Sealer: Wednesday's Word Of The Week

Sealed glulam trusses

Almost all glulam projects are completely shop finished. This includes cutting members to shape and size, fabricating necessary holes/slots/daps at connections, and repairing surface defects for appearance grace - then applying a surface coating. The simplest surface coating is a clear, penetrating sealer.

Visually, a clear sealer lets the wood speak for itself, with minimal change of color, and perhaps giving it a bit more of a vibrant look.

The sealer's main purpose is to slow the transfer of moisture into and out of the wood. This offers some protection from weather and stains during shipping and construction. Slowing the transfer of moisture also helps prevent checking, which is caused by the outer surface of wood drying and shrinking more quickly than the interior.
*Wednesday's Word Of The Week is a feature on Unalam's Wood Times Blog. Each Wednesday our structural engineer, Rik Vandermeulen, will discuss a new term associated with glulam manufacturing. He will do this until we run out of words. If there is a timber or glulam term that you have heard of and want to know more about, let us know in the comments.