Glulam Beam - Checking Problem

Pettrix · Jul 26, 2023

I had some glulam beams installed on my new house build. I am in Arizona so it was hot & dry and the beams were installed in less than 1 week after being delivered. The roof was put on and now I am noticing some checking in that glulam beam. I was told that checking is normal, especially in a hot climate but I feel uneasy about it so I contacted the glulam manufacturer and they are looking into it.

Can a glulam beam be fixed on site/installed? I've seen some online photos of them using epoxy and lag bolts to shore up the beam.
On mine, it's the bottom board that has checking in it. I know that board is under tension since it is the bottom board.

Any help would be appreciated...

Pettrix · Jul 26, 2023

Most of the checking is 1/8" but there is one spot that it split to almost 1/4"
The longest length of checking on the 31' long beam is 17' at the bottom board and it stops just were the finger joints meet on the bottom glulam. The remaining 14' length of that beam appear to be okay for now.
I used a feeler gauge to see how far it would enter the 6.50 wide beam. So on the one glulam, the checking was present on BOTH SIDES of the bottom board and so I was able to put the feeler gauge in about 2.00" on one side and then immediately on the other side, I was able to put the feeler gauge in about 1.50. So a total of 3.50" on that 6.50 wide board in that one spot.

Pettrix · Jul 26, 2023

mrmikey · Jul 26, 2023

I definitely would be concerned. Without each individual board being glued together, it'd be the same as having separate boards stacked on top one another. Least ways that's my unprofessional thoughts. Hopefully someone more professional will come by.

oosik · Jul 27, 2023

I have the same concerns as mrmikey.

Keep us posted on what you find out.

Mike sandor · Jul 27, 2023

i wouldn’t let it go. That beam should not have left the manufacturing plant. By your picture, it appears you have separation in more than a few joints. I would contact the material supplier. Your building inspector will have comments. Removal looks to be a real *****. Possibly add plate steel on each side and bolt thru. A structural eng. would confirm.
Interested in the outcome.

scootr · Jul 27, 2023

AZ weather can be dryer than the kiln the wood was cured in. Most likely the wood did not have the cracks shown when it left the plant.
In hindsight. They could all have been sealed upon arrival before installation.
I doubt the checking will cause failure. Some kind of epoxy fill and sealing can still be done on 3 out 4 sides.

Rustyiron · Jul 27, 2023

What's the load on this beam?
I wouldn't be to alarmed at all and the bottom 2 ply's could easily be *lagged up into the rest of the stack so it all works together if it helps you sleep.
Have you bothered to string line this to observe any deflection?
Chances are that this "crack" is not more than an inch- inch and a half deep.
* modern GRK or Simpson structural screws. Available to 12"+.

groundcover · Jul 27, 2023

I second the opinion to check in with building inspector. A structural engineer could offer thoughts as well. Better to check before you modify anything, then you'll own the issues.

workinonit · Jul 27, 2023

He showed what the depth was. It's way more than an inch and on both sides. In my world that called a split. It's almost all the way through.

workinonit · Jul 27, 2023

Did it split after it was installed? If it was like that what idiot installed it split like that?

Alan W. · Jul 27, 2023

Never used those in construction. We always used LVL beams, which are constructed more like plywood.
But that beam is severely compromised. Without seeing the load span calculations I cant comment on whether it is about to fail.
As others have said contact an engineer. Dont waste your time with the building inspector, most of them I have met are not qualified to assess this situation.
Hope you get this resolved and let us know what you find out.

Pettrix · Jul 27, 2023

The beam didn't have the checking when installed. It happened about 1-2 weeks later after the install.

I hope to get the glulam supplier engineer out to the site to evaluate. So I will definetly have an engineer inspect it and go from there. I cannot remove the beams as the roof is already installed and nailed down. It would destroy the entire roof trying to remove it.

I did read online they have an epoxy and like someone mentioned, special lag bolts/screws that can shore up the lams if needed. The epoxy is injected under pressure and fills the gaps in the cracks and checking.

The dry Arizona air might have dried out the beam too fast and caused the wood to split. I've seen that happen on other lumber out here. 4x6 top plates, looked good leaving the lumber yard and after installed, it split like crazy and bowed/twisted in some spots. Unfortunately, that is the nature of the beast when air humidity levels can drop in to the teens and single digits out here. Then add the 90-100F heat and wood goes wild. I try and avoid wood when building but roofs and other places still must use it. I prefer steel and concrete out here

5030 · Jul 27, 2023

Never heard them called a 'glulam' beam. Around here they are called just laminated beams and around here, the preferred and most used support beams are steel I beams. In my view, that don't look good but then our main support beam is an I beam.

Snobdds · Jul 27, 2023

It's the desert, it will dry out wood.

I think it's fine. Wood is not a man made material and it will crack by design. It dosen't mean it looses it's strenght. Gluelams get their strength from the mismatched wood grains stacked side by side.

Plus the wood is in compression, not tension, supported by two ends. The weight is more on the two ends than the middle, as all weight is mostly transferred to the outside walls. The wood is actually being compressed into the wood above it.

I wouldn't loos sleep over it. Plus, the fix would cause more harm than the small appearance problem of the beam.

mrmikey · Jul 27, 2023

Plus the wood is in compression, not tension, supported by two ends.

Would the bottom (separated section) not be in tension, middle neutral and top compression?

RustyA · Jul 27, 2023

Microlam, LVL is impossible to have open cracks like that. There is no grain as it is a manufactured laminated wood product. Multiple layers of thin veneer bonded together under heat and pressure. It will bow under heavy snow load but never show cracks like what's in your picture. That does not look like a laminated beam meant to carry a load to me?

Snobdds · Jul 27, 2023

mrmikey said:
Would the bottom (separated section) not be in tension, middle neutral and top compression?

The beam would only be in tension if the load was directly in the center of the beam. Since the load is more on the outside of the building, the beam stays in compression.