What size LVL header do you need for 12′, 16′, 14′, 10′ & 8 foot span depends on many factors like construction requirements, live load, dead load, species of wood and building codes.
Laminated veneer lumber or LVL is much look like plywood, generally made of thin sheets of wood which are sandwiched and bound with super stronger glue. It is a high-strength structural engineered wood product of recent innovation and one of the most widely used kinds of lumber in construction projects in.
It is typically used for boards of all kinds, for headers, beam rim boards, skateboards, as well as beams, trusses, edge forming materials and more. It is available in a wide range of lengths, widths and thicknesses.
Laminated veneer lumber or LVL are available in 1 ply of thickness 1 -3/4″ (1.75″), 2 ply LVL of thickness 3 -1/2″ (3.5″), 3 ply LVL of thickness 5 -1/4″ (5.25″) and 4 ply LVL of thickness 7 inches wide. The most common thickness of Laminated veneer lumber or LVL of 1 ply is 45 mm or 1-3/4 inches, from which wider header can be easily constructed by fastening multiple LVL plies together on site.
The American wood Council National design specification for wood, lvl is type of structural composite lumber comparable to glued laminated timber (glulam). LVL is product of recent innovation they are result of new technology and economic pressure to make use of new wood species and smaller trees that cannot be used to make solid Lumber.
LVL is a straight, enough strong wood that fights warping and shrinking, providing great stability for your projects. Use an LVL beam to eliminate twisting and splitting for quiet floors. Because of the wood’s dimensional stability, inspection times are often reduced, too. LVL has a “maximum allowable bending stress” of 2,800 or 3,000 psi. LVL offer several advantages over technical milled lumber, it is made in factory under control specification and it is more stronger straighter and more uniform in size.
LVL header sizes (width, depth & length)
LVL sizes may vary according to manufacturer but LVL standard thickness are 1 3/4 inches to 7 inches. It is available in thickness from 19mm (3/4 inches) to 178mm (7 inches). LVL length are generally available in 24, 28, 32, 36, 40 and 44 feet with special order upto 60 Feet. It can be customised according to your requirement. More than 60 Feet there is difficulty in transportation and handling.
Depth of the LVL header
Depth of the LVL header are typically range between 5 1/2 inches to 23 7/8 inches. It comes in depth of 5 1/2 inches (140mm) thickness, 7 1/4 inches (184mm) thickness, 9 1/4 inches (235mm) thick, 9 1/2 inches (241mm) thick, 11 1/4 inches (286mm) thick, 11 7/8 inches (302mm), 14 inches (356mm), 16 inches (406mm), 18 inches (457mm), 18 3/4 inches (476mm), 20 inches (508mm) and 23 7/8 inches (606mm) thick.
Width of the LVL header
LVL header standard width are range between 1 3/4 inches to 7 inches. It comes in 1 ply of 1-3/4″ width, 2 ply of 3-1/2″ width, 3 ply of 5-1/4″ width and 4 ply of 7″ width.
Length of LVL header
LVL length are generally comes in 24, 28, 32, 36, 40 and 44 feet with special order upto 60 Feet or 4′ increments. It can be customised according to your requirement. More than 60 Feet there is difficulty in transportation and handling.
LVL header definition & function
A header is a horizontal beam generally made of timber or Laminated veneer lumber or LVL that provided along the opening in full length for doorway, window, skylight or stairway. LVL header provide structural support in wood frame construction. Typically header is provided at least twice size then any other surrounding members such as rafter purlin and stud. It is often made of two joists, rafter or studs. It runs between full length supports and along its length and carry the load of shorter studs, joists or rafter that terminate at the opening.
The header helps to provide support, stability and strength to the top and side sections of the door frame. The header for a window & door is seems like a bridge that transferring the weight above it to the floor and foundation below. Doors in a load-bearing wall that holds the weight of the house, created by beams and trusses, need a larger header than those in non-load-bearing walls. The header is usually made out of dimensional lumber or LVL installed on its edge. Calculating and know the size of the header depends on what the header needs to support.
Headers carry the weight of the structure above and transfer it to the trimmers down to the floors and foundations below. Longer openings such as in garage required larger headers. Load bearing walls those that carry the weight of joists and trusses require larger headers than non-bearing wall.
In this article you know about what size lvl header for 8 foot, 10 foot, 12 foot, 14 foot and 16 foot span that will help you in better understanding and to figure out or estimate of LVL header size and their depth and help in important for you to use the right size header.
What size LVL header for 12′, 16′, 14′, 10′ & 8 foot span
Calculating header size is complex as depending on many factors such as:- the length of the window or door opening, the combined weight of the floors, walls and roofs above, the building width, the snow load in the area, whether it’s a bearing wall where joists, trusses and rafters rest or a non-bearing wall to which joists, trusses and rafters run parallel, whether it’s an exterior or interior bearing wall and what species of wood you’re working with.
What size LVL header size for 8 foot span
For an 8 foot span, size of LVL header or GLULAM ought to be 9 to 10 inches deep and 3.5 inches wide. Thus you need something like (2) 1 3/4″× 9 1/4″) GLULAM or LVL header to span upto 8 feet.
What size LVL header size for 9 foot span
For a 9 foot span, size of LVL header or GLULAM should be 9 to 10 inches deep and 3.5 inches wide, thus you need something like (2) 1 3/4″× 9 1/4″ GLULAM or LVL header to span upto 9 feet.
What size LVL header size for 7 foot span
For a 7 foot span, size of LVL header or GLULAM should be 7 to 8 inches deep and 3.5 inches wide, thus you need something like (2) 1 3/4″× 7 1/4″ GLULAM or LVL header to span upto 7 feet.
What size LVL header size for 10 foot span
For a 10 foot span, size of LVL header or GLULAM should be 11 to 12 inches deep and 3.5 inches wide, thus you need something like (2) 1 3/4″× 11 1/4″ GLULAM or LVL header to span upto 10 feet.
What size LVL header size for 12 foot span
For a 12 foot span, size of LVL header or GLULAM should be 10 to 12 inches deep and 3.5 inches wide, thus you need something like (2) 1 3/4″× 12″ GLULAM or LVL header to span upto 12 feet.
What size LVL header size for 14 foot span
For a 14 foot span, size of LVL header or GLULAM should be 12 inches deep and 5 inches wide, thus you need something like (3) 1 3/4″× 11-7/8″) GLULAM or LVL header to span upto 14 feet.
What size LVL header size for 16 foot span
For a 16 foot span, size of LVL header or GLULAM should be 14 to 16 inches deep and 5 inches wide, thus you need something like (3) 1 3/4″× 14″) GLULAM or LVL header to span upto 16 feet.
What size LVL header size for 15 foot span
For a 16 foot span, size of LVL header or GLULAM should be 12 to 14 inches deep and 5 inches wide, thus you need something like (3) 1 3/4″× 14″) GLULAM or LVL header to span upto 15 feet.
Conclusions:-
In general, for a 12 foot span, size of LVL header or GLULAM ought to be (2) 1 3/4″× 11-7/8″), for 8 foot span – (2) 1 3/4″× 9 1/4″ size header and for 14 foot span (3)- 1 3/4″× 11-7/8″) size header are needed.