> Ultimately, InventWood is planning to use wood chips to create structural beams of any dimension that won’t need finishing. “Imagine your I-beams look like this,” Lau said, holding up a sample of Superwood.<p>I have several exposed PSL beams and posts in my house that cross spans that are too long (~20 ft carrying an upper floor) for dimensional lumber. Because they are stained, most people who are not in construction think it's some kind of exotic hardwood due to the complex patterns made by the wood strands, and don't believe when I tell them it's just woodchips glued and compressed.
> 50% more tensile strength than steel with a strength-to-weight ratio that’s 10 times better, the company said. It’s also Class A fire rated [etc]<p>> first products will be facade materials<p>Lol. Surprising - but I guess yes there is plenty of interest in building skin materials. (Any random stuff but all the more if you get stronger, lighter, durable, more beautiful or different look). Less volume and good price for a small company. Still surprising.