Use the Prolam Specifier, a free online tool designed to make specifying engineered timber products for residential and light commercial projects fast and accurate.
Covering a wide range of common structural timber members including lintels, framing, posts, and portal frames, the Prolam Specifier allows you to perform design calculations, fine-tune design parameters, and confirm the right solution for your project.
It also outputs the documentation required for building consent, including PS1 certificates.
Yes, all Prolam engineered timber products have been tested and certified in accordance with NZS 3604 and the New Zealand Building Code.
Prolam publishes structural properties and technical data for its full range of glulam and engineered timber products in the Prolam Structural Timber Design Guide. This information is also available through the Prolam Specifier, which allows you to perform design calculations directly, and via SpecToolbox, a dedicated mass timber specification tool.
For tailored support, Prolam's in-house engineers can assist with project-specific design advice and Specific Engineering Designs, ensuring your structural timber solution meets New Zealand Building Code requirements.
You can find span tables for Prolam beams in the Technical Section of our website or the Structural Timber Guide.
Yes, we have developed Prolam design properties, showing the mechanical and physical characteristics of Prolam structural timber to ensure structural integrity and longevity, such as strength, stiffness and density. You can find these here.
The Prolam Specifier and the Prolam Specific Engineering Design Guide also provide detailed information to support structural timber design calculations for residential and commercial projects.
Yes. For technical and specification support for your project, please get in touch with our structural engineering team or use the chat function on our website. You can also access our Design Service for projects that go beyond the standard calculations of the Prolam Specifier, or you require a specific engineering design (SED).
Alternatively, you can find further information on installation, alternatives, span tables, treatments, finishes, certifications and more on our Technical Page or calculators on the Prolam Specifier.
Yes. The Prolam Design Service gives architects, engineers and builders direct access to experienced timber engineering specialists. Prolam's engineering team work exclusively in structural timber and how glulam performs under loads, including earthquake and wind.
Through the Prolam Design Service, our engineers develop or support the development of Specific Engineering Designs for exposed trusses, raking portals, bracing portals, complex and long-span beams, lintels, rafters and more.
Built around technical certainty, timely delivery and cost-effective design fees, supports design professionals to resolve challenges early and progress confidently through design and product specification to construction, backed by clear documentation for building consent.
Yes. Prolam’s in-house structural engineers can assist with project-specific design advice and Specific Engineering Designs, ensuring your structural timber solution aligns with residential and commercial building requirements.
Yes. Prolam PL8 and PL12 glulam posts and beams are MCA H3.2 or H5 treated for use in external applications and are proven to be highly durable and dimensionally stable in weather exposed areas. This makes Prolam glulam timber ideal for building facades and outdoor living areas such as pergolas, decks and verandas.
However, it's important to know that glulam products must be coated as per the Prolam coating requirements to provide extra protection against moisture ingress.
Yes. Prolam glulam timber is treated, and we provide a choice of timber treatments suitable for both interior and exterior applications.
Prolam can be Boron H1.2 treated for internal use, MCA H3.2 for above ground use, H4 for inground non-structural, and H5 treated for inground structural and H6 for inground marine use. Untreated options are also available for internal use only.
You can find more information about Prolam timber treatments here.
Yes. Prolam glulam is a sustainable and renewable building material. As a structural timber product, it actively absorbs and stores carbon over its lifetime, making it a lower-carbon alternative to steel and concrete.
Prolam's core range of engineered timber products are backed by independently verified Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), covering the full product lifecycle from raw material sourcing through to manufacturing and packaging. This gives architects, engineers, and designers a transparent picture of each product's environmental footprint to support Green Star and Homestar projects.
MicroPro® MCA (Micronised Copper Azole) treatment is used across all Prolam H3.2, H4 and H5 products, providing proven, long lasting protection against fungal decay and boring insects, with a lighter colour that is easier to stain and paint.
It is also safer for people and the environment, with SCS Environmentally Preferable Product certification, and GREENGUARD certification for use in education facilities.
Engineered timber generally has a lower embodied carbon footprint than steel or concrete and stores carbon throughout its service life.
Not only is timber the only renewable building material that stores carbon throughout its lifetime, but engineered timber also requires less energy to manufacture than steel or concrete.
In addition, once installed, glulam has better thermal performance than concrete or steel meaning homes and buildings need less energy to heat or cool.
Beam span depends on a number of factors such as roof weight, wind zone, roof pitch as well as beam size, loading and support conditions.
This can easily be calculated using the Prolam Specifier or Prolam Span Tables.
Standard beam lengths are 3.6m, 4.2m, 4.8m, 5.4m, 6.0m, 6.6m, 7.2m, 7.8m, 8.4m, 9.0m and longer custom length beams can be manufactured.
A tributary area is the portion of a structure that contributes load to a supporting member. In the Prolam Specifier, each non-bracing calculator includes a diagram showing how to determine the tributary area and span of your engineered timber joist or bearer.