Blueprint Robotics has brought prefabricated wood construction technology from Europe to the United States. The company builds unique single family attached as well as multifamily homes, in the North East USA. The elements are manufactured at Blueprint Robotics’ factory and then transported to the construction site and assembled on the foundation. Virtually all of the elements incorporate Kerto LVL (laminated veneer lumber) products by Metsä Wood.
Use of Kerto LVL makes the production, transportation and installation process of the modules faster and reduces costs compared to on-site stick-built construction. Also, higher quality, better efficiency and greater freedom of design can be realized compared to the traditional on-site methods.
“Getting LVL beams in tailored sizes creates less waste and has sped up our robotized production. For example, our factory uses a single layer 3 inch (7.6 cm) top plate instead of the more traditional two layers of 1.5” (3.8 cm) top plate for wall panels. Metsä Wood was quickly able to produce this non-traditional size for us as a result of which we were able to meaningfully reduce labour and material cost,” says Karim Sahyoun, Founder and Director of Blueprint Robotics.
Sahyoun also praises the quality of LVL. Kerto LVL beams are easy to saw and nail, because of the constant thickness. The material is also dimensionally stable, so you can be sure that the prefabricated elements will match up on site. In the end, it is easy and efficient to install the strong, yet light elements.