Engineered
Lumber
by John Russo
Over the past three decades, engineered
wood products have made solid,
although slow, progress in construction
applications.
The most common example is plywood.
The use of one-inch boards for
roof, floor, or wall sheathing would
seem archaic today. Plywood itself is
now being replaced in some cases by the
relatively new particleboards.
More sophisticated wood products
are being developed at a faster rate than
ever before. Each is developed for individual
reasons but, in general, the following
factors have played a role:
1. To improve the yield from logs.
Dimension-lumber production creates
large amounts of waste (as much as 50
percent), especially from small logs.
The composite and particle products
use this waste.
2. The need for specific engineered