In Australasia, efficacy data obtained on plywood is generally acceptable for laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and vice versa. This is particularly the case with glueline treatment approvals. The rationale is that the two wood products have predominately the same basic structure with the key difference being orientation of the veneer. LVL typically has all veneers in parallel while plywood typically has every veneer perpendicular to the veneer either side of it. This study investigated attack on untreated LVL and untreated plywood in a termite field trial against Coptotermes acinaciformis and decay in laboratory soil block trials against Tyromyces palustris and Coniophora puteana. Samples were also studied to determine if visible differences in attack patterns could be seen between the two engineered wood products. The results show that mean percent oven dry mass loss after exposure to the organisms was comparable between identical sized LVL and plywood samples. Visual inspection of the termite samples showed different attack patterns between the LVL and plywood. It appears C. acinaciformis may have a preference to attack the exposed tangential faces of the veneer over the exposed longitudinal faces. Inspection of decay samples showed the attack to be consistent between the LVL and plywood.

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