A homebuilder uses a lot of material when putting up a new house and how it all comes together, is key to the finished product, and a homeowner’s satisfaction. But what if a homebuilder could go in knowing they had material that was made with precision; each piece calculated to work just where they are placed. That’s the advantage of engineered wood.

Simply put, engineered wood is made with calculation, so it is strong, stable and more exact to the same pieces of dimensional lumber. The manufacture of engineered wood includes calculations for what exactly each piece will be able to hold up in a home. The pieces of the lumber themselves are made from wood veneers, particles, glues and resins.

Because of their makeup, pieces of engineered lumber can be used to create large open spaces in the home, without using other posts. Engineered lumber can also make other large structural elements with virtually no chance of failure.

Two common engineered wood products are LVL beams and I-joists. Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) is a wood veneer of poplar, pine, or fir that are laminated together in a process that includes heat, pressure and a moisture-resistant resin.

While builders will find that engineered lumber costs more than dimensional lumber, there are some advantages to the environment. Engineered lumber uses fewer trees than its counterparts by using more of a whole tree. Also, manufacturers are now using a greener, formaldehyde-free binder called PMDI in a few products, after there was some concern about phenol formaldehyde off-gas.

Mike O’Day, manager of engineered lumber for Georgia-Pacific, one of the largest manufacturers of building products, says the strength is not the No. 1 difference between the two types of wood. Dimensional wood varies so much between one piece and another, that it’s hard to say.

“The real advantage,” O’Day said, “is not so much that engineered wood is stronger, although in many cases it is, but that it is more consistent and predictable.”