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A laminated log is a timber that is made entirely from smaller pieces of wood that are glued together. The resulting laminated timber is then machined using the same methods that are used in milling our solid timbers.
Why would anyone want to use a laminated timber?
- Complete drying
Unlike a solid timber, a laminated timber can be dried thoroughly, leaving the center of the log as dry as the outside of the log. Most problems that are ever associated with a log home have to do with ineffective drying. Unlike a full-log timber, the components of a laminated timber are usually not more than 3" thick. These smaller "slices" of wood are dried thoroughly before they are glued together.
A home built from laminated timbers will have virtually no settling issues, and the logs will be free of checks and twist. No shrinkage considerations are necessary around doors, windows, cabinetry or masonry.
- Reduction or elimination of most butt-joints
In most cases, a single laminated timber will replace several shorter timbers.
- Mixed timber species
Log cants can be provided using most softwood and hardwood species. Species can be mixed in the timber to provide a cedar exterior with a white pine interior for example.
Individual rooms in the same home can have species specific timbers. Example: Western Red Cedar (WRC) exterior for all logs, with a white pine interior for all rooms except the master bedroom interior which could be done in red oak and the closets in red cedar.
RippleCraft can provide you with laminated timbers that have the same species of wood on the exterior corners even if the timbers are a mixed species throughout the house. This keeps the exterior appearance consistent from any viewing angle.
- Money Savings
Even though laminating adds an additional manufacturing step to the production of a log home, depending upon the species of the final timber, it might even save you a little money. For instance, a customer that demands a WRC exterior for its added insect resistance would, before laminated timbers were available, have to build the whole home using solid WRC logs. With a laminated timber the only portion of the log that would have to be cedar would be the outside slice. Using less expensive components for the core and interior slices could be less expensive than a solid log of Western Red Cedar.
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