Laminated veneer lumber (LVL)
Wonder of wood – pushing beyond wood’s perceived boundaries
Photo: Aalto-yliopisto & Stora Enso / Vesa Loikas
What is LVL?
Why LVL by Stora Enso?
All our LVL products are certified and sourced from sustainably managed forests. When LVL by Stora Enso is customized and delivered just-in-time, it is part of our Sylva™ kit:
*Sylva™ by Stora Enso is currently only available in Europe and Australia.
Technical product description
LVL by Stora Enso is made from 3 mm thick veneers bonded together with high-strength adhesive. The logs used to manufacture LVL are peeled and dried so any natural defects in the wood are spread throughout the veneer. Together with the lamination effect, this results in straight and uniform material with high strength and stiffness.
LVL beams and columns are available in max size of panels 75x2400x24000 mm that are format cut and CNC-processed to the desired dimensions. For thickness greater than 75 mm, Stora Enso offers LVL G beams and columns that are made by regluing the LVL panels together flatwise.
Benefits of designing and building with LVL
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Light but strong —twice as strong as steel proportionate to weight and five-times lighter than concrete
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Homogenous and dimensionally stable, with no warps, splinters, or splits
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Sylva LVL beams and columns are prefabricated and delivered just in time (JIT) to reduce construction waste and increase build efficiency
Applications
How Sylva LVL Beams and Columns are best used in a building
For primary and secondary beam and column applications, LVL S and LVL GS are recommended. Where openings are required in beams or where more lateral stiffness is required to prevent buckling, LVL X and LVL GX are recommended.
LVL S, LVL X and LVL G applications
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Product range and features
LVL S
Standard panel variants
Length: max 24,000 mm
Thickness: max 75 mm
Width: max 2,400 mm
| LVL S product range for beam applications | |||||||||||
| thickness [mm] | Width/Height up to 2,400 mm | standard length [mm] | |||||||||
| 200 | 220 | 260 | 300 | 360 | 400 | 600 | |||||
42 |
|
13,500 |
|||||||||
45 |
|||||||||||
51 |
|||||||||||
63 |
|||||||||||
75 |
|||||||||||
LVL X
| LVL X product range | |||||||||
| thickness [mm] | Width/Height up to 2,400 mm | standard length [mm] | |||||||
| 400 | 600 | 1,200 | 2,400 | ||||||
30 |
|
13,500 |
|||||||
39 |
|||||||||
45 |
|||||||||
51 |
|||||||||
63 |
|||||||||
75 |
|||||||||
LVL GS and LVL GX
| LVL G S/X product range for beam and column applications | |||||||||
| thickness [mm] | Width/Height up to 2,400 mm | standard length [mm] | |||||||
| 290 | 330 | 390 | 450 | 590 | 790 | 1,180 | |||
84 |
 |
up to 19,900 |
|||||||
96 |
|||||||||
108 |
|||||||||
126 |
|||||||||
144 |
|||||||||
168 |
|||||||||
192 |
|||||||||
240 |
|||||||||
288 |
|||||||||
336 |
|||||||||
| Width/height are recommended dimensions to optimise the use of the raw material. LVL G product surface is calibration sanded. * Larger dimensions can be made available upon request. Please contact your local sales representative for more information. |
|||||||||
Surface qualities
The flat side visual appearance of LVL by Stora Enso is presented in the pictures below.
Surface qualities images
Characteristics of LVL's visual appearance
Reference projects
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Technical product data
Key data
| Service class | Service class 1 and 2 according to EN 19951–1 |
| Product certification | LVL is CE marked according to EN 14374 LVL G has ETA-approval ETA 20/0291 |
| Strength class | LVL according to EN14374 and LVL G according to ETA 20/0291 |
| Moisture content | 10 % +/- 2% |
| Wood species | Spruce |
| Mean density | 510 kg/m³ (characteristic density 480 kg/m³) |
| Reaction to fire class | Euroclass D–s2, d0 |
| Resistance to fire, charring rate | According to Eurocode 5 βn =0.70 mm/min (notional charring according to EN 1995–1–2) |
| Thermal conductivity | 0.13 W/(mK) |
| Water vapour resistance | Wet cup 70 Dry cup 200 |
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Adhesives and emissions
We bond one side of the top-facing veneer scarf joints with clear melamine-formaldehyde resin. LVL meets the formaldehyde emission Class E1 for standard EN 717–1.
LVL G by Stora Enso consists of multiple calibrated LVL S or X panels glued to produce one component with PU adhesive (EN 15425 I 90 GP 0.3 w for EN 15425). LVL G meets the formaldehyde emission class E1 according to standard EN 717–1. This all results in very low VOC (volatile organic compounds) levels where LVL meets even the strictest indoor climate requirements.
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Fire performance
The surviving structure in the uncharred inner core remains relatively unaffected, maintaining its structural strength and stability. Typically, a wood structure can remain stable for two hours when exposed to a fully developed fire.
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Tolerances
LVL S/X and LVL G grades are manufactured in a modern, factory controlled environment and cut to size with highly accurate CNC processing. Exceptional size accuracy minimises the need for remedial work when the prefabricated elements are delivered on site, which speeds up the building process and reduces construction costs.
| LVL S/X tolerances | ||||
| Length | +/- 2.0 mm | |||
| Thickness | Unsanded | Sanded* | Calibrated** | |
| 27 mm | +/- 1.0 mm | +/- 1.0 mm | +/- 0.5 mm | |
| 27-57 mm | +/- 2.0 mm | +/- 2.0 mm | +/- 0.5 mm | |
| 57-75 mm | +/- 3.0 mm | +/- 3.0 mm | +/- 0.5 mm | |
| Width | +/- 2.0 mm | |||
* LVL panels can be sanded on one or two sides. Sanding reduces panel thickness by approx. 1 mm per sanded side.
** Calibration increases the panel's thickness tolerances. An LVL panel is calibrated on two sides, which reduces the thickness by 3 mm in total (1.5 mm per side).
Tolerances for standard cutting in LVL production: Element length +/- 5 mm , Width for < 400 mm element +/- 2mm and for > 400 mm +/- 0,5 %”
| LVL G S/X tolerances | |
| Length | +/- 2 mm |
| Thickness | +/- 3 mm |
| Width | +/- 2 mm |
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Dimensional stability
Wood shrinks or swells as its moisture content changes, but in LVL this is minimal because of the lamination process.
|
Direction |
% of shrinkage or swelling per % moisture change |
|
Direction of length (L) |
LVL S/LVL G S +/- 0.006, LVL X/ LVL G X +/- 0.009 |
|
Direction of width (w/h) |
LVL S/LVL G S +/- 0.31, LVL X/LVL G X +/- 0.033 |
|
Direction of thickness (b) |
LVL S/LVL G S +/- 0.30, LVL X/LVL G X +/- 0.44 |
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Sustainability
LVL—a low carbon construction material
The wood used in Sylva LVL beams and columns originates from sustainably managed European forests. Like all Stora Enso wood products, it is third-party certified by traceability and chain of custody systems, FSC®*, PEFC, or both.
The energy used to manufacture LVL is very low. And compared with other construction materials the carbon stored in LVL is high for example, 1 m³ of LVL stores 804 kg CO₂.
FSC® trademark licence C125195
Comparison between a Sylva LVL beam and a concrete steel-reinforced concrete beam
Sylva LVL beams and columns deliver superior sustainability performance over mineral-based alternative materials. Following is a comparison of material manufacturing emissions of a Sylva LVL beam and an equivalent steel-reinforced concrete.
Carbon Calculator by Stora Enso
Amount used for your project
Distance from mill to site
Carbon footprint
CO2e = greenhouse gasesAdvantages with mass timber
Documents and certificates
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