Laminate is a material constructed by uniting two or more layers of material together. The process of creating a laminate is lamination, which in common parlance refers to sandwiching something between layers of plastic and sealing them with heat and/or pressure, usually with an adhesive.

Laminated timber, is a structual timber product composed of several layers of dimensioned lumber glued together. By laminating several smaller pieced of wood, a single large, strong, structural member can be manufactured from smaller timber. These structural members are used as vertical columns or horizontal beams.

Laminated timber, represent an efficient use of available timber. With an increased demand for lumber worldwide, the amount of solid timber avaialble has steadily declined. thus we make use of smaller or less desirable dimensions of timber, yet are engineered to be stronger than similarly sized members comprised of solid wood.