Engineered wood is a revolutionary building material that is gaining popularity for its strength, durability, and sustainability. This type of wood is made by binding pieces of real wood, scrap wood, shredded wood fibres, and/or sawdust with adhesives to create products that look and act like wood but are designed to be stronger and more durable. The result is a whole class of building products and materials that are carefully tested for strength, durability, and resistance to moisture.
Types of Engineered Wood
1. Plywood: Plywood comprises layers of veneer that are glued together with heat and pressure to form panels. The veneers are “cross-laminated” by alternating the direction of the grain of each layer. The result is one of the most useful building products on the planet. Thin, wide, flat plywood panels add strength, stiffness, and stability to floor, wall, and roof framing. Plywood also makes superior shelves, cabinet boxes, and stair components.
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Particleboard. Photo Credit Vecteezy
2. Particleboard: Particleboard combines sawmill waste, such as chips and sawdust, with synthetic resins to form panels similar in size to plywood. Although particleboard, also known as chipboard, doesn’t have the strength of plywood, it’s useful for sheathing, cabinet construction, and applications where low cost is important.
3. Oriented strand board (OSB): OSB is similar to particleboard except the main ingredients are long wood strands. These longer fibres give OSB more strength than particleboard at a slightly higher price. OSB comes in the same size sheets as plywood. It’s structurally stable enough for subfloors, as well as for wall and roof sheathing.
4. Glulam timbers: Glulam timbers are pieces of regular construction lumber, such as 2x4s and 2x6s, glued together to form beams and posts. Because of all the laminated layers, glulam beams are stronger than dimensional lumber of the same size. They’re also more expensive. Glulams can be shaped into graceful curves. Exposed glulam trusses have been used to support the roofs of civic centres and stadiums, sometimes spanning hundreds of feet. Small, pre-cut glulams are ideal for headers over doors and windows.
5. Finger-jointed wood: Finger-jointed wood is sold at most home improvement centres. It’s made from short pieces of wood glued together to form longer pieces. When viewed from the side, the joint looks like interlocking fingers. Finger-jointed wood is used for interior trim, door jambs, and panelling. It’s generally cheaper than regular wood of the same size and it looks best when painted.
6. Engineered wood flooring: Engineered wood flooring has a surface of real wood veneer that’s backed by plywood or layers of pressed-and-glued wood fibres. It makes stable flooring that won’t warp or separate. Installing engineered wood flooring is a DIY-friendly project.
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Compressed Chipboard. Photo Credit Vecteezy
Solid Wood vs. Engineered Wood
Solid wood is a material comprised entirely of solid wood, all the way through. This wood comes directly from trees and does not include any other types of wood that are typically manufactured from wood composites, such as plywood. Engineered wood is considered 100 per cent real wood, but it has a different makeup than solid wood. Engineered wood is comprised of layers of material, with a genuine wood veneer as the top layer and other high-quality and high-density fiberwood as the lower layers. Unlike solid wood, engineered wood is largely manmade and its many layers are held together with adhesive.
What is Engineered Wood? What is Solid Wood? Construction and Appearance
The defining difference between solid wood and engineered wood is the construction of each. Solid wood is naturally formed; it has no layers and is made of a single, solid piece of wood. Generally, a piece of solid wood furniture will be crafted from several pieces of solid wood fastened together to create the piece. Engineered wood is also constructed in the manner its name suggests: although it is made of natural wood material, it is a manmade, engineered material. Its top layer is wood veneer, but its lower layers are made of plywood or similar wood material. In a high-quality engineered wood product, however, this does not mean engineered wood is a cheap, flimsy material, as good quality plywood can be quite sturdy.
In appearance, solid wood and engineered wood are quite similar. This is because the top, visible layer of engineered wood is made of genuine wood veneer. One benefit of engineered wood is that it allows you to create the appearance of an item made of a softer wood without the item being fully constructed of that material, giving the item more durability than it might have if it was made of soft, solid wood.
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Engineered wood samples. Photo Credit Vecteezy
Resistance to Moisture and Durability
The amount of moisture resistance varies between solid wood and engineered wood because they are constructed differently. Wood typically doesn’t go too well with moisture, as too much moisture or sudden, drastic changes in temperature can cause wood to expand or contract significantly. In general, engineered wood tends to be less affected by moisture than solid wood, but too much moisture with either type is a bad combination. Although both types of wood are fairly durable, solid wood furniture tends to be more durable and longer lasting than engineered wood.
Pros and Cons of Engineered Wood
Pros of Engineered Wood:
– Exceptionally strong and dimensionally stable
– Resists warping and splitting
– Re-use of scrap lumber, chips, and sawdust eliminates waste
– Can be made to specific sizes and design specifications
Cons of Engineered Wood:
– Can be expensive to make, especially custom sizes and shapes
– Exposed beams and posts don’t have the aesthetic appeal of natural wood (although there is a version of “architectural-grade” glulams that uses specially selected woods to maximize appearance)
In conclusion, what is engineered wood? It is an innovative and sustainable building material that offers a range of benefits over traditional solid wood. From its exceptional strength and dimensional stability to its resistance to moisture and durability, engineered wood products are becoming increasingly popular for a wide range of construction applications. It is a great use of all parts of the tree from bark to chips to sawdust and most importantly is sustainable and environmentally friendly.