MASSLAM Post & Beam

‘MASSLAM’ POST & BEAM are a range of massive timber members that use Glue Laminated Hardwood (GLH) or Glue laminated Timber (GLT) – also known as glulam. These are used for Post and Beam type construction.

Glue laminated hardwood beams offer an affordable, quality tested, fast and attractive solution to the massive timber construction market for use in mid-rise commercial construction.

Using Australian made and superior strength hardwood, our glue laminated timber offers great benefits when compared to all other mass timber options worldwide.

The volume, automation and vertical integration of ASH’s ‘MASSLAM’ POST & BEAM mean that these glulam posts and laminated timber beams will be available at an unrivalled cost and delivery time, with strong aesthetic appeal.

WHY CHOOSE GLULAM?

Sustainable timber is the building material of the 21st century. Glue laminated timber is the preferred choice for mass timber construction for the following reasons:

• It has low embodied energy in production
• It stores carbon within wood fibre
• It is renewable, sustainable
• It has one of the best performing Life Cycle Assessments (LCA’s) of all building materials; and
• It has a fantastic Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) which subsequently helps to achieve Green Star points

The construction sector is said to be responsible for 18.1% of Australias carbon emissions. When this type of wood is used to replace building materials of high embodied energy, such as concrete and steel, it can help beat Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions targets.

This choice of timber is also lighter in weight, which translates to cost, solution and time benefits. Every cubic metre of our glulam wood is better than carbon neutral with approximately 320 kg of stored carbon as opposed to a negative embodied energy output in alternate products.

Timber can be cut, drilled, docked or worked easily on site and can be installed by regular trades. What’s more, timber is aesthetically appealing and creates a more inviting and relaxing workplace. A structure with expressed timber elements is both a point of difference and a competitive advantage.

STRENGTH AND WEIGHT

The ‘MASSLAM’ POST & BEAM range of glulam members have some of the strongest strength characteristics of all ‘mass-timber’ options worldwide. They are made using the sustainably harvested, Australian hardwood – Victorian ash.

Having one of the best strength to weight ratios of all known hardwoods, these glue laminated timber members exceed strength characteristics of GL45 (as according to EN14080:2013 – Timber structures. Glued laminated timber and glued solid timber). Or GL18s (as according to AS1720.1:2010 Timber Structures).

The strength to weight ratio of timber exceeds concrete and steel. When comparing beams of a similar strength, a glulam member is four-fifths the weight of steel and one-sixth the weight of concrete.

The strength rating of each timber species is determined by its known strength properties, fibrous makeup and by limiting the number of inherent strength weakening characteristics such as gum vein and/or gum pockets. The glue laminating process of ‘MASSLAM’ counterbalances these characteristics and strengthens its performance, thus reducing the ‘bell curve’ in destructive tests.

COST COMPARISON

The material cost is only one part of the value proposition. Installation time, labour, crane hire, scaffolding, etc. are all part of the equation. The following link is a detailed cost comparison for a 7 story building – comparing concrete to glue laminated timber construction. In this detailed comparison, timber construction saves 13.6%. Wood Solutions – Rethink Office Construction Report