Update manufacturers and product types for engineered wood

Feature Requests
1

I’ve asked about updating manufacturers and available product sizes / product data for manufactured wood options a couple of times over the years but so far the database continues to be populated with numerous irrelevant sizes and types (mostly glulams) that are not available, or at least not in any lumber yard I have heard of.

There must be a thousand or more beam types in the glulam table, yet I wouldn’t be able to use a single one of those to help a builder order a beam without a translater.

I’m sure it is hard to stay current, but here in the northeast (NY, NJ, PA) area, two commonly available LVLs are made/sold by OnCenter, EEWP/PWT, and yet neither of these is anywhere in the database. So anytime I submit a report for a building code official, they could rightfully reject an installation because the paperwork is inaccurate. It would be better to list a generic product version than list the wrong product.

There are also pressure-treated glulams and LVLs on the market but none of these are reflected in the database that I can find.

2

Hello James,

Thanks for the feedback. I completely get the frustration, keeping the database relevant has been a main pain point for us as well.

We actually have plans to speed up the process for adding new manufacturer sections starting next quarter, so we will keep you posted on that. Regarding the specific missing products you mentioned, are you specifically looking for OnCenter I-Joists?

Best,

3

It isn’t necessarily just about On-Center - Frankly, I-joists are seldom used in my area and they can usually be left to the lumber yard to specify.

In my space, I typically see only the following products:

1.75x7.25, 9.25, 11.875, 14, 16, 18 LVLs

3.5”, 5.25”/5.5”, 7” x 9.25/11.875 glulams.

And there are a few pressure-treated glulam beam options, too.

The manufacturer doesn’t even matter, although glulams tend to be a bit more unique than LVLs.

I find it very awkward to have lists of thousands of glulam beam options, and numerous LVLs as well, but still end up specifying a beam by a manufacturer that no one around me has heard of. I can’t comment on what other users see in different regions, but I am sure they see similar challenges.

Perhaps there is a way to unlink manufacturer names from the beam selection process? For LVLs, I’d like to just pick the height, width and E value and that’s it. Maybe there is a link of manufacturers that could be picked when they are known, but often they are not when creating spec plans.

Maybe glulams have the added options of DF/SYP and pressure treated/not. Leave the unbalanced glulams or less-common sizes to the “custom” option. They list could all be greatly simplified, I think and as I see it in my work.

4

Hi James,

Thanks for clarifying, Unlinking the manufacturer and offering a “Generic” option with standard dimensions I’ve updated the request to thE eng team to look into adding “Generic” entries for the common grades. Thanks again for the suggestion. :smiley: