Glue Laminated Timber vs. Natural Timber

We recently bid on the Mammoth Cave Visitor Center in Mammoth Cave, KY. We bid as an alternate to the glulam frame and offered a full FSC Certified Natural Douglas Fir option. Not chosen in this case, it was considered and approved by the architects on the project. Cost was an issue, our DF option was a bit higher. Oh well, we don't get them all. Best wishes to Martin Construction, as they are the awarded GC and we appreciated their consideration.

Although certain projects lend themselves better than others. For instance, sometimes due to the design or span, natural timber will not work and a glulam or two needs to be incorporated. For example, the arch on the Grove City College job needed to be a glulam, but the remaining is natural Douglas Fir.

Initial design in all glulam our natural timber alternate was chosen on the Carl M. Small Project. These trusses are so beautiful, we look forward to going back down for finished shots. Sarazin General Contractors and our team worked well together. Below is our truss!