LVL Beam: Sizes, Cost, Span and Price & 10 Interesting Points

1. What is LVL Beam?

 ✔ LVL beams (Laminated Veneer Lumber) are beams generated by engineered wood products that are approvingly versatile and typically operated in construction due to their resilience.

✔ They are assembled by clicking thin wood camouflages, typically from softwoods like pine, spruce, or fir, with sealants subjecting them to lofty heat and pressure.

2. Technical Detail and Application of  LVL Beam:

3. Laminated Veneer Lumber Beam Sizes (LVL Sizes):

✔ Manufacturers deliver various sizes for LVL beams, although the authoritative thicknesses typically range between 7/4 and 7/2 inches.

✔ LVL beams are typically available in lengths of 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, and 44 feet, with the prospect of superior orders up to 60 feet.

✔ The depths of LVL beams vary from 5.5 inches to 24 inches and are estimated in increments such as 29/4 inches, 37/4 inches, 19/2 inches, 45/4 inches, 95/8 inches, 14 inches, 16 inches, 18 inches, 75/4 inches, 20 inches, and 191/8 inches.

a. LVL Beam Thickness

✔ LVL beam standard thicknesses are ranging from 7/4 inches to 7 inches.

✔ It comes in 1 plywood of thickness 7/4″, two plywood of 7/2″ thick, three plywood of 21/4″ wide, and four plywood of 7″ thick.

b. LVL Beam Length

✔ LVL beam lengths are typically available in 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, and 44 feet, with excellent rankings up to 60 Feet.

✔ The LVL Beams found in the market are 4-foot increments. It can be acclimated according to user choice. More than 60 Feet in size is severe to enrapture and handle.

c. LVL beam depth

✔ The depth of an LVL beam is 11/2 inches (140 mm), 29/4 inches (184 mm), 37/4 inches (235 mm), 19/2 inches (241 mm), 45/4 inches (286 mm), 95/8 inches (302 mm), 14 inches (356 mm), 16 inches (406 mm), 18 inches (457 mm), 175/4 inches (476 mm), 20 inches (508 mm) and 191/8 inches (606 mm).

4. What is the range of LVL Beams Cost?

✔ The cost of Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) beams usually plunges between $3 to $12 per linear foot for the materials alone.

✔ Opting for induction could inflate the cost to around $50 to $200 per foot, resulting in a total installation expenditure of roughly $800 to $2,500.

5. How Much Does it Cost to Install LVL Beams?

✔ An LVL Laminated veneer lumber or Engineered beam costs $3 to $12 per foot for just the materials.

✔ Install a Laminated veneer lumber beam for residential construction costs $50 to $200 per foot or around $800 and $2,500.

6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of LVL Beam?

Advantages:

✔ It is available at a low cost.

✔ It can be found in the proper dimension.

✔ It has high strength.

✔ It is durable and stronger than solid wood.

Disadvantages:

✔ Warping defects can be seen.

✔ It needs regular maintenance.

✔ It should be appropriately placed inside the warehouse.

✔ It is not available in desired shape and size.

7. Qualities of LVL:

✔ Laminated veneer lumber stands similar in appearance to plywood, although in plywood, the veneers swap direction while stacking, and in LVL, the surfaces all stack in the identical order.

✔ In LVL, the direction of the wood grain is invariably parallel to the length of the billet.

✔ Stacking these veneers into a complete board, called a billet, makes a single part of LVL convey a common direction of the wood grain.

✔ The manufacturer generally rates LVL for elastic modulus and allowable bending stress.

✔ Standard elastic moduli are 12 GPa (1,700,000 psi), 13 GPa (1,900,000 psi), 14 GPa (2,000,000 psi), and common permissible bending stress values are 19 MPa (2,800 psi), and 21 MPa (3,000 psi).

✔ Although the creation of LVL is usually proprietary, and thus its make-up is primarily dependent on particular manufacturers, in general, one cubic meter of North American Lumber is composed of 97.54% wood, 2.41% phenol formaldehyde resin, 0.02% phenol-resorcinol-formaldehyde resin, and 0.03% fillers

8. Manufacturing of LVL Beams:

✔ LVL is usually produced in North America by companies preparing I-joists. LVL is prepared to sizes consistent with the depth of I-joist framing members for benefit as beams and headers.

✔ Further, some factories cut LVL into needed dimensions for usage as chord members on I-joists.

✔ In 2012, North American LVL factories made more than 1.2 million cubic meters (43.4 million cubic feet) of LVL in 18 various facilities, and in 2013, the production grew by more than 14%.

✔ It is not concurrent that LVL mills are usually co-located with I-joist manufacturing facilities as many builders employ a variety of I-joists and LVL in floor and roof assemblies.

9. Interesting Point to be Noted: