I would have thought that LVL had the edge on traditional plywood. From what I have seen the utilisation of the raw material is higher with less wastage. It can also be used for more structural purposes than plywood. The only place plywood seems to win is in applications that need very large thin panels.
There are also several differences that need to be taken into account. Plywood is usually fabricated with just 3 layers perhaps 5 at max while LVL is usually at least 7 layers and frequently 9+. This gives is substantially different use characheristics.
For example, LVL's inner layers are frequently "B grade" wood which is structurally fine but ugly - this would be rejected for use in plywood panels. Vendors mention using different woods in the layers to allow the product to be "tuned" to its final use. Several mention that bamboo laminated panels are frequently included in LVL fabrication reducing the cost and reducing wastage withoout sacrificing anything.
Because of the thick boards that result, often 10cm thick LVL is used in structural solutions that traditional plywood could not address.
Using LVL with OSB to make wooden I beams has resulted in far less structural steel being used in some constructions. Again, traditional Plywood could not be used in the same way.
I have several out buildings nearing twenty years old that have suffered through summer heat and winter storms with just a layer of wither waterproofing, or stain (depending on the building and shewhomustbeobeyed saying she doesn't want another red building), all made of five ply plywood, and the plywood had held up terrifically. Along with those sheets under a tarp..
With that experience, I don't know why anyone would use OSB on any building, though they do and the have paperwork from the MFG declaring OSB is strong than plywood. I also know dome MFGs who recommend OSB, and I know one who will fire anyone of his employees for even mentioning OSB (he's the one with the Florida Hurricane rating certificate and have build some FEMA shelters in Alabama) which, along with personal experience is all I need to know about the OSB V Plywood argument.
Back over 60 years ago, my dad and a friend cut out boards (think flat Lincoln Logs) the longest must have been eight feet long, and he probably got the idea from a Popular Mechanix magazine. The boards had notches at the end and ranged between 8ft to 1ft with several different sizes in between.. They were durable enough enough for us kids to play with for some fifty-odd years until my father died and my sister decided it was easier to burn them then to keep them (she didn't ask me). I just wanted to pass this story along to show the versatility of plywood.
These stories remind me of the cabin a the Lake of the Ozarks reservoir in Osage Beach, Missouri that my mother and stepfather bought back in the late 1960s. In those days, the lake shore was dotted with groupings and a few individual cabins like this, many of them built by people in the trades for themselves. My stepfather was a working carpenter and soon started adding on rooms and making improvements to the cabin to accommodate more of the family on visits (as we all moved out and acquired partners and families) and to make it suitable for year round living for the two of them. The structure was a basic wood frame construction with peaked roof running the length of the main house with a gable at each end - a lot of plywood went into that. By the time they sold up and moved out, their improved house represented the 'poor' neighbors still living on the lakeshore. Re aircraft, I also love the beauty and capabilities of the Mosquito but I have to put down a marker for another wooden wonder - the Airspeed Horsa glider. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airspeed_Horsa
A cousin of mine is a carpenter in the Muskoka area and apparently there is a distinction in how rich the homeowners are. These are homes for the rich, so rich in fact, that when he was working on a place for a star Toronto Maple Leafs player that wasn't as opulent as some other 'cottages', the owner was derided as being only 'hockey-player rich' rather than 'really rich'.
I wouldn't mind trying out both statuses to see what they are like...
I love plywood too but OSB is now half the price and has taken over. Personally I'm not a fan of building with stiffened oatmeal, however.
I would have thought that LVL had the edge on traditional plywood. From what I have seen the utilisation of the raw material is higher with less wastage. It can also be used for more structural purposes than plywood. The only place plywood seems to win is in applications that need very large thin panels.
Would you agree Lloyd?
is LVL really not just very thick plywood?
Yes But! (You were expecting a but right?)
There are also several differences that need to be taken into account. Plywood is usually fabricated with just 3 layers perhaps 5 at max while LVL is usually at least 7 layers and frequently 9+. This gives is substantially different use characheristics.
For example, LVL's inner layers are frequently "B grade" wood which is structurally fine but ugly - this would be rejected for use in plywood panels. Vendors mention using different woods in the layers to allow the product to be "tuned" to its final use. Several mention that bamboo laminated panels are frequently included in LVL fabrication reducing the cost and reducing wastage withoout sacrificing anything.
Because of the thick boards that result, often 10cm thick LVL is used in structural solutions that traditional plywood could not address.
Using LVL with OSB to make wooden I beams has resulted in far less structural steel being used in some constructions. Again, traditional Plywood could not be used in the same way.
Perhaps LVL should be called SuperPlywood!
I have several out buildings nearing twenty years old that have suffered through summer heat and winter storms with just a layer of wither waterproofing, or stain (depending on the building and shewhomustbeobeyed saying she doesn't want another red building), all made of five ply plywood, and the plywood had held up terrifically. Along with those sheets under a tarp..
With that experience, I don't know why anyone would use OSB on any building, though they do and the have paperwork from the MFG declaring OSB is strong than plywood. I also know dome MFGs who recommend OSB, and I know one who will fire anyone of his employees for even mentioning OSB (he's the one with the Florida Hurricane rating certificate and have build some FEMA shelters in Alabama) which, along with personal experience is all I need to know about the OSB V Plywood argument.
Back over 60 years ago, my dad and a friend cut out boards (think flat Lincoln Logs) the longest must have been eight feet long, and he probably got the idea from a Popular Mechanix magazine. The boards had notches at the end and ranged between 8ft to 1ft with several different sizes in between.. They were durable enough enough for us kids to play with for some fifty-odd years until my father died and my sister decided it was easier to burn them then to keep them (she didn't ask me). I just wanted to pass this story along to show the versatility of plywood.
These stories remind me of the cabin a the Lake of the Ozarks reservoir in Osage Beach, Missouri that my mother and stepfather bought back in the late 1960s. In those days, the lake shore was dotted with groupings and a few individual cabins like this, many of them built by people in the trades for themselves. My stepfather was a working carpenter and soon started adding on rooms and making improvements to the cabin to accommodate more of the family on visits (as we all moved out and acquired partners and families) and to make it suitable for year round living for the two of them. The structure was a basic wood frame construction with peaked roof running the length of the main house with a gable at each end - a lot of plywood went into that. By the time they sold up and moved out, their improved house represented the 'poor' neighbors still living on the lakeshore. Re aircraft, I also love the beauty and capabilities of the Mosquito but I have to put down a marker for another wooden wonder - the Airspeed Horsa glider. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airspeed_Horsa
Is there, can there be an environmentally friendly glue for these wonder panels?
A cousin of mine is a carpenter in the Muskoka area and apparently there is a distinction in how rich the homeowners are. These are homes for the rich, so rich in fact, that when he was working on a place for a star Toronto Maple Leafs player that wasn't as opulent as some other 'cottages', the owner was derided as being only 'hockey-player rich' rather than 'really rich'.
I wouldn't mind trying out both statuses to see what they are like...