A New Era in Sustainable Construction

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Mass timber: challenges + best practices  By: Derek Smuin Mass timber construction continues to grow across the United States as an alternative to steel. Visually stunning and sustainable, this method presents a ton of benefits for both contractors and owners. For instance, its lighter weight makes for smaller, less expensive foundations and allows for a faster installation with a smaller workforce. Not to mention its environmental benefits, requiring less energy to produce, transport and even capture carbon long into its lifespan. Although mass timber can serve the same purpose as steel, the approach to planning and construction is entirely different. … Read more

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Ontario’s First Mass-Timber, Net-Zero Institutional Building Closer to Completion

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Limberlost Place, Ontario, Canada’s first mass-timber, net-zero carbon emissions institutional building, has now reached the highest point in construction. The final wood and steel beams were installed in the 10-story facility located at George Brown College’s Waterfront campus in Toronto’s growing east Bayfront community. To celebrate the topping off milestone, project partners and the trades workforce signed a beam earlier this summer before it was lifted into place at the top of the building. Limberlost Place’s structure was completed using an intricate installation method including a sequence where each mass-timber column and cross-laminated slab band would be placed. The structure … Read more

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Handling Mass Timber on the Jobsite

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By Joe Hovan Mass timber construction has taken hold in a big way. These structures, made of various types of wood products such as cross laminated timber, glue-laminated beams, laminated veneer lumber, nail-laminated timber or dowel-laminated timber, rival traditional steel and concrete building materials in terms of durability, seismic performance and fire resistance. They are also lighter in weight and result in less costly foundations. In addition, because mass timber components are machined to a high precision (+/- 1mm), the installation onsite is faster, less noisy and utilizes a smaller crew than alternative materials. Not to mention, they are really … Read more

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XL Construction Completes ‘Mass Timber’ School Construction Project

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XL Construction, in collaboration with Aedis Architects and Daedalus Structural Engineering, has completed its first TimberQuest “mass timber” school construction project for Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton, in Atherton, California. The project, which was built with a quick turnaround of 11 weeks during the summer of 2021, is approximately 4,000 square feet in size and contains four 1,000-square-foot classrooms, each with a restroom. Features include extensive natural lighting with exposed timber walls and ceilings. The Sacred Heart classrooms exceed California’s Building Energy Efficiency Standards Title 24 by between 35-60% and has solar and net-zero capabilities. The new classrooms now serve Sacred … Read more

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Iowa’s First Modern Mass Timber Office Building Construction in Progress

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Assembly of the mass timber components have begun on the state of Iowa’s first modern mass timber office building, 111 East Grand. The 66,800-square-foot, four-story multi-use building is located in the heart of the East Village of Des Moines. Featuring a “shou sugi ban” charred wood exterior and timber frame, the building continues the development of retail along Grand Avenue and connects City Hall with the East Village. 111 East Grand is a collaborative development between JSC Properties, Rypma Properties, Christensen Development and Ryan Companies and will be the largest project in North America to use dowel laminated timber. The … Read more

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