The Scoop On End Caps

It’s not often that I’m walking around and then suddenly stop to say (out loud), “Hey, nice end caps!” But, that’s just what happened yesterday when I was in the finishing end of our plant and noticed the end caps on this job.

End grain of a pole glued with a combination lay-up

What are end caps you might be asking yourself? They are boards that attach to the end of glulam members to protect the end grain. With wood, the end grain is the most vulnerable area to water. That grain will act like a straw to draw the moisture into the rest of the member, potentially causing other issues. We apply end sealer, but if the end of the beam is going to have exterior exposure end caps can help extend the lifespan of the glulam. (If you’ve ever driven by farmland and noticed upside down coffee cans on top of every fence post now you know what the farmer was thinking.)


End caps can be made from metal or wood. If you want the all wood look then you’d want wooden end caps. In that case, you could also choose pressure treated wood (as our customer did in the photo above) to give that extra-added end protection, and save over the cost of using treated lumber for the whole project.