Need extreme strength? Consider LVL studs. In this video, Matt Risinger, master builder, takes us to an LVL framed house where traditional lumber is swapped out with LVL studs. Typically, we think of LVL in terms of door and window headers or beams. In this case, however, the entire house is LVLs. The main goal was strength. On an outside wall we have LVL studs, ½" Advantech sheathing that's glued to the studs and some serious hold downs including hurricane straps on the rafters. At each of the rafters there's a telltale hole where a Simpson screw goes all the way up through that double top light and into the rafter to hold everything together. We wanted to design a house to withstand 110 mph wind. In addition to survival, there's other pros to framing with LDL. LDL is super strong and super straight and super heavy. It yields super straight walls and a very solid feeling to the home. Inside, everything is glued together with Advantech glue on sheathing and outside walls. All is nailed together, although that takes a lot of pressure to nail LDL. It takes a lot of crew effort to muscle LDLs. Other cons include it's expensive, it doesn't come pre-cut. In this case, it came off of a truck and had to be hauled to a bench to be cut. This house is made of only engineered materials. There's very little ability for water to leak into the house because of a lot of precautions on the outside to make sure that this house stays dry. If you're building in a hurricane zone, or you just want that house that will withstand extreme weather, this is one way to achieve it.