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What is Mass Timber?

Building any sort of tall structural wood home or design is at the forefront of what many like-minded building professionals are seeking out this day and age. Today, big timber is sprouting up in cities all across North America and abroad. After years of feasibility studies and design proposals, buildings six stories or taller constructed primarily from pre-engineered wood products are being considered in cities around the world.

There has always been a debate as to what type of home is more energy efficient and has the least amount of impact on the environment. A lot of testing is continuing to be done to prove that timber structures can perform equal to or better than structures made of materials like concrete and steel. Regardless of this, Mass-timber has made huge headway here in North America and there are no signs of it slowing down.

But what is Mass Timber?

Mass Timber is a category of framing styles typically characterized by the large solid wood panels for wall, floor, and roof construction. They are and can be formed by mechanically fastening and or/bonding with adhesive smaller wood components such as dimension lumber or wood veneers, strands or fibers from large pre-fabricated wood elements. It also includes innovative forms of sculptural buildings and non-building structures formed from solid wood paneling or framing systems of six feet or more in width and depth.

Utilizing the high strength to weight ratio of wood, hybrid construction pairs mass timber with concrete and/or steel to create a cost-effective and sustainable building system. Advancements in hybrid building systems have definitely enabled the design and construction of taller wood buildings including the 18-story mass timber hybrid student residence building at the University of British Columbia, Brock Commons Tallwood House.

What is considered a Mass Timber product?

Some of these products include glue-laminated timber (glulam), cross-laminated timber (CLT), glued-laminated timber (GLT), laminated strand lumber (LSL), laminated veneer lumber (LVL), nail-laminated lumber (NLT) and other large-dimensioned structural composite lumber (SCL) products. They are diverse with proven performance and safety, showcasing the wide range and variety of opportunities with wood products.

What exactly defines a mass-timber project?

The simple analogy to know if something is a mass-timber project is that if the primary load-bearing structure is made of either solid or engineered wood, it’s a mass-timber building. A building that uses mass timber as an accent and not a primary structural element isn’t mass timber.

The benefits of mass timber:

Because mass timber components are fabricated with high levels of precision to ensure a tight fit, together with wood’s natural insulating properties, mass timber construction offers strong thermal performance, which is critical for tall buildings. Due to many of these factors, mass timber is helping wood make a comeback for many of these reasons…

• Costs may be lower with mass timber than with traditional concrete and steel materials and methods. Initial research indicates that mass timber projects can be completed approximately 25 percent faster than a similar concrete project. What does this mean? Significant savings!
• Mass timber is more environmentally friendly and more compatible with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified construction. Wood is a renewable resource (unlike concrete or steel), has a smaller carbon footprint, and takes much less of an environmental toll at the point of extraction.
• Mass timber offers a huge economic potential for the lumber industry and manufacturing jobs, especially in forested areas, such as the Pacific Northwest in the United States and Canada.

With that being said, there are also some risk factors to consider when you consider mass timber construction. Many of these factors are going to be similar to other construction risks, while some are from just the ‘newness’ of mass timbers emergence.

Possible risk factors when considering mass timber construction

Insurers may want to know about the building’s construction plan, exposures to catastrophes and other events, and details of exterior and interior design.

Factors to consider include:

• source of material
• the moisture content of wood and construction sequencing
• combustibility and fire resistance
• presence and effectiveness of automatic sprinkler systems
• performance under wind and earthquake stress
• ability to hold up to water damage
• mold and fungus exposures
• insect and pest exposures
• types of wood adhesives used
• replacement costs
• long-term performance

If you’re interested to know more about Mass Timber and weren’t already aware, the International Mass Timber Conference is happening in Portland, Oregon. This conference attracts professionals from across the forest, manufacturing, design, development, and construction industries.

Are you wanting more information on designing your very own log or timber home, or have additional questions? Send us an email at info@artisanlog.com and we would be able to answer any questions you have.

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Do you need to hire a professional designer to design my home?

 

Designing your own home can be one of the most thrilling yet stressful experiences you may come across in your life. From floor and wall colours, ceiling fixtures, to the windows… there is so much involved in the design process. Is it possible to design your own home? Absolutely. But sometimes it’s better to leave it to the professionals.

A big question that most homeowners face though is who to hire – An architect? An engineer? An interior designer? Or all of the above? At the end of the day it is extremely important to have a professional handle the building of your home to the final stages of completion.

Very few homeowners realize the different people involved when it comes to the construction and overall design of a home. While architects, contractors, and designers main profession revolves around a home and the overall building design, their main skill sets vary greatly from one to the next.

Curious to know the differences and roles each person plays in the design process of a home?
Here is a general outline of the following:

What does an architect do?

Architects, also known as a “project manager”, are trained in design theory, engineering, and project management. They are experienced in coming up with inventive and clever ideas that solve design problems, oversee any work needing done to your home, and help with any major roadblocks you could potentially face during a project. More often than not, homeowners will hire an architect before the contractor even gets involved.

A few typical tasks of an architect include:

• Draw up design plans for the homeowner; usually, a computer-aided model is provided to give a more realistic view.
• Adapting plans according to unforeseen circumstances and resolving any problems that may arise during construction.
• Supervise and monitor the construction of the home takes place.
• Works directly with the contractors and sub-contractors assigned to the building of the home.

The role of a structural engineer

A structural engineer plays a huge role in the construction process of a home, as they are solely focused on the design and physical integrity of the home as a whole unit. Unlike an architect who focuses on the appearance, shape, and size – the engineer will deal and solve all technical problems and help the architect implement to vision of the entire project.

Roles and tasks of an engineer:

• Coordinate and consult with the architect and other members involved in the home building project.
• Organizing and delivering material and equipment needed for the job.
• The overall design of the structure – calculating loads and stresses that the home will withstand and encounter.

The role of your builder/contractor

Generally, the contractor and or builder will oversee the entire project and make sure everything is done according to your expectations once work on the home commences. A contractor will determine the cost, lay out an agreement, and provide the necessary workers for the job – carpenter, plumber, and other workers, while they supervise said work. Some contractors do work alongside a designer or in-house architect that they partner with on projects, or they will be open to working with a professional of your choice. This will decide on who you enlist to help with your home and at what stage it’s at.

So how does a designer fit into all of this?

Unlike the above professional designers generally, do not have academic training in architecture and engineering but possess many qualities similar to that of an architect. Once you are ready to bring your space to life their skills will be used to enhance the properties and features of your newly constructed home.

Although a designer is working on the interior and sometimes the exterior of your home to enhance the properties of it, a designer works closely alongside a structural engineer to make sure key aspects of the home don’t conflict with the overall functionality of the home. Where some homeowners may think something would make sense or should go in a certain space, an interior designer will catch those details and correct them, ultimately saving time and money.
Interior designers help with the following:

• Planning what is going in the space
• Create drawings and a design plan for your home that is functional and aesthetically pleasing.
• Once the design is approved by the client, the designer will then implement and bring the space to life.
• Work with the contractor to finalize and finish elements of the home.

A simple rule to follow when figuring out who you need to help with the final stages of your home: architects design the interior and exterior spaces of our home (structurally), while the ‘interior’ designers, hence the name, work within the already established inside space, using their skills to add aesthetic value, thus making your new house a home.

Are you wanting me information on a designer and how to design your home, or have additional questions? If you want to discuss your log home design, log cabin structure or construction plans with our experts at Artisan Log Homes, please contact us today!

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