Things you need to know about LVL? Advantages and disadvantages

What is LVL plywood?

Laminated veneer lumber (LVL) is a wood product widely used in construction and industry. Widely used in the world for more than 30 years, LVL plywood is widely used in frame systems, support beams of buildings, furniture production, pallet production,....
LVL is created by separating thin layers of wood and pressing them together in a parallel direction under specific conditions.
Each layer of wood (veneer) must be thoroughly inspected to check the properties and characteristics, ensuring that the boards combined together meet the requirements of the final plywood product. Laminating thin wood panels requires heat, glue and pressure. The product produced must be solid, uniform, and consistent.

Advantage

According to the APA – The Engineered Wood Association, laminated veneer lumber (LVL) is recognized globally as a high-performance engineered wood product widely used in structural framing applications. Unlike traditional lumber, LVL is manufactured under controlled conditions using multiple layers of wood veneer bonded together with strong adhesives. This results in a product with greater strength, stiffness, and dimensional stability, especially in long-span or load-bearing uses.

APA further notes that LVL is highly resistant to warping, twisting, and shrinkage — making it an ideal choice for beams, headers, and rim boards in residential and commercial construction. For buyers and specifiers around the world, sourcing LVL from verified manufacturers not only ensures compliance with performance standards like ASTM D5456 or EN 14374, but also supports sustainable use of wood resources through engineered optimization.

LVL plywood has many outstanding advantages compared to conventional sawn wood:
LVL plywood can be made from many different types of popular wood such as: pine wood, acacia wood, eucalyptus wood, rubber wood
LVL plywood can control quality criteria such as: thickness, width, length, moisture and consistency. The length of LVL plywood does not depend on the size of the log, but on the production technology of the enterprise.
LVL plywood is very durable and resistant, much lighter than natural wood boards, and the price is also cheaper.
Using LVL plywood helps us use wood resources more effectively.

Disadvantage:

While LVL plywood offers many structural and economic benefits, there are some limitations to consider. Because it is composed of multiple layers of thin veneers bonded together in the same direction, LVL can be vulnerable to delamination or separation of layers if exposed to excessive moisture or poor manufacturing conditions.

Additionally, cutting or machining LVL may release more adhesive-related emissions than natural wood, depending on the glue type used. This is why buyers should ensure that the products meet environmental standards such as E0 or CARB Phase 2 certifications.

It's also worth noting that LVL lacks the aesthetic grain variation of solid timber, making it less suitable for exposed decorative use unless overlaid with a finish. Therefore, proper quality control during production and storage is critical to avoid warping, moisture absorption, or surface defects — especially for export shipments.

=> When customers buy LVL products from TT PLYWOOD, we have a highly skilled professional inspection team. Always check quality 1:1 to eliminate defective and poor quality products. So that when delivered to customers, the products will be of the highest quality.

For more details, please don't hesitate to contact us for the high-quality and the best quotation. We will not let you be disappointed.

Hotline/WhatsApp/Line/Kakao: +84 326 942 288

Email: info@ttplywood.com

Website: https://ttplywood.com/