Glulam marches on

Hatrick Construction is flying the flag for timber

Glulam is the popular name for glued laminated timber whereby aesthetically attractive structural timber components of large cross-section and long lengths can be fabricated from small cross-section boards (laminates) in commercial sizes. A glued laminated component comprises small crosssection boards, laid up so that the grain is parallel to the longitudinal axis, in contrast with plywood where the grain is alternately parallel and perpendicular.

The laminates are end-jointed by the process of finger jointing and therefore each individual laminate acts as a continuous structural element. Beams wider than the normal commercially available laminates can be manufactured by edge-gluing after finger jointing. The lay-up of these wide laminates is arranged so that the edge joints are staggered about the central vertical axis of the component. Specialist manufacturers will produce laminated components in the size, section and profile required. Most manufacturing companies employ design engineers who will undertake any necessary detailed design calculations and advise on constructional detail.

Only a small percentage of materials used in building construction can be recycled. Of these, timber is the only truly renewable building material. The planting rates in Scandinavia are controlled to ensure growth exceeds harvested quantities. In these countries there is currently more standing timber than at any time since the ice age. This cycle of felling and planting is very beneficial to the atmosphere as it is only during growth that a tree absorbs CO² and gives off vital oxygen. Once a tree is mature this process virtually stops, so by planting a constant supply of young trees the timber industry can help the environment on multiple levels.

Hatrick Construction is nearing the completion of its first decade in business, having been created in the year 2000. With studied, controlled growth the company has consolidated with its core business remaining as its prime focus, resisting opportunities in other construction sectors.

With a firm inviolable belief that construction should be a service industry and with a total commitment to safety and quality, Hatrick has an enviable portfolio of successfully completed timber projects around the country.

Recognising that timber is the only sustainable building material, Hatrick has built a workforce of skilled carpenters and timber erection specialists whose mixed abilities can service fast track retail projects, bespoke structures with architectural nuance and standard glulam and kerto structural frames.

Kerto, produced by Finnforest, is a strong and dimensionally precise product, which does not warp or twist. It derives its high strength from the homogeneous structure, which also keeps the effects of any defective single veneers down to a minimum.

Problems that naturally occur as solid sawn lumber dries – twisting, splitting, checking and warping – are greatly reduced. Kerto possesses excellent bending resistance, tension and compression properties.

It has around a 100 per cent greater load-carrying capacity than other traditional structural softwood materials. Kerto is stronger, straighter, lighter and more stable than commercial sawn timber. With its greater flexibility, Kerto has many uses within the construction and industrial markets, including new buildings, renovation and repair, and the manufacturing of
prefabricated components.

The product is made from 3mm thick, rotary peeled softwood veneers, glued together using a WBP-type glue to form a continuous 2.4 metre wide billet, with thickness ranging from 27 to 90mm and maximum length of 26 metres.

The billet is then hot pressed and cut to size to make beams, planks, posts or panels, which are then used as such or processed into a variety of products. Kerto is independently certified under the PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) environmental chain of custody certification scheme.

Early stage involvement with projects allows Hatrick’s experienced team to aid and assist clients and their design teams in matters of logistics and buildability, helping to ensure delivery of any one project in a safe and timely manner.

Hatrick offers a service which includes the complete design, fabrication, supply and erection of structural timber frames and envelopes. It also fabricates, supplies and installs frames, elements and envelopes to third party designs, as well as providing packages for any additional groundworks a project may require.

Hatrick’s clients to date have included major retailers such as Asda and Tesco, sports teams including Dartford FC, for whom Hatrick helped build a new 4,100 capacity stadium, and Oxford University, whose timber School of Byzantine studies, was praised by architecture today. John Pringle said of the school: “The real achievement of the new classics centre is the way it has carved a strong architectural identity out of an unpromising and jumbled site that had for so long been so hemmed in by its over bearing neighbours”