Engineered Header Stock
Several manufacturers of engineered
wood products introduced
new header materials:
MacMillan Bloedel has sized their
engineered beams to better fit residential
scales and budgets. The new
Parallam 269 measures 211/16 inches
thick, which is easily shimmed with
1x2 strapping to match a 2x4 wall.
Two pieces can be ganged to match
a 2x6 wall. The new size is meant to
compete with LVL beams (such as
Micro-lams), and residential-scale
glulams. The manufacturer claims
the parallel-strand lumber (PSL)
headers are more dimensionally stable
than LVLs which reportedly can
cup or twist. The design values of
269s are higher than 13/4-inch LVLs
of equal width. And unlike most glulams,
the 269 beams are available in
standard widths between 91/4 and 16
inches.