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Knowledge Base
Designed for both industry experts and newcomers across the supply chain, Mass Timber Planning is a platform and knowledge base that addresses mass timber’s implementation, delivery methods, and best practices.
Dedicated to helping developers, engineers, installers, manufacturers, and more, we help you discover the growing power of mass timber’s functionality, cost-efficiency, and sustainability.
Sharing Value
We help shape an unparalleled learning environment that is informed by industry experts. Browse through our key posts to stay up-to-date on trends and broaden your knowledge base.
Image c/o: StructureCraft
Advice
Understand all aspects of the process, starting with the design, detailed design, and the fabrication model, all the way through to installation. If there are any parts not fully understood or covered by you or your team, hire expertise to fill the gaps as early as possible.
Advice
Mass timber helps address client’s sustainability targets.
Advice
Cost premiums with mass timber are offset by the more rapid construction process with pre-fabricated construction.
Advice
The timing of contractor engagement impacts the ability to get construction input on structural assembly sequence & detailing.
Advice
Use hybrid structural systems (timber/steel/concrete) to optimize for the best properties of each.
Advice
A bracing plan is important, and has a large effect on installation. Establish a bracing plan early and integrate it into the connection details. A good bracing plan allows the connections to assist with temporary stability and requires over-designing, but saves time, money, headaches, and patching.
Branching Out
Looking for inspiration? Filter your search by the various Roles and Phases to see what industry experts have to say about Mass Timber.
Advice
Using a single CAD model works well, with collaborative input from all trades (rather than attempting to combine multiple models from the different trades). This opens up more opportunities for accurate pre-drilling.
Advice
Avoid having a shim plate between the top of the beam and the CLT.
Advice
A bracing plan is important, and has a large effect on installation. Establish a bracing plan early and integrate it into the connection details. A good bracing plan allows the connections to assist with temporary stability and requires over-designing, but saves time, money, headaches, and patching.
Advice
Plan sequencing for fast placements. Connections often don’t work as a result of placement sequence. For example, more expensive connections can be used (eg Megant-style) where the assembly order doesn’t matter, but if cost is saved on the connections, time is wasted on site with necessary last minute adjustments.
Advice
Installers do not like tight-fit pins (but engineers do).
Advice
In-beds should be in the concrete scope, with blanks in-bed for knife plates to be welded on later.
Advice
Engineers should take care when copying and pasting details from one project to another. Some details cause a lot of installation problems (resulting in increased cost/time).
Advice
Sizing comments: 20’ x 30’ grid spacing is problematic for installation due to panel sizes, double or triple storey walls or columns present unique installation problems, even in terms of coordinating bracing with floor levels. It is difficult to keep 30’+ walls plumb.Dedicated to helping developers, engineers, installers, manufacturers, and more, we help you discover the growing power of mass timber’s functionality, cost-efficiency, and sustainability.
Advice
Installers can offer creative solutions, ideally at the design stage. Projects will proceed more smoothly if advice from experienced installers is not ignored.
Advice
Connection details dictate whether a CLT/mass timber project will actually go up quickly.
Advice
Early discussions should involve all parties: installer, manufacturer, architect, engineer, owner/developer. Design with the people who will build the project, from fabrication to installation.
Advice
Unless you control or understand the flow of material and information from “forest to frame”, you will have blind spots; you will be derailed by cost, schedule, quality, or all three. For…
Image c/o: StructureCraft
Advice
Understand all aspects of the process, starting with the design, detailed design, and the fabrication model, all the way through to installation. If there are any parts not fully understood or covered by you or your team, hire expertise to fill the gaps as early as possible.
Advice
The challenge in getting people on the project team early is figuring out WHO to get in early.
