LVL, how it is made, and its applications.

I. What is LVL?

Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) is an engineered wood product that uses multiple layers of thin wood assembled with adhesives. LVL offers several advantages over typical milled lumber: Made in a factory under controlled specifications, it is stronger, straighter, and more uniform. Due to its composite nature, it is much less likely than conventional lumber to warp, twist, bow, or shrink. LVL is a type of structural composite lumber, comparable to glued laminated timber (glulam) but with a higher allowable stress.

During the production process, veneer sheets are arranged along the wood grain, which is the opposite of conventional plywood. Such an arrangement gives LVL better load-bearing properties than conventional plywood.