Mass Timber & Potential to Advance Construction Industry in Alabama

Investigators

The research goal was to raise awareness of mass timber and the value it can provide to the Southeast, as it has done to other regions. Mass timber is gaining traction as an effective construction material with opportunities for greater prefabrication than conventional materials. In the United States, mass timber was initially used in the Northwest and Northeast, and has made its way to the Southeast in recent years. This new material category is comprised of cross-laminated timber (CLT), dowel-laminated timber (DLT), nail-laminated timber (NLT), mass plywood panels (MPP), and glulam, to name a few.

The final output of the research was a white paper centered around a dozen case studies and a literature review of conventional means and methods of building with mass timber. The case studies emphasize the unique design aspects of visited projects, including the mass timber typesused, how building services were integrated with the mass timber, and how fire and acoustical requirements were met. The literature review and research led to a general summary of mass timber information pertaining to design, preconstruction and construction, and the state of the industry in Alabama and the Southeast.