Building & Investment (Nov - Dec 2015) (Nov - Dec 2015) | Page 27

Special Feature
derivable from sustainable sources. Finally,
what sets glulam apart from common
structural materials, the icing on the top,
is its aesthetics - the warmth and beauty of
timber.
Glulam in Practice
Three parallel portal frames, a combination
of Resak and Keruing hardwood glulam (700
mm width × 150 mm thickness), make up
the Gallery, each consisting of eight glue
laminated sections connected by anchor
plates and bonded in rods. These structural
members (frames) are connected by gluein steel rods, bolted and welded to steel
brackets and steel plates, applied both onsite and at the factory. Woodsfield Glulam
Manufacturing Sdn Bhd, in the production
of hardwood glulam beams and columns,
used a Weineg press, an adhesive phase I
Dynea prefere 4001-2 and an adhesive Phase
2 Akzo Nobel Synteko 1734 with hardener
2734.
The glulam structure comprised a total
of thirty nine portals, each made up of four
700 mm width × 150 mm thickness glulam
elements. The inner side of the roof consists
of Keranji and Balau solid timber pre-coated
boards (3 m length × 57 mm width × 12
mm thickness), concealing the fire sprinkler
system. Originally designed with exterior
coated metal sheeting, the roof covering
was later changed to more aesthetic Belian
shingles, approximately 350,000 pieces, each
of 520 mm length × 100 mm width and 6
mm thickness.

The Glulam Advantage
For starters, glulam is a proven product,
i.e., a technology that Europe, USA, Korea,
Japan, Australia and New Zealand is wellacquainted with for over 50 years, e.g., the
Eden Project, UK and Milano Expo 2015.
Manufactured by gluing together individual
pieces of high-strength lumber of limited
dimensions under controlled conditions,
allowing for production of large structural
members of varying shapes and sizes.
In short, versatility, combined with high
strength and stiffness, enables the maximum
in flexibility and freedom in architectural
design without sacrificing structural
requirements insofar as glulam beams and
arches can span large distances without
intermediate columns.

In any case, where the requirement is for
structural materials of high performances
in strength, fire resistance, and durability,
glulam is the indispensable engineered
wood for buildings with its inherent tensile
strength (2 × that of steel in strength-toweight ratio), greater compressive resistance
than concrete and energy efficiency
(consumes six times less embodied energy
to produce than steel). Insulation is yet
another characteristic of glulam which helps
to eliminate the thermal bridge between
structure and sub-structure.
Further, in the production process,
glulam is, again, proven to be one of the
most environmentally-friendly, compared to
metal and cement, in the re-use or recycling
of timber off-cuts, i.e., raw materials

Conclusion
All told, glulam has everything going for it
– a strong and durable structural product,
easy to manufacture for use as columns,
beams, rafters, lintels, trusses and more. On
a final note, the use of innovative engineered
timber products in building construction,
as championed by MTIB, is consistent
with the 7 pillars/thrusts of the National
Timber Industry Policy (NATIP), namely,
industry structure, supply of raw materials,
innovation and technology, marketing and
promotion, human capital development,
funding and incentives and Bumiputera
participation. It focuses on the industry’s
long-term development, to maintain and
enhance its competitive edge globally and
to generate an annual export of timber and
timber products of RM53 billion by 2020. Q
More information at www.mtib.gov.my
Building & Investment | www.b-i.biz 23