#Load bearing lvl beam span tables how to#

The span of a beam is determined by its depth, breadth, and typical construction factors including building width, loads, number of stories, joist spacing, etc. Beams can be cut to length and notched or drilled on-site, and they can be double, triple, or quadruple for strength and flexibility purposes. The length is frequently determined by the manufacturer, with 80′ possible but 60′ or less being more usual owing to shipping constraints. Most construction supply stores stock 8′, 12′, and 16′ lengths and may obtain larger lengths as needed. Furthermore, depending on the manufacturer, bespoke orders of up to 60′ or 80′ are possible. The lengths typically run from 4′ to 48′, with increments of 4′ available. Laminated veneer timber is commonly available in widths or thicknesses of 1-3/4″, 3-1/2″, 5-1/4″, and 7″, as well as depths ranging from 5-1/2″ to 24″, including standard and nonstandard depths. The length of an LVL beam is governed by its width and depth. Typical LVL Beam LVL Beam and Span Support: Figures 4 and 5 depict a typical LVL manufacturing process diagram. Billets can be up to 6-feet broad and have a maximum transport length of 80 feet. Most mills, however, employ a continuous press line. A batch-type press with one or more apertures is more efficient for producing shorter length LVL. The press line might be batch-type or continuous-type. LVL presses are longer than plywood presses. After applying an external adhesive, often phenol formaldehyde, to the surface of each veneer sheet, they are joined and pressed at temperatures ranging from 250 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Even if faults are left on each veneer sheet, the random distribution of such defects during veneer assembly will result in more homogeneous finished products with strength.Īlso read: Glulam Beam – Advantages – Applications – Table (With Examples)Īttributes equivalent to high-grade timber. During the clipping process, defects on each veneer are removed. Because each lamina in LVL is parallel to the board axis, it has similar qualities to solid lumber because more veneers are assembled along the longitudinal direction. In the case of plywood, an odd number of veneers are built across each other, resulting in a product with improved mechanical capabilities as well as dimensional stability. In general, the manufacturing of LVL is identical to that of structural plywood however, the fundamental distinction between the two products is the grain orientation of each veneer. LVL Beam Manufacturing LVL Beam processing Difference Between LVL and plywood: Typically, it takes 10 to 13 minutes to get a 3 mm thick Douglas fir veneer’s moisture level down to 8 to 10%. The overall moisture content of the veneer is reduced to the desired level in the jet tube drier by blowing hot air over the surface of the veneer sheets, which causes moisture to be peeled off. Jet tube dryers are used to clip continuous veneer sheets to a specific width and dry them to the desired moisture level.

Due to lathe checks running perpendicular to the grain, the loose side of the veneer has several small fractures.ĭepending on its diameter, a bolt, which is a short log, may require 5 to 10 seconds to peel before its core is drained and the charger is prepared for the subsequent cycle. The loose side of the veneer is the side closest to the knife edge, while the tight side is the opposite.

Schematics of a typical rotary peeling veneer manufacturer using a fixed-nose bar and knife are shown in Figure 1. The veneer will continuously be peeled from the log with a consistent thickness and without any fractures due to the pressure bar exerts on the veneer’s surface. For effective peeling of softwood, the bevel angle of the chosen knife is, for instance, roughly 23 degrees.Īlso Read: What is a Beam Bridge? – Definition – Examples – Facts The lathe used for the rotary peeling of the logs involves geometry and knife location as key manufacturing elements that affect the veneer’s quality. For the manufacturing of LVL, a typical veneer thickness is 3.2 mm. Rotary peeling is a method used to create veneer sheets that range in thickness from 2.5 mm to 4.8 mm.

LVL beam Cost Calculator Production Procedure of LVL:.

#Load bearing lvl beam span tables how to#

Size Calculation – How to determine what size of LVL beam I need?.

We’ll also talk about the basic manufacturing steps, advantages, and disadvantages of LVL compared to other structurally engineered wood-based products. You’ll find the LVL calculator at the end of the post In our today’s blog post we’ll talk about LVL beam sizes, LVL beam span, LVL beam span calculator, LVL Beam price of different sizes like 30-ft, 24-ft, and 20-ft. It is a composite product made of many thin layers of veneer that align the length of the final timber. Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) is one of the most commonly engineered wood materials used in construction. Saad Iqbal | 🗓️Modified: Novem| ⏳Time to read:10 min