Green Solution: Laminated Ceiling Beams

Carter Oosterhouse uses engineered lumber to open up a room.

After: Room for Entertaining(2 of 2)

Carter's solution was to use laminated veneer lumber (LVL), the most widely used of the structural composite lumber products. It is an engineered wood product produced by bonding multiple layers of thin wood together with adhesive. This means that the LVL can support more weight, unlike a traditional single piece of wood. For this project, LVL beams were used to support the weight of the house that was once held up by load-bearing walls. Plus, this saved chopping down the large, mature hardwood tree necessary to harvest a strong enough natural wood beam to do the job.

Product Information:
accent table, marble-top with finished oak (item #JY0788), brown storage ottoman with tray top (item #H1-48), accent spider back chair in cherry finish (item #G-B100), console and mirror in aged sage (item #B-64193), credenza in green and brown finish with floral design (item #B-42531), antique hutch honey (item #30172H-HON), accent chair in gold stripe (item #1L-100), 30-inch swivel barstool in microfiber (item #4365-831), dinette chair in metal and microfiber (item #4365-CHR) — American Furniture Warehouse
wicker baskets (Tangere Seagrass), wastebaskets, curtain rods (Cambria Decorator Series item #704318), curtain rings (Cambria Decorator Series item #701315) — Bed Bath and Beyond
paint (Navajo White Satin Finish item #1822) — BEHR Process Corporation
laminate floors (Golden Chester Oak item #PH 4711) — Pergo