With the escalating cost of natural wood products and the increasing scarcity of good quality lumber, manufacturers have found it necessary to develop alternative products for dimensional lumber (your good old 2x). Products with unusual names, such as Micro-lam, Glu-lam, Parallem or Trus-Joists, can now be found in newer homes.  Most of these products are made using one or two common manufacturing processes -–wood fibers, chips and sawdust are compressed under high heat and pressure and/or layers of wood or the new wood products are sandwiched together using special adhesives.

Considerations
Besides an overall cost savings in materials, in many cases these new products can help speed the construction process as well. In addition, they also give greater flexibility with floor plans as they are able to span longer distances eliminating space-taking piers, bearing walls or other supports. Each engineered product, however, has its own specific installation needs and limitations and must be rigidly complied with to ensure the long term structural integrity of the house. The HouseMaster Technical Staff advises an inspection by the manufacturer or a qualified inspector if any evidence of construction irregularities or defects exist.

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