3 Kinds Of Engineered Wood

Engineered wood is wood that has been artificially created. The wood product is made out of all kinds of different aspects of wood, like sawdust, fragments, or other similar things. Those things are then put together with a lot of resin, adhesives, or other material. Engineered woods are used for all kinds of things from decorative features, especially when the wood is dyed, to structural elements in buildings. Engineered wood can be stronger than natural wood can be, which is why it is used in various structural elements. There are several kinds of engineered wood that people can choose to use. 

Plywood

Plywood is probably one of the first engineered woods and one that almost everyone is familiar with. It is used extensively in the building trades. It is made out of cross-laminated veneer, which is thin layers of material that are placed crossways to each other. The veneers are then adhered together using various adhesives, heat, and pressure. The structure of the plywood makes it stronger and stiffer in all directions, which is why it's used so heavily in construction. 

Particle Board

Particle board is another engineered wood that most people are familiar with. It is made up of all the little bits leftover when wood is cut or shaped. So, chips, sawdust, and sawmill shavings are all part of particle board. They are then put together with a strong resin and compressed until everything is adhered together and creates one solid sheet. Particle board gets used a lot in furniture and cabinetry. A veneer can adhere to the outside of the furniture so that it looks like it is made up of a different kind of wood and not particle board. 

Oriented Strand Board

OSB is similar to plywood and is used in a lot of the same places, including for things like sheathing on walls or roofs. Instead of cross-oriented veneers, OSB is made up of strands of wood that have been laid down in the same orientation, then adhered together, forming one mat. Then a number of mats are placed together so that they can make up one sheet of oriented strand board. 

Engineered wood has a lot of uses. There are a wide variety of types of engineered wood, and many of them are found in the construction fields. There are a lot of good reasons to choose to use engineered wood. 

For more information, reach out to a company like Hillside Lumber.

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