Laminated Strand Lumber

LSL beams and columns are made by shredding wood from fast-growing, low-value hardwood logs, such as aspen, birch and poplar into thin strands. These are oriented for maximum strength and glued together into 8 foot by 64 foot “billets" using a steam-injection process which was patented by MacMillan Bloedel.

Due to the material uniformity created by random orientation of the timber strands, LSL offers good connection strength and ductility - it is not prone to splitting failures at connections like sawn timber or Glulam. LSL is manufactured from shorter strands than PSL - about 1 foot long compared to the 2-8 foot long strands used in PSL.

LSL is also starting to be used in panel format for walls and floors - see LSL Panels.