Framing with LVL Studs - Pros, Cons, and Costs!

I built my entire house from Engineered Lumber and in this video I'll give you a run down of the pros cons & costs with this lumber. I specifically used Laminated Veneer Lumber for my 9' studs and below is the spec page on the Boise Cascade website. Also, be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter so you'll get all the updates from Build Show Network.

Huge thanks to our Show sponsors Polywall, Huber, Dorken Delta, Prosoco, Rockwool & Viewrail for helping to make these videos possible! These are all trusted companies that Matt has worked with for years and trusts their products in the homes he builds. We would highly encourage you to check out their websites for more info.

[Mrwafro]

Though I'm still using standard lumber for most of my framing, there is one place that LVL lumber gets used every time for me - shower enclosures! You can achieve a perfectly flat wall, which makes installing large format tiles a breeze! The rigidity and stability of the LVL's also means the tile will be less likely to crack due to seasonal temperature and humidity changes making the framing move.

[twjull]

I’m renovating my own house and switched to LSL timberstands halfway through. I can appreciate the straightness and trueness of the stud. Framing was more like cabinet making then rough carpentry. The walls are dead flat and drywall friendly. However they are too dense. It took many trial an error to get nails into them. Adjusting air pressure, any ring on the nail forget it, had to be completely smooth and best is some lubricant was on the nail. The density varies greatly from stud to to stud. Some are granite rock hard and some are like oak or maple. One piece I used as a plate was so hard in the middle I had to drill pilot holes just to get the nail in without bending. And forget trying to pull a bent nail out. Try not to toenail on the drywall face of the stud because the head doesn’t sink. 80% of the nails had to be sunk with a hammer. There’s needs to be a bit more research and development before LSL’s take over the market and of course getting the cost down.

[kevincorbett]

I do most of my work within cities where row houses are the rule and fire codes prohibit use of lumber products for structural framing. And so we frame mostly in steel studs and joists. They're all NAS Grade (Nice and Straight)! It’s a very different technology and the labor to materials ratio is higher. There are pros and cons to steel framing but my next house for myself will be an all steel framing.

[ghshomeimprovements]

Engineered lumber doesn’t have the ability to absorb small leaks. If it does get wet and can’t dry (inside a wall cavity, for example) it will rot faster than dimensional lumber. I typically use regular CDX plywood sheathing on my engineered stud framed homes to provide more hygric-buffering than OSB sheathing offers

[frankpratt]

It would be nice to see a marriage of the LVL technology & the insulated Tstud that you covered about a year ago. I love LVL's

[cmm]

Mr. Risinger, thank you, very much for making this series and bringing us along! The educational value is truly priceless. I appreciate your technical expertise. More important I appreciate your candor when discussing best building practices, products, and yes, even mistakes. Thank you, sincerely 👍

[leestevens]

Colorado/ Front Range has pretty design high wind loads. Last large project had high ceilings (typically 12' or more in common areas) and very large windows. We used a lot of LVL, in 2x6 framed walls (and other framing locations, of course). Biggest advantage was at large windows. We used 2" polyiso continuous on the exterior, with "outie" window framing, complimented by 100% coverage with liquid applied self-sealing water/ vapor barrier. King studs were LVL, ripped to 5 1/2" above & below the openings, and ripped to 8" at the RO (so becomes the window box-out). LVL flat at 8" rip for sill and header box-out components, along with double LVL headers on concealed flange hangers, and std 2x6 below the sill LVL. Besides the window box-out being more securely integrated into the structure, there was a huge increase in bending moment at the king studs, first by being LVL, and then by the increased depth for the window height (often 8' +). This enabled us to almost completely eliminate the presumed steel in the walls at the king stud locations (except for the 24' high stair tower/ window wall). The advantage of no steel is the whole set of issues of attachment and transitions to/ from wood assemblies is therefore avoided, and framing techniques and fastening procedures are per standard. With continuous exterior insulation, the thermal bridging of steel was not really the issue, at least for us; it was all about the bending and eliminating steel columns at the windows.

We used 22, 000' of LVL in this project, although the largest portion of the framing was actually std 2x's. All LVL came in as T/T loads of 48 or 60 footers. We had a panelization setup area, and the framing foreman simply did cut optimization. At the end, we had maybe 200' total scrap LVL material as waste.

[alonzosmith]

Thank U again, a few years away from retirement, researching now to build my retirement home.

[weldin]

A few years ago, I was at a hearing in New Jersey. The fire department was complaining that the engineered lumber products don't have the same fire rating as a regular 2 by. Firemen were being injured, when a home with engineered lumber collapses too quickly. The firemen wanted more time to fight the fire and rescue tenants. They were requesting that fire suppression systems be required in homes built with engineered beams and trusses. I don't know if regulations were ever put in place. This is big point to consider when building a home.

[Ed-jgud]

Wish you were in Omaha, I wouldve had you build my house in a heartbeat. You can tell you actually care about building quality, and have passion for what you do. Excellent videos. God bless

[Dash]

Speaking of ceiling height, I made an amazing observation recently. I am an architect who recently designed a kitchen rehab for a client who recently purchased a well built early 1960s bespoke owner-designed “ranch” style house with 7’-6” ceilings! The original owners were Frank Lloyd Wright fans...although the house looks fairly conventional from the outside.
The effect is surprisingly good as the ceiling forces the eye through and around the open plan and out towards beautiful views framed by floor-to-ceiling windows.
I would never have thought 7’-6” would work so well. A very counterintuitive design approach by the original owners.
Nice vid BTW Matt. Love those 1.125” sub-floors. You can always say you’re sequestering carbon.

[ColeSpolaric]

Looks like Corona has been helpful in us getting Matt's real house rebuild project videos.

[wjthehomebuilder]

I can't even keep the days straight anymore. I didn't realize it was Tuesday! Time for the Build Show!

[MrDustinsaldivar]

Matt big fan of the videos.

LVL does not alter the direction of the grain between plies. The thickness of the veneer in the plies is the same as plywood for the most part. The strength and stiffness of the I joist is really more about the flanges. Look at the tables. Stronger joists have bigger flanges, same OSB. The OSB does control for shear.

[bryansweeney]

Thanks Matt for keeping us entertained during COVID-19. Looking forward to Friday's segment.


A suggestion for a segment that you might wish to consider is going over the cost, with hard numbers, of some of the projects you have done in the past. Suggestions would be a passive house, constructing a Bensonwood home, the cost of doing your home redo, etc. It would ground people who view your videos in the reality of how much things cost so they can view it with that perspective.

[tlstube]

It's great to learn about new applications for existing technologies, even if they aren't feasible for every project. Well done.

[TomFYouTube]

I've always been fascinated with home building. Have been subscribed to Fine Homebuilding for many years and just recently found your channel. If I could do my life over again I would love to pursue a career as a fine home builder. You do amazing work Matt and I'm learning a lot. Unfortunately, I'll probably never be able to make use of it...

[nathanhuisman]

It's probably also worth mentioning the hardness of an LVL/LSL compared to sawn lumber. Sometimes requiring an investment in a high pressure compressor and nailer to drive the nail to the correct depth. Great product though and will make for a beautifully finished home!

[HistoricHomePlans]

A thought on the headers, for future projects - OVE 24" framing has a floor detail where the rim joist also serves as a header for the windows below. You could imitate that with your rafters. If you go with the rafters cut flush with the exterior sheathing, instead cut the rafters 1 1/2" back from the exterior and substitute a continuous rim joist instead of blocking between rafters. This rim joist could then also serve as header for the openings below. There are other structural advantages to this as well, especially in seismic areas.

[richmac]

No question LVL's are straighter and stronger than conventional lumber but, especially with lumber prices being what they are right now, I can only imagine what they cost. The only place I have concern with the framing you used is in the engineered floor joists. They are stiff (no bounce like a 2x8 or 2x10) but all their strength is dependent on the 1/2" sheet between the frame. I've always wondered what would happen in a fire. I have to imagine that sheet would burn pretty quickly and all you are left with is a 2/3" piece of wood (on it's side) carrying the floor. I have to imagine that the floor would be compromised pretty quickly.