Abe Stears, Director of ITC and Managing Director of South African Timber Auditing Services Pty Ltd

(SATAS) was asked for his views on the manufacturing and use of laminated units for structural
application.
South Africa is a timber poor country. We need to look after our resources and optimise as far as
possible. One way of doing this is to make use of laminated timber. Unfortunately not many people
know how to utilise structural laminated beams properly. In some instances they are used in a structural
application for aesthetical reasons without knowing the load bearing ability/ capacity of such units. At
random tests conducted at the University of Pretoria on laminated beams, the results revealed that a
large percentage of such beams did not comply with the strength requirements for a grade 5 as
published in the SANS 10163 specification.
Only a few laminated timber manufacturers in South Africa are certified by an accredited Product
Certification Body for the manufacture of laminated beams to the requirements of the SANS 1460
specification. Such product is manufactured under controlled conditions and processes and display
information on the stress grade, Certification mark, trade name and application class. SATAS and
SABS are the only SANAS accredited Certification Bodies to do certification on structural laminated
timber. The manufacture of structural laminated beams complying with the SANS 1460 specification is
a costly process; hence many contractors prefer to make use of inferior imported or backyard
products. If the cheaper alternative product is used, failures could result. This would only occur a few
years after construction, and in most instances the responsibility would revert to the owner for the repair
and subsequent costs.
A laminated beam is an engineered product of which the different components have to meet certain
requirements prior to assembly. Timber from Pinus and Eucalyptus species is normally used as
laminated product. Proper drying, grading/selection and machining are very important. Finger joints in
laminated product must comply with the requirements of the SANS 10096 specification. The second
component is the adhesive used to bind the laminated product together. Adhesive systems are specially
designed for use under specific application classes, from exposed exterior to interior dry. A structural
beam manufactured with adhesive designed for interior dry use will not last long in an exterior
application. The use of the correct adhesive and timber is worthless if not correctly applied in the
manufacturing process. Important factors and conditions such as timber moisture content, adhesive
application requirements, for example press time, pot life and spread rate is vital to ensure a quality
end-product. This is only possible if proper production control measures are maintained.
Once the manufacturing process has been completed, grade compliance needs to be verified or
established. This is achieved by means of a proof load test (see attached picture). Adhesive bond
integrity tests are performed on small samples to determine compliance in the total manufacturing
process. The use of laminated beams in a structural application without traceability and product
certification is a recipe for disaster, therefore engineers, architects and designers have to insist on
graded certified products when it comes to structural application.

Testing for grade verification

Laminated beams in structural application

This one did not make the grade

Abe Stears, MD of SATAS