>Dragan,
>
>>>I've seen a building back home which was built entirely of such beams 25 years ago - and it's still in better shape than many younger buildings.
>
>Glue-laminated beams and trusses are extremely strong... but will they last centuries? We don't know yet.
>
>I'm a great believer in good old steel! A decent i-beam carries unbelievable loads and lasts effectively forever. Somebody "modernized" my home in NZ in the 1920s, using steel beams to support a new art-deco-heavyweight external brick staircase and entryway. In 2005 those beams continue to support tons of brickwork without a murmur and can be expected to do so indefinitely.

A few years ago, an architect explained to me that wood is actually a material with excellent characteristics as far as weight and strength and that it can keep those characteristics indefinitely if it's kept either under water or above water.

His point was that the one thing that kills wood is getting wet and drying, and the more this happens, the worst things get. He gave pilons under a dock as an example, and said that the wood stays in excellent shape under water and above water, but the few inches where tides go up and down become the weak points.

For the record, I also feel better with a steel-framed structure. Perhaps because I grew up in a country where pretty much EVERYTHING is made of concrete.

Alex