Appearance / Finish
Choose the appropriate appearance and finish for your project. Visual for exposed timber or non-visual for concealed.
Exterior glulam requires a high-quality coating system to maintain its structural durability and visual grade. For more details go to Coating and colour page.
Find more detailed descriptions:
Premium Visual Grade - Sanded and Sealed
Description: Architectural feature engineered timber. Manufactured with a clean consistent appearance, with minimal finger joints, knots and natural imperfections. High dimensional stability and strength. Paint quality sanded finish and well-suited to penetrating oil or clear coat to highlight grain & timber features.
Process: All four faces are mechanically planed, defects and voids are filled, and the surface is machine-sanded to 80 grit. Temporary sealer applied.
Surface Condition: Smooth, uniform, and clean. Minimal visible finger joints. Ready for immediate painting, staining, or clear-coating.
Applications: Exposed structural framing where visual appearance is critical, such as open-ceiling portals, rafters, columns, internal commercial/residential entryways and exposed trusses.
Visual Grade - Machined Only
Description: High visual appearance beams suitable for exposed locations. Manufactured with a clean consistent appearance, with minimal finger joints, knots and natural imperfections. High dimensional stability and strength.
Must be coated immediately. Well-suited to penetrating oil or clear coat to highlight grain & timber features.
Process: All four faces are mechanically planed. Defects and voids are unfilled.
Surface Condition: Uniform and clean with possible machining marks. Minimal visible finger joints, possible unfilled knots and occasional resin pockets. Requires immediate painting, staining, or clear-coating before exposed to weather. For a high quality coating finish, it will need to be filled & sanded after delivery.
Applications: Exposed structural framing where visual appearance is important, such as deck, carport, and pergola structures. Also specified when surface preparation and sanding will be done by you on-site to reduce factory costs.
Visual Grade - Bandsawn
Description: High visual appearance beams with rustic milled surface texture. Manufactured with a clean consistent appearance, with minimal finger joints, knots and natural imperfections. High dimensional stability and strength. Must be coated immediately. Well-suited to penetrating oil or clear coat to highlight grain & timber features.
Process: The laminated member is passed through a fine-set bandsaw blade to apply a uniform texture. The beam's structural dimensions may be reduced by up to 3mm.
Surface Condition: Rough-sawn with prominent, parallel bandsaw lines. The textured surface increases the absorption rate of exterior penetrating oils and stains.
Applications: External exposed structures such as pergolas, entry lintels, pavilions, or projects where a rustic, natural timber texture is desired.
Non-Visual Grade
Description: Utility style beam that is cost effective where the beam is hidden from sight, but dimensional sizing, strength and stability is a requirement.
Process: Planer-knife finished straight from the sizing machinery to exact width and depth tolerances. Does not receive factory filling, sanding or sealing.
Surface Condition: Dressed but functional. Will show planer marks (knife ripples), visible finger joints, unfilled natural knots, and occasional resin pockets.
Applications: Structural components hidden within wall cavities, roof mid-floors, or enclosed ceilings (e.g. standard lintels and garage portals).
