
Roof Trusses
Top chord
B ottom chord
Web
Truss plate
Web
B ottom chord
Top chord
Truss plate
 small dimension, short lengths of wood combined to
produce large-sized, long length support members
 held together with truss plates
 often custom-designed using MSR lumber
 pitch-chord or parallel-chord
Roof Trusses
Canadian Wood Council
Cross-Laminated Timber
More technical content
and images on CLT
• Laminations of selected dimensional lumber.
• Each adjacent layer is oriented with grain perpendicular.
• Analagous to plywood made from solid wood rather than
veneer.
Cross-Laminated Timber
Structurlam
Cross-Laminated Timber
Nine-storey residential building (wooden construction)
(Waugh Thistleton Architects)