Construction and Materials
F.P. Supply offers a range of engineered wood products designed for structural applications. These products leverage advanced manufacturing processes to create high-performance building components.
The core of these engineered wood products involves combining wood strands, veneers, or lumber into a composite material. This process allows for the creation of structural members that can offer superior strength, stability, and consistency compared to traditional solid lumber. The specific construction method and materials vary depending on the type of engineered wood product.
I-Joists
F.P. Supply's I-joists are engineered structural members designed for floor and roof framing. They are constructed with two primary components:
- Flanges: Typically made from solid sawn lumber or laminated veneer lumber (LVL). These are the top and bottom horizontal members of the I-joist.
- Web: Composed of oriented strand board (OSB) or plywood. This vertical member connects the flanges and resists shear forces.
The "I" shape is crucial for efficient load distribution, providing excellent strength-to-weight ratios.
Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL)
LVL is a versatile engineered wood product manufactured by bonding thin wood veneers together with an adhesive under heat and pressure. The veneers are all oriented in the same direction, parallel to the long axis of the product.
- Construction: Multiple layers of wood veneer are laminated together.
- Materials: Primarily Douglas Fir and Southern Yellow Pine species are used for their strength characteristics.
LVL is known for its high structural integrity and is often used for beams, headers, and as flange material for I-joists.
Parallel Strand Lumber (PSL)
PSL is an engineered structural lumber product made from long, continuous strands of wood veneer that are engineered and laminated together under pressure.
- Construction: Wood strands are sorted, aligned parallel to the long axis of the product, and bonded with a high-performance adhesive.
- Materials: Commonly manufactured from Douglas Fir and Aspen.
PSL offers exceptional strength, stability, and a visually appealing appearance, making it suitable for posts, beams, and headers.
Laminated Strand Lumber (LSL)
LSL is an engineered wood product made from wood strands that are much shorter than those used in PSL. The strands are oriented in multiple directions during the manufacturing process.
- Construction: Wood strands are manufactured and then oriented in multiple directions and bonded together with a resin under heat and pressure.
- Materials: Typically produced from Aspen, Poplar, or Maple species.
LSL is known for its strength, consistency, and resistance to warping and twisting, making it suitable for studs, rim boards, and other structural framing components.
