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Foreword
The use of wood is rapidly increasing in construction. Wood based systems are
the solution for urban construction due to speed, light weight and environmental
benefits. Wooden products enable increased prefabrication. This again means
increased output, faster payback, high quality, and minimized disturbance. The
use of laminated veneer lumber (LVL) has steadily been growing since the 1970’s.
The initial driver for the development of LVL has been the good efficiency of the
used wood material. Low waste of material and uniform quality improves the
overall material and time efficiency especially in industrial applications and off-
site production of construction elements.
This European LVL Handbook serves as a guide for architects, structural
engineers, technical wholesalers, off-site element manufacturers, contractors,
carpenters and other construction professionals, and as an educational resource.
The handbook has been prepared by the Federation of the Finnish Woodworking
Industries during 2018-19.
The book has been divided into two main parts. Sections 1 to 3 provide
general introduction to LVL. Section 1 introduces laminated veneer lumber
(LVL) as a construction material, including its production, sustainability and
basic properties; Section 2 describes the applications of LVL in various buildings
and structures; and Section 3 provides instructions for purchasing, transport,
storage, handling, protection and disposal of LVL. Sections 4 to 9 are intended
primarily for designers and provide more detailed information about structural
design, fire safety, durability and building physics, including structural calculation
examples.
The handbook was written by Jouni Hakkarainen, Leading Expert, Wooden
Structures, Eurofins Expert Services Oy, excluding Section 1.5 Sustainable
building product LVL (Lauri Linkosalmi, Stora Enso Wood Products Oy, Anu
Huovinen, Metsä Wood, Sirje Vares, VTT, Tarja Häkkinen, VTT and Jouni
Hakkarainen) and Section 1.6 Production of LVL (Marika Veikkola, Raute Oyj).
The structural drawings were prepared by Tero Lahtela, Engineering Office
Lahtela Oy and Jouni Hakkarainen.
The project was financed by Metsä Wood (Metsäliitto Cooperative), Stora
Enso Wood Products Oy and Raute Oyj.
Espoo, 4 September 2019
Authors
European LVL Handbook
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