The CivilWeb Glulam Column Design Spreadsheet makes glued laminated timber column design quick, accurate, and code-compliant to BS EN 1995-1-1 or BS268-2 — so you can focus on engineering, not number crunching. Built for architects, engineers, and construction professionals, this tool eliminates repetitive calculations and reduces costly design errors.
The CivilWeb Glulam Column Design Spreadsheet can be purchased lower down this page for only £19.99. Or why not buy our best value bundle? Our Full Timber Design Spreadsheet Suite can be purchased at the bottom of this page for only £49.99. This suite includes all 11 of our timber design spreadsheets and represents an incredible saving of more than 75%.
Glulam column design is an essential part of modern timber engineering. Glued Laminated Timber (Glulam) combines strength, durability, and sustainability, making it a popular choice for structural columns in residential, commercial, and large-span public buildings.
What is a Glulam Column?
A glulam column is a vertical load-bearing member made from layers of timber boards bonded with durable, moisture-resistant adhesives. Compared to solid sawn timber, glulam offers:
- ✅ Higher load capacity and stiffness
- ✅ Larger available sizes (for tall buildings and wide spans)
- ✅ Greater dimensional stability and reduced warping
- ✅ Excellent performance in compression and bending
Glulam columns are commonly used in:
- Multi-storey timber frame buildings
- Roof support systems in halls and arenas
- Sustainable construction projects
Methods for Glulam Column Design
✔️ Manufacturer’s Tables
- Quick for standard sizes, but limited for non-standard cases.
✔️ Manual Calculations
- Using equations from BS EN 1995-1-1 or BS268-2.
- Reliable, but slow and prone to human error.
- Difficult and time consuming to run optimisations or multiple design options.
✔️ Spreadsheets & Software
- Automates compression, tension, shear and buckling checks.
- Produces fast pass/fail results.
- Allows quick adjustments for different spans, loads, and glulam grades.
How to use the Glulam Column Design Spreadsheet
- Applied Loads
- Axial compression or tension loads from floors, roofs or other structural elements.
- Bending moments due to eccentric loading or lateral forces.
- Shear forces from horizontal loading.
- Material Properties
- The spreadsheet is capable of analysing glulam timber sections with any number of laminations in either horizontal or vertical orientations and strength classes. Design parameters are automatically calculated from these simple inputs.
- Column Dimensions
- Finally the user inputs the required column dimensions including column breadth, depth and effective length. These can then easily be adjusted after the instant calculation results.
The CivilWeb Glulam Column Design Spreadsheet automatically completes all the calculations required for design to the design standards BS EN 1995-1-1 or BS268-2. The results are presented in a clear and professional manner with full calculation readouts and simple green/red results shown in a simple optimisation score.
The spreadsheet also automatically completes the design calculations for other similar timber column sections and presents these in a graph which the designer can use to optimize the glulam column design at a glance, saving hours or iterative calculations.
Key Features
Why professionals love this tool:
- 📐 Automatic Glulam Column Design – Quickly size glulam columns for various loading conditions.
- 📊 Axial & Bending Checks – Includes compression or tension, bending and shear design checks.
- 📖 Code-Compliant – Built on BS EN 1995-1-1 or BS268-2 standards.
- ✅ Pass/Fail Output – Instant feedback on whether your column design works.
- 🔄 Customisable – Adjust timber strength classes, column dimensions, partial factors, and loading conditions.
- 🖥️ User-Friendly Layout – Simple, clean, and designed by engineers for everyday use.
Who Is It For?
This spreadsheet is perfect for:
- Structural Engineers working on timber buildings
- Architects running quick feasibility checks
- Builders & Contractors ensuring compliance on-site
- Students learning timber and glulam design principles
Why Use This Spreadsheet?
- Save hours compared to hand calculations
- Avoid costly errors in glulam sizing
- Get professional, code-compliant results
- Ideal for both preliminary design and final checks
Glulam column design is a cornerstone of modern timber engineering. With superior strength, sustainability, and versatility, glulam is the perfect solution for load-bearing columns in a wide variety of projects.
While manual design methods and tables remain useful, using a design spreadsheet saves time, increases accuracy, and provides instant results — making it the preferred tool for engineers and builders alike.
👉 Simplify your workflow today with our Glulam Column Design Spreadsheet and take the guesswork out of timber design.
