Modern timber frame construction is under enormous pressure to be efficient: Ever shorter construction times, increasingly demanding requirements for precision and dimensional accuracy as well as the desire for durable and reliable structures and buildings pose major challenges for planners and contractors. Conventional mass timber components often reach their limits – especially when it comes to sole and head plates.
Versatile applications
Thanks to the 3-mm-thick veneers, and especially the crosswise layers, components remain permanently straight © Metsä Wood / Brüninghoff
Kerto LVL demonstrates its strengths not only in sole and head plates, but in many other areas of timber construction, too. The material is used in wall, ceiling, and roof elements, as well as in lintels, top plate supports, and stud frames. The combination of dimensional accuracy, form stability, and resource efficiency creates lean and precise structures that are suitable for both prefabrication in the factory and on-site processing. This way, Kerto LVL opens up a wide range of applications in construction projects of various kinds.
Homogeneous material with crosswise layers
Kerto LVL significantly improves quality in timber frame construction © Arca Novas AS
With its sole and head plates made of Kerto LVL, Metsä Wood offers a particularly straight, dimensionally accurate component consisting of fine 3-mm-layers and integrated crosswise layers that ensure high dimensional stability. The material is free of wood defects and can be sawn, milled, and screwed evenly, thereby making both manual production and automated processes easier.
Its structure of slim layers of veneer can save up to half of the material used compared to conventional plates, thereby reducing weight and making handling on the construction site easier without compromising on load-bearing capacity or rigidity. Cross-sections with thicknesses of 33 to 57 mm, ideally 45 mm, ensure that a sufficiently thick cross-section remains for safe and stable structures, even with additional milling.
Dimensional stability through wood moisture and calibration
Another key advantage of Kerto L is its low wood moisture content. As it does not dry out, the product does not shrink or deform later on. This effectively prevents the formation of cracks in walls. Thanks to calibration during the manufacturing process, components with very good tolerances of just ±2 mm are produced. Another advantage is that Kerto L enables secure and dimensionally stable sole plates to be fastened to the floor slab – even with laterally cantilevering sole plate details. The cross-laminated veneers minimize swelling and shrinkage across the width and facilitate the planning of complex connections.
Future-proof timber frame construction
With sole and head plates made of Kerto L, Metsä Wood is taking an important step toward future-proof timber frame construction. “No conventional wood product is straighter, slimmer, more robust, and shrink-free. This leads to higher quality in production and of the end result,” Moritz Burk, Kerto Offsite Manager, emphasizes. Construction companies, planners, and wood-processing companies benefit from a resource-efficient product that reduces material consumption and supports sustainability.
Versatile applications
Kerto LVL demonstrates its strengths not only in sole and head plates, but in many other areas of timber construction, too. The material is used in wall, ceiling, and roof elements, as well as in lintels, top plate supports, and stud frames. The combination of dimensional accuracy, form stability, and resource efficiency creates lean and precise structures that are suitable for both prefabrication in the factory and on-site processing. This way, Kerto LVL opens up a wide range of applications in construction projects of various kinds.
