Beam glued and window beams - the secrets of making material

How to choose beautiful, durable, practical, environmentally friendly and inexpensive windows? Everybody who decided to change these constructions in a house, apartment or office thought about this question. The answer is simple - choose wooden windows. And in order for you to be sure of the quality of the product and pay a reasonable price for it, we will tell you what the window beam should be, what its cost and how to save money by making the material with your own hands.

What are wooden windows made of?

Quality lumber windows, such as larch, have many advantages, including:

• safety - structures are made of environmentally friendly raw materials, and therefore do not emit substances harmful to the human body;
• high sound and heat insulation - in a house with wooden windows you will not be oppressed by street noise, you will also get rid of drafts and cold;
• durability - high-quality wood treated with antiseptics and other special substances, in terms of service life is not inferior to the plastic glass packs that are popular today;
• attractive appearance - wooden windows look solid, impressive, emphasize the good taste and high status of the host.

For the manufacture of windows can be used solid timber (for example, oak). But such a material has an unstable geometric shape, since a tree of any species dries out, deforms and cracks over time. More practical in this respect, glued window beams.

The advantages of laminated veneer lumber

The popularity of windows made of this material has rapidly increased in the last few years. Despite the relatively high cost (in comparison with plastic glass packs), many domestic consumers stop at it.

And this is not surprising, because glued laminated timber (for example, from larch) has a lot of advantages, including:

• optimal humidity - glued timber for windows is made of several lamellas, which makes it possible to dry wood better, whereas in the case of a solid bar, this is not always the case;
• the possibility of sorting - in the production of the material eliminates such wood defects as knots, cracks, damaged areas, rot;
• stable geometric shape - the timber is glued together from several lamellas with mutually opposite arrangement of wood fibers, which allows to reduce internal stress and prevent deformation of the tree;
• strength - thanks to the use of modern adhesives, glued laminated timber is several times stronger than solid wood.

What material to choose

Glued laminated timber can be made of wood of various species. As a rule, pine, larch and oak are used for this. The first option is the most affordable - the price of such a bar is much lower than the cost of similar materials from other wood species. This feature is explained quite simply - pine is easy to handle and dries quickly.

The second option is larch. Such material will cost a little more than a pine window beam. The fact is that larch contains a greater amount of resin, which complicates its drying and the production of timber. But at the same time the material is less susceptible to rotting - even without treatment with special substances.

More expensive window bar oak. But the high cost of the material is fully justified by its excellent performance characteristics - the service life of oak windows is estimated to be tens of years. In addition, the oak looks very luxurious and presentable.

Note! Oak timber must be well dried - high-quality wood drying should take at least three weeks.

The main stages of manufacturing

Production of window beam is a technologically complex process, the quality of the material and the service life of the windows depend on the correct implementation of which. Made of glued timber for windows only from high-grade wood.

At the first stage, the tree is sawn into boards (slats). Raw materials must be carefully examined - remove all knots, cracks, damage, rot, other shortcomings.

Further drying is carried out, the duration of which is individual for each type of wood. The permissible moisture content of wood should not exceed more than 12%, but it is better if it is less than 10%. After drying, the lamellae are spliced ​​along the ends, if necessary, to obtain the required length.

The most crucial stage is gluing. To do this, use a special glue, which on the one hand is safe for humans, and on the other - allows you to achieve high strength seams. Gluing lamellae occurs under pressure, which makes the timber more robust and durable.

Do it yourself

The production of windows from laminated veneer lumber is a rather complicated process, which, in the absence of relevant experience, is better to be entrusted to professionals. But you can easily make glued laminated timber at home. By the way, the material can also be used for a wide variety of purposes, starting with the restoration of furniture and interior decoration, and ending with major construction works.

For the manufacture of timber you will need directly the raw material itself, that is, wood, glue, solvent, and the following tool:

• a blade or a file;
• clamping devices;
• planer or similar equipment;
• brushes and brushes;
• a tape measure, a square or other measuring devices;
• milling machine, grinding machine - desirable, but not necessary.

The material used must be of high quality and well dried. Be sure to make sure that the tree has no rot and is not hit by parasites.

After all the preparations, you can proceed directly to the production process itself.

Instructions for the manufacture of timber includes several steps:

• cutting blanks of the required length - do not forget to leave an allowance on each side of the order of 5 cm;
• preparation of the sides of the slats for bonding;
• assembly of timber "dry" - to check the correctness of the dimensions;
• gluing;
• processing of finished timber.

Note! It is necessary to glue the lamellae in such a way that the direction of the annual rings of wood is opposite - this way you will ensure the high strength of the timber.

Before gluing, sand the lamellas with an emery paper or a sander. Next, you need to wipe them from dust and degrease, for which the solvent is used. It is also desirable to process the parts with fire protection.

Drying of glued timber is performed according to individual instructions specified by the manufacturer of glue.

The technology may be slightly different, but, as a rule, such requirements are made:

• avoid exposure to the sun and water;
• press lamellae tightly against each other, for which it is better to use a press;
• to endure the necessary time.

At the final stage it is necessary to carry out finishing processing, which involves the removal of residual glue and planing of the timber. Further it is possible to carry out repeated fireproof processing.

Conclusion

Glued laminated timber is an excellent material for the manufacture of window systems, which will surprise you with its practicality and long service life. Today there is a sale of timber of various sizes, made of various kinds of wood, so it’s easy to choose the best option. And if you could not pick up the necessary material - you can always make the window beam yourself.

For more information on this topic, you can find out by watching the video in this article.