A technical drawing is worth a thousand words, wouldn’t you agree?
Structural engineers refer to tables constantly for specifications such as beam spans and loads. But nothing’s as immediately comprehensible as a technical drawing that clearly shows how those specifications are detailed.
Is your beam specified by length overall, or open, unsupported span? Check the diagram and you’ll understand immediately.
These cutaway diagrams were drawn to illustrate Macmillan Bloedel’s parallel strand lumber (PSL) which they trademarked Parallam. Unlike dimensional lumber, these PSL posts and beams could be very accurately rated for loads and spans.
Our illustrations visually isolated the location and application of the PSL member. This let builders and engineers clearly identify the relevant portion of the specification tables they needed to refer to.
