Environmental protection has become a household concern in the last few years, considering the drastic climatic changes the world is encountering.  A large contributor to the drastic climate change is forestry, especially the growing and harvesting of timber.

As one of the most common building materials used worldwide, timber is a sturdy, strong and durable wood that’s harvested in large volumes. With green contraction becoming a priority amongst builders and architects, sustainable timber is growing in popularity all around the world.

What Is Sustainable Timber?

Sustainable timber is wood that is responsibly harvested from regulated forests where no damage to the surrounding environment, habitats, flora and fauna happens. After harvesting the volume of timber required, foresters replenish the supply re-growing those trees and utilizing the same land to do so instead of finding other lands to increase supply.

On the other hand, another way sustainability was introduced to timber harvesting is through the manufacturing of glue laminated timber. The specific process made waves for its low emission and brilliant manner of minimizing waste.

In general, timber has a lower carbon footprint, and with sustainable timber, the impact on the environment is even lesser thanks to the minimal processing of the wood and its finishing. In fact, the glue laminated timber has begun making waves for being one of the most eco-friendly materials out there.

Glulam Timber – Revolutionizing Timber Production

Glue laminated timber is a brilliant way to produce timber. Combining scrap and smaller pieces of timber to form a much larger and usable piece, the process of producing glulam timber manufactures timber elements which cannot be done using solid timber.

The popularity of glulam timber became quite large and the material is used to make large support beams for commercial buildings and sports complexes. In some cases, glulam is used as a sustainable alternative to steel and concrete, too!

The Benefits of Using Glulam Timber

According to various professionals, using glulam for building is a much better alternative than the traditional building materials. With the environmental changes demanding attention towards waste, energy and sustainability, glulam is proving to be a brilliant choice.

It’s produced in a Sustainable Manner

The process involved in producing glue laminated timber takes lesser energy than steel or concrete take to be manufactured. The amount of energy used can also hike up the price of building materials, making glulam one of the best materials to use.

In fact, to create larger structures like beams and roofs, many builders are now choosing glulam over other building materials because it’s a more sustainably produced and lasting material to create large structures with.

It’s Really Durable

Glulam timber is extremely durable. The chemical treatments consisting of adhesives and preservatives are created to give glulam its durability, making it a great building material for problematic areas like swimming pools and sports centres where it’s damp and humid.

In other words, glulam is a pretty versatile material which can survive in the environment it’s placed in. It can sustain the pressures of indoor functions as well as exterior impacts from the environment and still retain its strength despite wear and tear.

It’s Fire Resistant

Fires have wreaked havoc in buildings and cost property owners thousands of dollars to reconstruct after concrete, clay and steel have succumbed to the hot temperature. Unlike other construction materials, glue laminated timber has great fire resistance.

It doesn’t char as fast and doesn’t lose its form in a fire. On top of that, various finishes are available to coat the glulam to make it more fireproof.

It’s Very Versatile and Adaptable

Glulam is extremely versatile. The manufacturing process can be modified to create pieces of wood in various sizes and shapes. It is far one of the easiest construction materials to work with.

This also makes replacing and repairing glulam structures an easier and cheaper job because of how easily new replacements can be made. This adds to the sustainability of this construction material, and makes glulam an extremely ecofriendly material to use.

It’s Extremely Strong

As mentioned before, glulam is used instead of concrete and steel – some of the strongest building materials that give a structure its shape and distribute weight. Turns out, glulam can do just the same and on top of that, has better build ability.

This makes glulam one of the most ecofriendly materials to use. The process to make it saves on waste and energy which is required in large amounts to create steel and concrete. It also makes glulam the best option to use because it’s easy to work with as compared to the other two.

It Has Great Aesthetic Appeal

Unlike concrete or steel, the said wood has great aesthetic appeal because of its natural look. This means buildings need less work, like wallpapering, adornment and even paint, making it a cheaper and aesthetically-valuable material to use.

Unlike other woods, glulam looks great and doesn’t lose its lustre when exposed to environmental forces like air, wind, and rain and so on. Hence, it is a long-lasting and low maintenance building material to use.

It’s Eco Friendly

Another brilliant reason why this sustainable timber is making waves is that its natural composition and manufacturing process exclude the use of formaldehyde, making it a safe product for the environment and general living.

Concrete or steel, on the other hand, contain compounds which need to be deactivated in order to be converted to usable and safe materials, which means that glulam, on the other hand, is quicker to produce, use and safe to work with.

Sustainability is an extremely important topic. The carbon footprint on this earth is creating a crisis that     needs immediate attention and makes sustainability a top priority.

Thanks to the creators of sustainable timber, homeowners and property owners now have the opportunity to build responsibly and use eco-friendly materials – like glulam!

About Author:-

Simon is an entrepreneur and self-proclaimed jack of all trades. Simon has experience in the building and home renovation industry and he knows what it takes to knock out a successful project whether it be commercial or residential. Currently, he works as a marketing consultant with ASH – a leading supplier of different types of hardwood in Australia. Another niche for Simon is travel and outdoors leisure, including sporting equipment and bikes. A big kid at heart if it goes fast, bounces, slides or you can climb it Simon has put it to the test.